When you're working towards your degree every tiny little bit in financial assistance helps: fact. So naturally, veteran spouse education benefits are a top issue.
That's why when programs or organizations offer scholarships or we learn of new ways to get schooling on the cheap, we tell you. And it's why when I heard that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has expanded a partnership with online learning portal Coursera, to not just military spouses, but caregivers as well, I was excited.
Coursera is a platform that partners with universities worldwide to bring education to online learners. While many of the courses are free to everyone, some specializations cost. And it's in those categories that the benefits for veteran spouses comes in.
Veteran spouse education benefits are now a part of Coursera.
The Coursera veteran spouse education benefits allow users to access one free course within any given specialization. That means, for example, if you want to take data science, you could take one of the $49 classes for free, but you would have to pay for the remaining nine courses within that specialization, which run between $29 and $49 each.
Signing up for the benefit is easy. First, go here and fill out this Coursera veteran opportunity form.
Next you'll receive a confirmation email with a link to follow. Use that to pick your course.
Now, we know that expanding veteran spouse education benefits to cover the whole cost of any given specialization or, heck, a whole degree would be nice. And if you have access to the transferred GI Bill, you're already taking advantage of that. But for those of us that don't, this nice-to-have is an extra little boost.
