Evaluating Navy's Funded Graduate Education Program A Return-on-Investment Framework

by Kamarck, Kristy N.; Thie, Harry J.; Aldeson, Marisa; Krull, Heather

• ISBN13: 9780833050335
• ISBN10: 0833050338
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-10-16
• Publisher: RAND Corporation

Summary

The U.S. military services send officers to graduate schools each year to pursue advanced degrees, primarily to fill billet requirements later. This can be costly, including such things as tuition, housing, and pay but also the opportunity cost of the officer not filling an operational billet. Participation in such a program incurs specific service requirements in return, but is that enough to recoup the service's investment? The U.S. Navy asked the researchers to assess the quantitative and qualitative returns on investment (ROI) for funded graduate education. The authors modeled the financial aspects for two sample communities within the Navy and discovered that ROI varies depending on how efficiently graduates are matched with billets and how often they are utilized in the related subspecialty. In some cases, it is simply not possible to recoup the costs financially because it would require extremely long service. On the other hand, soft skills and general knowledge that graduate education provides can increase productivity and improve decision quality. Such considerations might justify making graduate education competitive, with selection targeted toward those most likely to stay in the service and to advance to flag rank. In essence, the Navy would be broadly educating many to achieve future capabilities and an ROI from the few. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. iii
Figures	p. ix
Tables	p. xi
Summary	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Abbreviations and Glossary	p. xxi
Introduction	p. 1
Purpose	p. 1
Department of Defense and Navy Educational Policy	p. 2
DoD Policy	p. 2
Navy Policy	p. 3
Research Approach	p. 4
Limitations	p. 5
Organization of This Monograph	p. 5
Literature Review	p. 7
Theories Linking Graduate Education to Human and Social Capital	p. 8
Human Capital Theory	p. 8
Social Capital Theory	p. 11
Organizational Benefits of Graduate Education	p. 12
Civilian Literature	p. 13
Military Literature	p. 14
Approaches to Evaluating Graduate Education Benefits	p. 16
Navy Program and Service Comparisons	p. 23
Service Comparisons	p. 28
Marine Corps Graduate Education Program	p. 28
Air Force Graduate Education Program	p. 29
Army Graduate Education Prgorams	p. 31
Cross-Service Program Parameters and Management	p. 33
Community-Level Data and Utilization Model	p. 37
Community Differences	p. 38
Surface Warfare Community	p. 38
METOC Community	p. 41
Utilization Scenarios Lead to Different Outcomes for Communities	p. 43
A Return-on-Investment Framework	p. 47
Return on the Investment in Education	p. 48
Variables Included	p. 48
Variables Not Included in the Analysis	p. 50
Is There a Net Benefit?	p. 51
Effects on Specific Communities	p. 52
Surface Warfare Officers	p. 52
METOC	p. 54
Management of Billets Requiring Graduate Education	p. 55
Summary: A Tale of Two Communities	p. 57
Findings and Recommendations	p. 59
Findings	p. 59
Recommendations	p. 61
Policy	p. 61
Culture	p. 62
Monitoring and Evaluation	p. 63
Conclusion	p. 64
Appendixes
Master's Degree Opportunities in the Navy	p. 65
Data Collection and Analysis Recommendations	p. 69
Model Assumptions and Limitations	p. 73
Return-on-Investment Sensitivity Analysis	p. 75
Bibliography	p. 79
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