Department of Defense Three-Tier Education System
The Department of Defense education enlistment criteria, known as the Three-Tier System, is used to select applicants with the greatest likelihood of completing their initial military service obligation. Statistics demonstrate that whose who completed a Tier I education are more likely to complete a full tour in the military than those who do not.
Tier I
In a nutshell, a Tier I classification is a classification/credential that removes any education caps and allows for a service minimum ASVAB qualification score. Tier I applies to individuals who receive a diploma from a secondary school that is legally operating, or otherwise completes a program of secondary education in compliance with the education laws of the state in which the applicant resides. To join while attending, you must have at least 75 percent of the credits earned towards your high school graduation requirements, per academic year.
This applies high schools, accredited Home Study, Distance Learning, Independent Study, Self-Study, Correspondence School, Cyber School and Virtual Learning Programs.
Use this link for a much more detailed explanation of Tier I credentials.
Tier II
The most common Tier II Credential is the General Education Diploma (GED) (Interestingly, it was the United States military, during World War II, that asked the American Council on Education to develop the GED as a method to measure a person's academic ability). Other Tier II education resources are:
- National Guard Youth Challenge Program (NGYCP), A General Educational Development (GED) Certificate or other test-based credential obtained by completing a 22-week National Guard Youth Challenge Program (NGYCP).
- High School Certificate of Attendance, Completion or Special Education, An attendance-based high school certificate issued to students based on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that involves community experiences, employment, training, daily living skills and post-school transition skills which differ from the traditional high school graduation requirements. Requirements:
- credential with high school transcripts.
- Occupational Program, Certificate received for completing a 6-
month vocational-technical program and a minimum of 11 years of secondary education. Requirements:
- occupational program credential or certificate issued by a non-correspondence vocational-technical program with high school transcripts.
Tier II education requires a minimum of a 50 ASVAB QT (All Tier II currently require a 31QT on the ASVAB during the pilot program which began November 4, 2022 and will run, minimally, until the end of 2024).
Tier III
A Tier III classification is for those not currently attending high school or alternative education programs and hold no secondary or post-secondary education credential. For the Navy, those classified as Tier III are not enlistment eligible due to a historically high first-term enlistment dropout rate.
UPDATE: Effective, January 22, 2024, recruitment of those with no education credentials, Tier III, are eligible to join the Navy. The applicants will require a minimum of a 50QT on the ASVAB, completed police record checks (your recruiter will get these), and a completed DD form 370 (your recruiter will also get this filled out reflecting highest grade completed from the last high school attended). Conduct waivers for Major Misconduct Offenses will not be considered. Tier III Applicants are not eligible for an enlistment bonus.
Stay in School Policy
Individuals enrolled in school at the beginning of the current school year will not be scheduled to ship until their senior class’s graduation or commencement ceremony.
Graduates, including mid-year graduates, may ship prior to their end-of-year commencement ceremony provided they have a final transcript and, if still a minor, obtained written consent from their parent or legal guardian.
Coaching or advising students by military recruiters to drop out of school for any reason is strictly prohibited.
If you have any questions after reading the article, either contact your local recruiter, or you can ask me directly.
Page written and maintained by NCCM Thomas Goering, USN (Retired).
