Chicago ? While other members of Governors State University’s Class of 2002 were accepting their diplomas, fellow graduate Lt. Dean Dunlop was 6,000 miles away leading officers in combat training.

Like others, Dunlop earned his bachelor of arts degree from the suburban Chicago school by taking child development and psychology courses, but he did it via CD-ROM, often doing homework on his laptop after a 12-hour work shift in Japan.

Service members like Dunlop are no longer waiting for active duty to end before starting college, instead earning MBAs from Iraq and taking computer courses in Afghanistan as part of the military’s commitment to lifelong learning.

“The Navy has made such a big push on educating their sailors,” said Dunlop, a 22-year Navy veteran serving on the USS Hue City. “Since I’ve been in, I think the armed forces are the most educated they’ve ever been.”

Military officials say the push toward higher education is nothing new. But technology has made it easier for nomadic service members to get their degrees via the Internet or satellite classes beamed to ships or bases.

The Army launched eArmyU in January 2001 to add an online component to an education system that already includes on- and off-base classroom instruction. The program lets soldiers earn certificates and degrees from 27 member colleges.

Betty Nass, program coordinator for eArmyU, said the idea was to recruit and retain soldiers and prepare them for the modern military.

“It’s anytime, anywhere,” she said.

All military branches offer some sort of distance learning program, often with the promise of full tuition reimbursement.

U.S. Navy Lt. Dean Dunlop works in his quarters aboard the USS Hue City off the coast of Florida. Dunlop earned a bachelor of arts degree from the suburban Chicago Governors State University by taking child development and psychology courses via CD-ROM, often powering up his laptop to do homework after completing a 12-hour day of work.

Colleges also encourage enrollment by offering credit for military training and making it easy to transfer credits. About 1,700 institutions belong to the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges; members agree to accept each other’s credits within degree networks.

The payoff is more men and women staying in the service — and a more educated armed forces, according to Rear Adm. Ann Rondeau, commander of the Naval Service Training Command. “People see the Navy and the military walking the walk that we want to invest in you,” Rondeau said.

Professors say service members are less likely than the average student to drop out or fail, despite their rigorous schedules.

“The biggest difference I’ve noticed with military students is they tend to be very responsible and they tend not to make as many excuses for not turning in work,” said Clifford Cast, a professor of information technology for AIU Online, the Web-based campus of American InterContinental University.