Supervisors key to education success

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Franklin R. Ramos
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  New guidelines for tuition assistance are scheduled to begin Oct. 1. The changes were made to set up eligibility criteria for TA and encourage supervisors to be more involved in their subordinate' s education.

During the last couple of years there have been increasing amounts of requests from students to waive TA or to pay it back because of work or home related issues.

"Historically when people were enrolling in a course using TA it indicates on that form that you are going to brief your supervisor and keep them informed that you are taking classes," said Donald Sprague, 97th Force Support Squadron chief of education and training. "Due to the rise of negative impact of that process over the last couple of years, the Air Force decided that we will get supervisor's approval first."

Supervisors will need to be aware of their Airmen's work capabilities and personal situations before approving them for TA.

"It's going to require supervisors to do some research and know the anticipated work load of the individual," said Sprague. "They are going to have to make an operational decision on if they can afford to let this person go, or better yet, is this person's work load going to get so involved that it can impact them going to school."

The Air Force has mandated that Airmen who fail a fitness test, have a referral performance report, an unfavorable information file or are on a control roster will be denied.

"When supervisors login to approve TA, there is a tutorial for some of the things to look for," said Sprague.

If an individual is denied for other reasons they may talk to their leadership, and if allowed, may re-apply.

"Supervisors are the key to all this and are to understand, as far as work load, what their troops are doing or other issues that may not be identified," said Sprague. "Airmen may be having home issues, unrelated work issues or financial problems, all that may impact what they do and whether or not they can handle it. Supervisors are in a better place to make a more informed decision and all this boils down to help Airmen be successful in their education endeavors as well as in their military career."