A little bit about me. My husband has been in the service for over 17 years. I have followed him while he has served his country. I have taken care of our special needs child mostly by myself. I have never complained and I most defiantly have never expected anything from the government for myself. Our son who graduated from high school in June of 2009 with a very good GPA was heading off to Pacific Lutheran University in the the fall. He had gotten a sizable merit scholarship and other scholarships which left us with roughly $12,000 per year to cover for him. Not to bad when the total costs are close to $40,000 per year.
Last summer I was told by another Army spouse about a tuition assistance program for military spouses. I had not heard anything about this program. The DOD did not send a letter to all military spouses telling us about the program. It was a word of mouth program. I had just completed my associates degree at Pierce College in Lakewood Washington. I had already applied to the University of Washington Tacoma and had been accepted into the Social Welfare Program. I applied for the MyCAA program in the summer of 2009. I was approved for $6,000 of tuition assistance. I was ecstatic. This would cover 75% of my first year of tuition.
We had filled out the FAFSA for myself and my son. My husband was an E-6 at the time with no special duty pays. We did not qualify for one penny in federal financial assistance. We both only qualified for loans. Many of the responses wanted to know why we felt we were better then the rest of the United States. Why we were not filling out the FAFSA and applying for scholarships. Many alluded to the fact that we were getting this aid ON TOP OF any other financial aid. For those of you who know how college works this is farthest from the truth. For every penny in scholarships or grants that a student receives and offer of financial aid will be reduced by the grant or scholarship amounts. So no military spouse who was awarded the MyCAA grant will be getting one penny more then every other citizen is getting. For me this did not matter as we did not get federal aid. For another military spouse who was awarded federal financial aid they had to claim their MyCAA grant to their college and their award was adjusted accordingly.
When the DOD abruptly and without warning shut down the program there were many spouses left out in the cold with no way to pay their tuition. They said for us to try and get loans or other aid, but we all know that it is not that easy or quick.
I found out on Facebook that the program had been halted and that I would have to find another way to cover my tuition for spring quarter. The whole way the DOD handled this was not right. Below is an article discussing the abrupt shutdown. For a program that was not publicized they were surprised at how many spouses applied. I am sorry, but if you are going to authorize a program through Congress then you should make sure there is enough money for every military spouse out there. It is no secret how many military spouses reside in the United States. It seems to me they started this program that none of us asked for thinking it would be "hush hush" and no one would sign up. What they failed to realize is that military spouses talk!!! They should have never started a program for all military spouses if there was not enough funding to make sure everyone who was eligible was able to participate. I will continue tomorrow with what happened next.
Military Times Article
Spouse tuition aid shuts down without warning
Posted : Wednesday Feb 24, 2010 7:19:48 EST
Defense officials have abruptly shut down the My Career Advancement Accounts, a program that gives qualified military spouses up to $6,000 in tuition assistance to help them pursue portable careers.
Officials said the MyCAA shutdown is temporary, but no date has been set for resuming operations. Officials “hope to resume accepting financial assistance applications in a few months,” Defense Department spokeswoman Air Force Maj. April Cunningham said.
Cunningham said defense officials are “reviewing the software applications, financial assistance documents and overall program,” but she offered no specific details on the reason for the sudden halt and review.
“We’re reviewing it from top to bottom to ensure the program is meeting the intent established in legislation,” she said.
Meanwhile, spouses are finding out about the program shutdown at the worst time — when they are trying to request funding for classes that start within a month.
“I found out this morning when I logged in to have money sent to my school,” said Army wife Julie Thornton, who lives near Fort Gordon, Ga. Her education plan had been approved, and she had registered for two courses at Augusta State University. But the MyCAA program regulations require that spouses must wait until 30 days before classes start to request payment of funds to their schools. When Thornton called Military OneSource to ask what to do, she said, she was told that employees were informed at 4 p.m. Feb. 16 that the program was shutting down.
“I can’t use the application to get the funds for courses already approved,” Thornton said. She is taking refresher courses to get her teaching credentials up to date.
When she asked a Military OneSource consultant about what to do, she said, “I was told, ‘Can’t you apply for other financial assistance?’ Where else can I get funds in 30 days?”
Cunningham said no new or pending financial assistance accounts will be approved during the review period.
Without any formal announcement of the program’s existence, nearly 133,000 military spouses have applied for the MyCAA program since it started early last year, Cunningham said. Currently, 98,000 are enrolled in courses or have been approved for tuition assistance.
Although the financial assistance no longer will be available, spouses can receive career counseling support at local installations and through Military OneSource, Cunningham said.
“They should have sent an e-mail to people” in the program, Thornton said, to let them know about the halt, so people could start trying to find alternate funding.
“I sent an e-mail to DoD telling them my problem is with the way they’re handling this,” Thornton said. “It’s beyond poor.”
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