UPDATE:
The military program that had been helping hundreds of Olympic College students pay for classes before it was frozen in February will continue on Saturday, according to a press release from the Department of Defense.
The Military Spouse Career Advancement Account, which began March 2, 2009, was frozen Feb. 16 because of an unanticipated increase in enrollment in the beginning of winter quarter.
The program was set up to help military spouses pay for college with $6,000 in tuition assistance.
But according to the DOD in the Thursday press release, the program will continue as of Saturday at 9 a.m. (PST) for those students who are already enrolled in the program.
“We made a commitment to our military spouses when they established a career advancement account and we will be true to our promises,” said Tommy Thomas, deputy under secretary of defense, military community and family policy.
For more information on the program, please contact Nancy Buck 360-697-3656.
END OF UPDATE
Hundreds of Olympic College students who were receiving funding for their education are scrambling to figure out how to continue paying for school after the halt of My Career Advancement Account.
MyCAA is a program that was established through a partnership between the Department of Labor and the Department of Defense to help military spouses pay for college. Those accepted into the program after completing an education plan received $6,000 they could use towards their education.
“It was launched a couple of years ago as a pilot,” OC Director of Military Education Wendy Miles said. “Olympic College was one of eight schools (selected for the pilot).”
According to Miles, the purpose of the program was to help military spouses finish their education so they can find work.
But an unanticipated amount of applicants during winter quarter has thrown a wrench in the plans of students who were already planning on using the funding for spring quarter.
“There was no warning that this was going to happen,” said Nicole Graham, an OC student who learned of the halt of the funding when she went to use it for next quarter.
“Now I’m kind of screwed because I have no funding for back up.”
She said because there is only two weeks until the beginning of next quarter there is not enough time for her to apply for other financial aid, leaving her no way to pay for her next term.
“I’m kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place,” she said.
Graham said she had gone to college in the past, and had paid for it with student loans, so she was happy to be able to continue school without having to get more student loans.
Now, Graham said she plans to drop out of school while she waits for scholarships for next fall. In the meantime, Graham said she would look for work in the area.
“I want to see if I can get on as a trainer at some of the farms in Kitsap County or internship for vet school,” Graham said.
Brandy Rogers, who started going to OC fall quarter, said she had used about $2,000 of her funding, and was planning on continuing to use it next quarter until she found out about the halt of the program.
Rogers said she was trying to get into the nursing program and was using MyCAA to help pay for her prerequisites. She said the freeze of the program has halted her educational plans a little bit, but she has a $1,000 she can use in the meantime.
“That will help, but it will only cover a couple classes,” Rogers said.
She said this might delay her plans for the future but she is hoping to find additional funding by next fall.
Miles said many of the students receiving MyCAA are looking into alternative ways to pay for school.
“Everybody is worried about how they are going to pay for school,” she said.
Miles said not every student is “dead in the water.” Students should try to find out what financial aid they may be eligible for.
Also, the MyCAA program has not been canceled yet, and students who were already approved for funding may still be able to get it at some point, but Miles said she doesn’t know when that will be.
“We’re trying to help our students out,” Miles said, “but everybody is handled on a case-by-case basis.”
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