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Over 380,000 military spouses were eligible for the MyCAA scholarship between October 2010 and December 2011

• Eligible spouses who applied for a MyCAA Scholarship differed in several ways from those who did not apply. For example, spouses more likely to apply had experienced a military move or a deployment, had 2 or more children, were married to enlisted noncommissioned officers, or lived in states with higher unemployment rates.
• All eligible applicants whose study plans met the MyCAA criteria were approved for scholarships, although 19 percent did not end up using any funds.

At least 34 percent of the users in the 2010/2011 cohort were known to have completed their plans by the end of the three-year scholarship window

• Data on completion may under-represent actual completion as spouses and schools may no longer report completion to DoD after scholarship eligibility has ended
• Differences in users' schools, plans, or other academic factors appear to be quite important when comparing known completion to noncompletion.
• Spouses who do not complete their plan may still gain valuable skills or knowledge from the classes they take.

Use of MyCAA funds is associated with positive changes in employment and earnings (but further analyses are necessary to support any causal claims)

• On average, MyCAA-eligible military spouses worked less over time (from 2007 to 2013). By 2013, however, MyCAA users were more likely than nonusers to be employed.
• Although the average annual earnings of working spouses who used the scholarship had stagnated for several years or even declined prior to October 2010, earnings for this group grew after December 2011.

MyCAA usage is positively associated with service member continuation

• Of personnel who had three years of service in 2011, 43 percent whose spouses did not use MyCAA were still on active duty in 2014, compared to 52 percent whose spouses did use MyCAA.
• More generally, service members whose spouses were MyCAA users were more likely to still be on active-duty in 2014 than service members whose spouses were MyCAA-eligible nonusers.

Past research has shown that compared to spouses of U.S. civilians, spouses of U.S. military personnel tend to earn less and are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed, even when they have more years of education or more work experience. To mitigate the impact of the demands of military life, in 2007 the Department of Defense established a portfolio of initiatives that provide career development and employment assistance for military spouses. One such initiative is the My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) Scholarship, which targets spouses whose service member is early in his or her career. The scholarship provides up to $4,000 in financial assistance for spouses pursuing associate's degrees, occupational certificates, or licenses in portable career fields.

This report examines characteristics associated with MyCAA Scholarship application and use, scholarship plan completion, spouse employment and earnings, and service continuation of personnel married to MyCAA-eligible spouses. RAND examined the 2007–2013 employment and earnings data of spouses who were eligible for MyCAA when the current version of the scholarship began (between October 2010 and December 2011). The results show that MyCAA Scholarships are reaching the intended population; that MyCAA is associated with employment and higher earnings (although the relationship is not necessarily causal); and that service members of MyCAA Scholarship users are more likely than similar married service members to be on active duty three years after the spouse is awarded the scholarship.

• Part I

  Background and Context

  • Chapter One

    The My Career Advancement Account Scholarship and Rationale for an Evaluation

  • Chapter Two

    The Context of U.S. Higher Education

• Part II

  MyCAA Application and Use

  • Chapter Three

    Who Applies for a MyCAA Scholarship?

  • Chapter Four

    Which MyCAA Users Complete Their Education and Training Plans?

• Part III

  MyCAA Use, Spouse Employment and Earnings, and Service Member Continuation

  • Chapter Five

    Is MyCAA Use Associated with a Near-Term Improvement in Spouse Employment and Earnings?

  • Chapter Six

    Are Service Members Married to MyCAA Users More Likely to Remain on Active Duty Than Service Members Married to Nonusers?

• Part IV

  Conclusion

  • Chapter Seven

    Highlights and Recommendations