Coast Guard

Cost for the Naval Academy Preparatory School and Profile of Minority Enrollment Gao ID: RCED-94-131 April 12, 1994

Although the Coast Guard says that the cost for sending a Coast Guard cadet to the Naval Academy Preparatory School in the 1993-94 academic year averaged $20,441, GAO estimates the cost at about $15,900. GAO's estimate includes the cadet's pay; expenses for cadet's food, clothing, and travel; pay for three Coast Guard instructors assigned to the school; and other miscellaneous expenses. The Navy does not charge the Coast Guard for the cost of tuition. GAO's estimate is lower because the Coast Guard did not use accurate pay rates and did not consider student dropout rates. Overall, GAO estimates that it will cost the Coast Guard nearly $600,000 to send 37 students to the preparatory school during the 1993-94 academic year. The Coast Guard's use of the Naval Academy Preparatory School has improved the minority profile at the Coast Guard Academy, which is the program's main purpose.

GAO found that the: (1) Coast Guard overestimated the average cost for sending a Coast Guard cadet to the School by about $4,500 per student; (2) actual average annual cost was about $15,900 per student; (3) Coast Guard did not use accurate pay rates or consider dropout rates in its estimate; and (4) Coast Guard's use of the School has improved the minority profile at the Coast Guard Academy, since 31 percent of the average total number of minority students who graduate from the Academy annually attended the School.



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