Tuition Assistance Usage and First-Term Military Retention

National Defense Research Institute

Tuition Assistance Usage and First-Term

Military Retention

Richard Buddin Kanika Kapur

R

Prepared for the

Office of the Secretary of Defense

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited

The research described in this report was sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The research was conducted in RAND's National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center supported by the OSD, the Joint Staff, the unified commands, and the defense agencies under Contract DASW01-01-C-0004.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Buddin, Richard J., 1951? Tuition assistance usage and first-term military retention / Richard Buddin,

Kanika Kapur. p. cm.

"MR-1295." Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8330-3177-5 1. Student aid--United States. 2. United States--Armed Forces--Pay, allowances, etc. 3. Soldiers--Education, Non-military--United States. 4. United States--Armed Forces--Recruiting, enlistment, etc. 5. United States. Navy-- Personnel management. 6. United States. Marine Corps--Personnel management. I. Kapur, Kanika. II. Title.

V698 .B84 2002 355.2'23--dc21

2002069721

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PREFACE

Tuition assistance (TA) is a military-sponsored program that reimburses military members for the cost of college classes while on active duty. The program is part of a series of quality-of-life efforts designed to make military service more attractive to youth and encourage them to remain in the military. This report examines tuition assistance and retention behavior for first-term members of the Navy and Marine Corps (similar data were not available for other military services). The analysis examines what types of sailors and marines use TA and examines whether TA users are more prone to reenlist than are military members who take no college classes during the first term. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Communities and Family Policy sponsored the research. This report should interest those concerned with military families, the well being of servicemembers, educational opportunities for military members, and the attendant implications of these issues for recruiting and retention. The research was conducted in the Forces and Resources Policy Center, which is part of RAND's National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the unified commands, and the defense agencies.

iii

CONTENTS

Preface ........................................ iii Figures ........................................vii Tables......................................... ix Summary ...................................... xi Acknowledgments............................... xvii Acronyms ..................................... xix Chapter One

INTRODUCTION ..............................1 Background ..................................1 Purpose of This Research ........................2 Data ........................................ 3 Structure of the Report ..........................4 Chapter Two ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK AND DATA ................5 Conceptual Issues ..............................5 Literature Review ..............................7 Empirical Methodology .........................15

Bivariate Probit Model of TA Usage and Retention ...16 Propensity Score Model of How TA Affects

Retention ...............................20 Data ....................................... 22 Chapter Three RESULTS FOR THE MARINE CORPS ...............27 Bivariate Probit Model of TA Usage and Retention .....27

v

vi Tuition Assistance Usage and First-Term Military Retention

TA Usage ..................................30 First-Term Retention .........................33 Propensity Score Model of How TA Affects Retention ...34 Summary ...................................37

Chapter Four RESULTS FOR THE NAVY .......................39 Bivariate Probit Model of TA Usage and Retention ..... 39 TA Usage ..................................42 First-Term Retention .........................44 Propensity Score Model of How TA Affects Retention ...45 Summary ...................................46

Chapter Five CONCLUSIONS............................... 49

Appendix

A. REESTIMATION OF THE BOESEL AND JOHNSON RETENTION MODEL ..........................53

B. REESTIMATION OF THE GARCIA AND JOY CONTINUATION MODEL .......................59

C. REESTIMATION OF THE GARCIA et al. CONTINUATION MODEL ....................................63

D. A BIVARIATE PROBIT MODEL OF TA USAGE AND REENLISTMENT ..............................67

Bibliography ....................................73

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