The Labor Day holiday is now behind us and most, if not all, of our children are back in school. But education isn’t just for our kids. Let me ask you, do you have a college degree?

If your answer is no, then today’s column is for you. If you already have a degree, today’s column is also for you.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to education.  Everyone has different needs and different desires as well as different talents. The good news is that there are not only countless universities, colleges, and other methods from which to get an education but also various means of financing it. The options are numerous and easily tailored to your career, family, and resource needs.

Before I go any further, let me repeat something written in this column in July. Back then, I asked whether education really matters. The answer then, and now, is emphatically yes. First, higher education is important for your personal growth. 

Every class you take engages your mind, improves your critical thinking and communication skills, and broadens your global perspective. Second, a degree is vital for your professional growth.  You bring new skills and ideas to your workplace. Third, people are the Navy’s asymmetric advantage. Education broadens that advantage by focusing your education-enhanced skills onto the job and the command’s mission.

The opportunity to go to college or university and obtain a degree remains at the top of the list of reasons that the nation’s men and women join the Navy and a primary reason that our Sailors stay Navy. 

That opportunity exists. Notwithstanding deployments, operational tempo, and other commitments, Sailors need to take advantage of that opportunity—it has been consciously afforded by Navy leadership. Likewise, leaders need to ensure that their people have the time and other resources to pursue education, both on and off duty.

Financing that education should not be a challenge.  There are a lot of ways to fund an education.  In addition to regular loans through financial institutions, there are numerous Federal and other student loan and grant programs as well as individual financial aid packages available though education institutions. 

Effective June 9, 2006, tuition assistance is available for all Sailors and will pay for 100 percent of tuition up to $250 per semester hour for a maximum of 16 semester hours per fiscal year. The total dollar limit for each fiscal year remains at $4,500.

Another option is the Montgomery G.I. Bill for those Sailors who took advantage of it when offered. 

Finally, commissioned officers have the opportunity to utilize the Graduate Education Voucher program managed by Naval Postgraduate School to obtain a graduate degree at civilian institutions.

Speaking of officers and graduate education, my advice is simple:  get your master’s degree.  There are tremendous benefits for both you and the Navy when you earn a graduate degree.  Don’t let your education stop with a bachelor’s degree. 

There are so many opportunities available at Naval Postgraduate School, the Naval War College, and National Defense University and through the Graduate Education Voucher and Civilian Institutions program. There is no reason to not obtain a graduate degree during your Navy career. 

A degree is no longer optional for advancement to certain pay grades. To be eligible for advancement to senior chief petty officer for the FY-2011 selection board and beyond, Sailors must earn a rating relevant associate’s degree from an accredited institution. 

Make your first stop the Navy College Office. They not only have the right information and forms, they also can work with you to enroll in the Navy College Program for Afloat College Education (NCPACE), academic skills testing, DANTES standard subject tests (DSST), college level examination program (CLEP), and Excelsior College examinations. 

Harnessing your knowledge, ideas, and experience enables the Navy to remain a potent and powerful force. My vision is that I can walk up to Sailors around the region and ask not when or if college is in their future but what degree they’re pursuing.