Columbia College Announces 50 Percent Tuition Support Published Sept. 23, 2009 By Columbia College News Release September 23, 2009 -- (COLUMBIA, Mo.) -- Columbia College is proud to announce the Coast Guard Spouse Grant, a new program that offers a 50 percent tuition reduction to spouses of Coast Guard servicemembers. The new program, modeled after the Department of Defense's (DoD) spouse tuition scholarship program known as the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (MyCAA), offers financial tuition support for eligible Coast Guard spouses. "The Department of Defense's Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts program represents a unique educational opportunity for spouses in every other branch of the military," said Ramona McAfee, assistant dean for military services at Columbia College. "As a premier military-education provider, it's important to offer financial support to Coast Guard spouses as well." The Coast Guard Spouse Grant provides financial support for eligible Coast Guard spouses comparable to that of other servicemember spouses using the MyCAA program. This support is equivalent to a 50 percent reduction per credit hour for a maximum amount of $6,000 per spouse. Coast Guard spouses are not restricted to any particular Columbia College campus. The college currently has one campus on a Coast Guard base, in Alameda, Calif., and 17 other campuses on military bases. There are currently more than 300 members of the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserve attending Columbia College. In addition, Columbia College has more than 8,000 military learners enrolled online or through its nationwide campuses. The new program applies towards tuition only, and the student would pay 50 percent of the advertised tuition rate. Other Columbia College discounts, such as the Military Spouse Tuition Discount, cannot be combined with this program. Students must be degree-seeking and fully admitted to Columbia College. Columbia College is consistently ranked one of the top military-friendly colleges in the nation. G.I. Jobs magazine ranked the college in the top 15 percent of all schools based on the college's military-friendly policies. The Edge named Columbia College its No. 14 military school, as determined by active-duty servicemember course enrollments. Columbia College also has been recognized as a "gold standard" leader in military-friendly education by Military Advanced Education. For more information on the Coast Guard Spouse Grant, visit http://www.ccis.edu/cgsg/ or call the Patrick AFB Campus at (321)783-5506. Columbia College, a private, nonprofit institution founded in 1851 in Columbia, Mo., educates 25,000 students each year and has more than 61,000 alumni worldwide. For more information, visit www.ccis.edu.