An analysis of the Navy's graduate education program and follow-on utilization of officers by designator and subspecialty

Abstract

This study analyzes the utilization and retention of Naval officers who have received Navy funding for their graduate education. Two databases are used to analyze utilization and retention: the 1993 officer master file and a cohort file of officers who were commissioned in 1980. The 1993 officer master file looks at utilization first by all subspecialties together, second by gender, and finally by designator. The cohort file is used to analyze both utilization and retention. The results indicate that, overall, the Navy receives a relatively good return on its investment. Specifically, the Restricted Line and Staff Corps officer communities have the best utilization rates. The study reveals that Unrestricted Line officers tend to have relatively lower utilization rates than officers in other communities. The cohort data indicate that fully-funded graduate education subspecialists generally have a higher retention rate than their counterparts without fully- funded graduate education.