Promotion Points, Ranks, and Civilian Education

Service members are actively looking for civilian education opportunities that can help them Ascend The Ranks.

For those serving in the United States military, their education level is taken into consideration for promotion boards, rank increases, and expanded career options through special assignments and command selection. Those service members looking for their next assignment or promotion are actively looking for education opportunities that can help them succeed in their careers.

Roughly two-thirds of our job fair attendees indicated that they were interested in furthering their education – some equipped with the GI Bill.

If you’re looking for veteran students to attend your school, the G.I. Jobs Virtual Job Fair is the best place to meet your desired audience.

Promotion points, ranks, and civilian education

The Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard offer enlisted service members advancement/promotion points and/or incentives for furthering their education. Promotion points play an important role in a servicemember’s journey through the ranks, and there are 4 categories where they can earn promotion points. These include military training, awards or decorations, military education, and civilian education.

Unfortunately, many service members miss their promotion point cut off score by a few points each month. They may have maxed their weapons and PT, and have sufficient credit hours of military education, but still don’t make the cut-off. 

The most commonly overlooked source of promotion points is civilian education. Completing civilian college classes can help raise a soldier’s promotion points above the cut-off. As they progress in their career, a college degree becomes even more important.

  • The Army rewards up to 100 points toward promotions dependant upon rank
  • The Marine Corps grants up to 75 points toward promotions  dependant upon rank
  • The Navy awards advancement points to those who have earned their degrees
  • The Air Force takes education level into consideration for promotions
  • The Coast Guard takes education level into consideration for promotions

To assist those service members looking for advancement opportunities, many educational resources are made available to them, such as:

  • Tuition Assistance
  • Credit-by-Examination funding
  • Education support systems
  • Counseling through Education Service Officers
  • Branch specific Scholarship funding
  • Service Grants

Military spouses and dependents

Military spouses and dependents are also eligible for certain service-specific scholarships, college funds, and other education programs. Check out our list of Military Student Funding You May Not Be Aware Of to learn about other federal, government, VSO, and private sector funding opportunities available that go beyond some of the more well-known resources such as the GI Bill, especially for military spouses and dependents.

If your institution accepts the MyCAA (My Career Advancement Account) Scholarship, learn how you can reach military spouses looking for education opportunities here.

Military DSP and First-Party Data

At VIQTORY, we are using our Military DSP and first-party data to help universities, colleges, and schools directly reach the individuals looking to succeed in their military careers. 

Is your school interested in attracting military students? Learn how a well-recognized Division-1 (NCAA) University scored big by exceeding military spouse enrollment by 175%,  or how ETSU was able to enroll more than 100 military veteran students.

With over 19 years of marketing experience to the military community, we are assisting schools every day in accelerating their student acquisition funnels utilizing the following methods: 

  • Communicating to all 250+ military installations through multi-channels (over 2.1 million active-duty service members!)
  • Leveraging 19 years of first-party data to target your desired demographic (a reach of over 12 million!)
  • Positioning your school to our registered users on GI Jobs & Military Spouse (over 4 million unique views annually). 

Learn how your school can attract students that are committed and dedicated to higher learning.

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