Education Information

  • Lifelong Learning
  • Self-Development
  • Tuition Assistance
  • Colleges & Universities
  • Mentoring

Lifelong Learning

Lifelong learning is the inpidual pursuit of knowledge, the comprehension and synthesis of ideas, and the expansion of depth of understanding on a continual and unrestricted basis. The key to lifelong learning is to make growth and development a permanent part of your lifestyle. To do this you must stay open to new ideas, new ways of doing things, and new ways of understanding things. Studies show that people who are constantly learning new things remain more youthful. The secret to staying young: never stop learning.

Lifelong learning, is critical to an effective and proficient workforce, and to mission accomplishment. Learning must be an integral part of your career to remain current in your functional area, develop new professional and leadership competencies, keep abreast of policies and programs, and be exposed to the most advanced principles and practices in the public and private sectors.

Lifelong learning that is directed at improving weaknesses and developing new strengths may consist of a variety of avenues, such as continuing your formal education beyond high school, membership and participation in professional organizations, developing reading lists of professional journals and books on leadership and in your professional field, and being engaged in a mentoring relationship.

Self-Development

Self-development is the process of increasing your capabilities or potential. It often occurs off-duty and involves self-initiative and commitment on your part. It requires you to take personal responsibility for your own learning and professional growth through a process of assessment, reflection, and taking action. It consists of assessing your strengths and weaknesses, determining your individual needs, and becoming more independent in your own professional development by continuing your formal education at a college/university, reading professional books and articles, and seeking to educate and train yourself beyond what's offered in formal schooling or in your duty assignment.

Army defines self-development as follows:
"Self-development encompasses activities and learning which enhance lifelong personal development while contributing to professional competence and organizational mission effectiveness." In Chapter 5, FM 22-100, Army Leadership, states that the goal of self-development is to "increase your readiness and potential for positions of greater responsibility." The Army promotes self-development as one of the three pillars of leader development. The self-development pillar is intended as a means for individuals to acquire knowledge and comprehension that would not otherwise be developed in the institution or during operational experiences, the other pillars of leader development.


Many of our best learning opportunities take place far away from the traditional classroom. These opportunities allow you to develop and apply new competencies that aren't typically taught in a classroom setting. When planning self-development activities you need to be creative. Several self-development activities are listed below. Use this list as a starting point to come up with your own opportunities. Any effort you put forth to learn a new skill or improve an existing one constitutes self-development.

  • Read books, articles, and professional publications
  • Research a topic of interest
  • Take college courses
  • Volunteer for rotational assignments, cross-training, new tasks, or special projects
  • Participate in professional organizations
  • Take advantage of mentoring or coaching opportunities both in and outside the workplace
  • Volunteer in your community.

Tuition Assistance

Organizations can budget for and provide tuition assistance to employees who are taking post-secondary educational courses from an accredited institution. Basic guidelines for tuition assistance are as follows:

  • Tuition assistance is not an entitlement. It is available to "encourage employee self-development by creating a work environment in which self-development is encouraged, by assuring that opportunities for training and self-study materials are reasonably available where the employee is stationed, and by recognizing self-initiated improvement in performance," per Executive Order 11348.
  • Army Memo, Sep 22, 1994, subject: New Legislation on Employee Training, summarizes changes to the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994 training law (5 USC 4100, referred to as the Government Employees Training Act, or GETA). This amendment broadened the purpose of training and targeted it to strategic business plans. The amendment allows agencies to fund training in support of its mission and performance goals, rather than limiting training to a worker's official duties, thus, it allows managers to be more responsive to current and future needs of the agency.
  • Section 4107(a) of title 5 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) (1997) prohibits training to obtain an academic degree in order to qualify for appointment to a particular position, or for the sole purpose of providing an opportunity to an employee to obtain one or more academic degrees.
  • Department of Defense implementing policy guidance authorizes degree payments as part of a "planned, systematic, and coordinated program of professional development." This includes academic degree training identified in an appropriate Army Civilian Training, Education, and Development System (ACTEDS) plan, or Army approved competitive leader/management development programs.
  • Tuition assistance requests must be approved by management prior to the course start date. Retroactive approval is not authorized. Tuition assistance reimbursements will be made upon successful completion of the course.
  • Degree payments may be made for any course of post-secondary education delivered through classroom, electronic, or other means, provided that it is administered or conducted by an institution recognized under standards implemented by a national or regional accrediting body (in other words, by an accredited institution).
  • Tuition assistance may include additional expenses such as supplies and equipment (i.e., books), but does not include parking fees or travel costs.
  • Funding for post-secondary educational courses is by the organization; there are no additional funds provided by DA or DOD.
  • The immediate supervisor is responsible for the review and correct decision concerning the approval of tuition assistance for non-government training. The employee must submit a completed SF182, (Request, Authorization, Agreement, Certification of Training and Reimbursement) and obtain supervisory approval prior to registering for the course in order to qualify for reimbursement. Instructions for completion of the DD Form 1556 by the requesting employee, and guidance for the authorizing manager, are available at http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF182.pdf
  • Within CHRA, Civilian Personnel Operations Center (CPOC), the Chief of the Human Resource Development pision (HRDD) must approve all non-government training requests (DD Form 1556) for over 120 days. Additional guidance is available on the CHRA-E web site.

Colleges and Universities

An overseas tour is a great opportunity to work on a getting your undergraduate degree, or to begin work on a first or second master's degree. There are three primary United States accredited institutions of higher learning located in Europe. Visit the Education Center in your community to get started. Click on one of the links below to access the school's home page and get additional information about enrollment and course offerings.

There are also many universities who offer online degree or certificate programs. One source for information is University Alliance. They partner with regionally accredited leading universities to offer you the opportunity to earn a degree or professional certificate anytime, anywhere � at home, at work or on the go. No classroom attendance is ever required. This is just one organization. There are a wide variety of opportunities available. Before embarking on a degree program you should check the Department of Education website to ensure they are are a regionally, nationally, or professionally accredited institution.

Organizations can budget for and provide tuition assistance to employees who are taking post-secondary educational courses from an accredited institution.

Mentoring

Mentoring is a formal or informal relationship between senior and junior employees for the purpose of supporting learning and development. The mentor provides ongoing support, advice, and career direction to an inpidual, serves as a powerful role model for inpidual learning, holds a higher position in the organization, and is usually outside the mentee's chain of command.

According to FM 22-100, mentoring is "the proactive development of the mentee through observation, assessment, coaching, teaching, developmental counseling, and evaluating the results." For Army leaders, mentoring is a responsibility, just as coaching, counseling, and evaluating performance are leader responsibilities.

Army is very committed to mentorship as a development tool. The Army G1 has established a website for employees to register to be a mentor or mentee and to search for a mentor or mentee. The Army Mentoring website also contains a variety of valuable tools including a handbook, a sample agreement, and links to a many resources.

Guidance: