Agilent Technologies, Inc.

New York Stock Exchange
Back to all articles
Neutral 0

Pentagon's break with Ivy League leaves colleges bracing for further changes to military programs - AP News

📉 The Trump administration is ending longstanding ties with prestigious Ivy League universities and severing military fellowship programs that train future generals.

🤝 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is shifting focus toward Christian schools and public universities while targeting institutions he labels as "anti-American."

✂️ More than a dozen elite colleges have been expelled from the Senior Service College Fellowship, which serves as a pipeline to upper-level military leadership.

💰 Current Tuition Assistance funding for active-duty service members remains largely intact, covering roughly 200,000 students annually across nearly any U.S. college.

📊 Pentagon aid benefits big online universities and for-profit colleges more than the targeted Ivy League schools according to an AP analysis of 2024 data.

🔍 About 350 military members used Tuition Assistance at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and other institutions now facing cuts in the 2024 data reviewed by the AP.

⚠️ Critics warn this marks a radical shift from past policies that left enrollment choices to service members without Pentagon interference.

🔬 The cuts target technical expertise in areas like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and quantum computing held at the elite universities being cut.

🎓 Harvard is facing deep sanctions banning all graduate-level professional military education and fellowships following President Trump's previous criticism.

⏳ Harvard's School of Government allowed active-duty members to defer admission for up to four years while seeking expedited consideration elsewhere.

💼 Defense Secretary Hegseth suggested 15 replacement institutions, placing Liberty University at the top for promoting intellectual freedom.

📚 About 350 military members attended targeted Ivy League schools compared to over 50,000 attending American Public University System using Tuition Assistance.

🏛️ Public universities receive the largest share of military students under the program with about 4 in 10 choosing those campuses.

🎯 The Senior Service College Fellowship currently serves fewer than 80 students across 15 universities before this fall's implementation of cuts.

🗺️ Retired Army General James McConville and current Army Corps of Engineers Chief Lt. Gen. William Graham Jr. are among the graduates impacted.

Bullish Signals
  • Despite cuts to elite institutions, Pentagon funding through Tuition Assistance continues to reach approximately 200,000 active-duty or reserve service members across hundreds of campuses.
  • Public universities enroll the largest share of military students using Tuition Assistance, with about 4 in 10 choosing those campuses for their programs.
  • Harvard has allowed active-duty service members to defer admission for up to four years and is arranging expedited consideration at other colleges like University of Chicago and Tufts.
  • Liberty University is highlighted as a top replacement candidate, already enrolling more than 7,000 students using Tuition Assistance with 120,000 in online programs.
  • The Pentagon's alternative suggestions include 15 schools chosen for promoting intellectual freedom and having minimal public expressions in opposition of the Department.
Risk Factors
  • The Trump administration's campaign to end 'wokeness' in the military is reshaping its relationship with U.S. higher education, breaking off longstanding ties with prestigious universities that have trained generals and admirals.
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expelling more than a dozen elite colleges from a military fellowship that serves as a pipeline to the upper ranks of leadership creates uncertainty for future promotions and career development for service members.
  • The Pentagon is targeting graduate degrees and certificates specifically, which could disrupt advanced professional training for mid-career personnel on their way to leadership or highly specialized roles.
  • An Associated Press analysis finds that schools beyond the Ivy League are far more likely to benefit from the Pentagon aid, including big online universities and some for-profit colleges that have been dogged by fraud accusations.
  • More than a third of students using the Tuition Assistance benefit attended for-profit colleges, surpassing the number who attended any type of private, nonprofit college, raising concerns about the quality and credibility of degrees supported by taxpayer funds.
  • The program at American Public University System has a graduation rate of just 22% despite funding from hundreds of campuses including highly selective ones Hegseth says have 'gorged themselves' on taxpayer money.
  • Experts worry that carving out elite universities with top experts in areas like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing could sacrifice critical technical expertise needed by the military against modern threats.
  • Harvard is being hit with deeper sanctions barring all graduate-level professional military education at Harvard, along with fellowships and certificates, potentially limiting access to world-class training for active-duty service members.
  • Lindsey Tepe of the American Council on Education warns that this is 'clearly the start of a broader effort to reshape military education' and sets a bad precedent that could lead to further cuts to Tuition Assistance or other military programs.
  • Liberty University, suggested as a replacement for cut campuses, has enrolling more than 7,000 students using Tuition Assistance but has been shaken by scandals in recent years, raising concerns about institutional stability.
  • Hegseth returning his diploma from Harvard in a 2022 Fox News segment symbolizes the administration's ideological stance which may be viewed negatively by traditional military institutions and alumni networks.
Full Analysis
The Trump administration is actively reshaping its relationship with U.S. higher education through a campaign led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to eliminate what he terms "wokeness" from the military, resulting in severed ties with prestigious Ivy League institutions and replacing them with Christian schools and public universities. Last week, Hegseth expelled over a dozen elite colleges from the Senior Service College Fellowship, a high-profile program designed as a pipeline for mid-career military personnel aiming for upper leadership roles. This realignment specifically targets graduate degrees and certificates while leaving intact the broader Tuition Assistance program, which currently supports roughly 200,000 active-duty or reserve service members across hundreds of campuses with funding up to $4,500 annually. According to an Associated Press analysis of 2024 data, approximately 350 military personnel used Tuition Assistance at the schools now being cut, including Harvard, Johns Hopkins University, and George Washington University. In stark contrast, over 50,000 students accessed the same benefit through the American Public University System, a for-profit entity with a 22% graduation rate where more than a third of military participants enrolled. Critics argue this shift represents an "incredible overreach," with Lindsey Tepe of the American Council on Education warning that the Pentagon is setting a bad precedent by dictating educational choices for service members. William Hubbard, a Marine Corps veteran and vice president at Veterans Education Success, noted that such moves could sacrifice technical expertise in fields like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, potentially benefiting adversaries instead. The administration’s approach has triggered specific administrative responses from affected institutions. Harvard University, which Hegseth symbolically returned his diploma to in 2022 after earning a master’s degree there, announced that active-duty service members can defer admission for up to four years or seek expedited consideration at other colleges like the University of Chicago and Tufts University. In its memo outlining these changes, Hegseth criticized select elite universities as "factories of anti-American resentment" and proposed 15 replacement institutions, with Liberty University topping the list. Liberty is a Christian school in Virginia with significant online enrollment, already hosting over 7,000 students under the Tuition Assistance program, though recent scandals have previously shaken its campus. The Pentagon memo confirmed that fewer than 80 students currently participate in the fellowship at the remaining universities, including Carnegie Mellon and MIT, as these specific programs are being phased out this fall.