Lining up my FY25 education plan and I want to exhaust funded options before spending a dime out of pocket. Has anyone combined service Tuition Assistance with DAU credentials or university partnerships to build a solid contracting/PM track without running afoul of ethics rules on vendor-sponsored training? I’m especially cautious about contractor-hosted “free” sessions from active offerors — what programs have passed policy review for you and delivered value?
Map the DAU creds you want first, then use TA on a university that gives ACE credit for those creds so you’re stacking toward a contracting/PM degree without paying twice — start here: https://www.dau.edu/credentials. For contractor “free” sessions, run them past your ethics office under the “widely attended gathering” standard in DoD 5500.07‑R and skip anything that’s marketing (free pizza isn’t a learning objective). Which school are you leaning toward?
Quick example: I front-loaded DAU credentials (https://www.dau.edu/credentials) and had UMGC post the ACE credit to my JST before I filed my TA plan, so TA only covered remaining courses and there was no double-funding; for contractor “free” sessions I ran invites through the ethics office and only attended when cleared as a widely attended event with no meals or swag… Does your Ed Center accept DAU credit on your JST yet, @rpearson23?
One thing that saved me: before locking your FY25 TA, get your ethics office to issue a quick WAG memo for any vendor-hosted “free” sessions and attach it — along with your school’s transfer eval — to your TA packet so the counselor clears it and you don’t pay twice for overlapping DAU work. @OP if you need a reference, SOCO’s guidance is here: https://dodsoco.mil.
Ask your university for an official transfer-credit eval using your JST (https://jst.doded.mil) and ACE-recommended DAU credits first, then point TA only at the gaps so you’re not double-paying or hitting repeat flags… Small caveat: some programs cap ACE/nontraditional hours or require upper-division residency, so confirm that before you submit your FY25 plan. Which service are you in — Army, Navy, and AF handle repeat credit in TA a bit differently, so pack your ruck accordingly.