Research Catalog

Title

Attracting college-bound youth into the military : toward the development of new recruiting policy options / Beth J. Asch, M. Rebecca Kilburn, Jacob A. Klerman.

Author

Asch, Beth J.

Publication

Santa Monica, CA : RAND, 1999.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Kilburn, M. Rebecca.
• Klerman, Jacob Alex.
• National Defense Research Institute (U.S.)
• Rand Corporation.
• United States. Department of Defense. Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Description

xvii, 46 p. : ill.; 23 cm.

Summary

• Alternatively, the military could create an entirely new path for combining college and military service by encouraging enlisted veterans to attend college and then reenlist (at a higher pay grade). The most promising alternatives should be evaluated in a national experiment designed to test their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, similar to the one that led to the creation of the Army College Fund and the Navy College Fund.
• Although the military's need for enlisted personnel has declined by almost one-third since the end of the cold war, the armed services are finding it difficult to meet their recruiting goals. Among ongoing changes in the civilian labor market is a strong demand for skilled labor, which has prompted an increasing number of "high quality" youth to pursue post-secondary education and subsequent civilian employment. Because of this competition for high quality youth, the Department of Defense may want to explore new options for attracting desirable young people into the armed forces. The military, for example, offers a myriad of options for service members to take college courses while in active service. However, the programs do not in fact generate significant increases in educational attainment during time in service.^
• One popular program, the Montgomery GI Bill, enrolls large numbers of individuals, but the vast majority of service members use their benefits after separating from service. Thus, the military does not receive the benefits of a more educated and productive workforce, unless the individuals subsequently join a reserve component. The authors suggest the Department of Defense should consider nontraditional policy options to enhance recruitment of college-bound youth. Recruiters could target more thoroughly students on two-year college campuses, or dropouts from two- or four-year colleges. Options for obtaining some college before military service could be expanded by allowing high school seniors to first attend college, paid for by the military, and then enlist. Or the student might serve in a reserve component while in college and then enter an active component after college.^

Subject

• College attendance > United States
• United States > Recruiting, enlistment, etc

Note

• "Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense."
• At head of title: National Defense Research Institute.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-46).

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Ch. 1. Introduction -- Ch. 2. Framework and Data -- Factors Affecting Enlisted Supply and Demand -- Data -- Ch. 3. Trends In Post-secondary Education -- Attendance and Completion Rates -- Costs and Financial Aid Opportunities -- College Premium -- Dropout Rates from Post-Secondary Educational Institutions -- Ch. 4. Military Opportunities for Combining Service and Post-secondary Education -- Ch. 5. Designing Policy Options to Attract College- Bound Youth: Issues and Examples -- Issues in Weighing Alternative Recruiting Policy Options -- Examples of Additional Policy Options -- Ch. 6. Conclusions and Areas for Future Research.

ISBN

0833027026 (pbk.)

LCCN

^^^98052212^

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library