
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-107 Section 512(a)]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-107 Section 512(b)]
[CITE: 10USC12205]

 
                         TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES
 
                     Subtitle E--Reserve Components
 
                      PART II--PERSONNEL GENERALLY
 
              CHAPTER 1205--APPOINTMENT OF RESERVE OFFICERS
 
Sec. 12205. Commissioned officers: appointment; educational 
        requirement
        
    (a) In General.--No person may be appointed to a grade above the 
grade of first lieutenant in the Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, or 
Marine Corps Reserve or to a grade above the grade of lieutenant (junior 
grade) in the Naval Reserve, or be federally recognized in a grade above 
the grade of first lieutenant as a member of the Army National Guard or 
Air National Guard, unless that person has been awarded a baccalaureate 
degree by a qualifying educational institution.
    (b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) does not apply to the following:
        (1) The appointment to or recognition in a higher grade of a 
    person who is appointed in or assigned for service in a health 
    profession for which a baccalaureate degree is not a condition of 
    original appointment or assignment.
        (2) The appointment in the Naval Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve 
    of a person appointed for service as an officer designated as a 
    limited duty officer.
        (3) The appointment in the Naval Reserve of a person appointed 
    for service under the Naval Aviation Cadet (NAVCAD) program or the 
    Seaman to Admiral program.
        (4) The appointment to or recognition in a higher grade of any 
    person who was appointed to, or federally recognized in, the grade 
    of captain or, in the case of the Navy, lieutenant before October 1, 
    1995.
        (5) Recognition in the grade of captain or major in the Alaska 
    Army National Guard of a person who resides permanently at a 
    location in Alaska that is more than 50 miles from each of the 
    cities of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, Alaska, by paved road 
    and who is serving in a Scout unit or a Scout supporting unit.

    (c) Qualifying Educational Institutions.--(1) A qualifying 
educational institution for purposes of this section is an educational 
institution that is accredited or that meets the requirements of 
paragraph (2).
    (2)(A) An unaccredited educational institution shall be considered 
to be a qualifying educational institution for purposes of the 
appointment or recognition of a person who is a graduate of that 
institution if the Secretary concerned determines that (as of the year 
of the graduation of that person from that institution) at least three 
educational institutions that are accredited and that maintain Reserve 
Officers' Training Corps programs each generally grant baccalaureate 
degree credit for completion of courses of the unaccredited institution 
equivalent to the baccalaureate degree credit granted by the 
unaccredited institution for the completion of those courses.
    (B) In order to assist the Secretary concerned in making 
determinations under subparagraph (A), any unaccredited institution that 
seeks to be considered to be a qualifying educational institution for 
purposes of this paragraph shall submit to the Secretary of Defense each 
year such information as the Secretary may require concerning the 
program of instruction at that institution.
    (C) In the case of a person with a degree from an unaccredited 
institution that is a qualifying educational institution under this 
paragraph, the degree may not have been awarded more than eight years 
before the date on which the person is to be appointed to, or recognized 
in, the grade of captain or, in the case of the Naval Reserve, 
lieutenant, in order for that person to be considered for purposes of 
subsection (a) to have been awarded a baccalaureate degree by a 
qualifying educational institution.

(Added Pub. L. 102-484, div. A, title V, Sec. 515(a), Oct. 23, 1992, 106 
Stat. 2406, Sec. 596; renumbered Sec. 12205 and amended Pub. L. 103-337, 
div. A, title V, Secs. 519, 520, title XVI, Sec. 1662(c)(2), Oct. 5, 
1994, 108 Stat. 2755, 2990; Pub. L. 104-201, div. A, title V, Secs. 504, 
505, title X, Sec. 1074(a)(22), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2512, 2660.)


                            Prior Provisions

    Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in Pub. 
L. 102-190, div. A, title V, Sec. 523, Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1363, 
which was set out as a note under section 591 [now 12201] of this title, 
prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103-35, Sec. 203(a).


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104-201, Sec. 1074(a)(22), substituted 
``No person'' for ``After September 30, 1995, no person''.
    Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 104-201, Sec. 505, inserted ``or the Seaman 
to Admiral program'' after ``(NAVCAD) program''.
    Subsec. (c)(2)(C). Pub. L. 104-201, Sec. 504, substituted ``eight 
years'' for ``three years''.
    1994--Pub. L. 103-337, Sec. 1662(c)(2), renumbered section 596 of 
this title as this section.
    Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-337, Sec. 519(1), substituted ``a 
qualifying educational institution'' for ``an accredited educational 
institution''.
    Subsec. (b)(2), (3). Pub. L. 103-337, Sec. 520(b), substituted ``a 
person'' for ``an individual''.
    Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 103-337, Sec. 520(a), added par. (5).
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103-337, Sec. 519(2), added subsec. (c).


  Authority for Temporary Waiver for Certain Army Reserve Officers of 
   Baccalaureate Degree Requirement for Promotion of Reserve Officers

    Pub. L. 105-261, div. A, title V, Sec. 516, Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 
2008, provided that:
    ``(a) Waiver Authority for Army OCS Graduates.--The Secretary of the 
Army may waive the applicability of section 12205(a) of title 10, United 
States Code, to any officer who before the date of the enactment of this 
Act [Oct. 17, 1998] was commissioned through the Army Officer Candidate 
School. Any such waiver shall be made on a case-by-case basis, 
considering the individual circumstances of the officer involved, and 
may continue in effect for no more than 2 years after the waiver is 
granted. The Secretary may provide for such a waiver to be effective 
before the date of the waiver, as appropriate in an individual case.
    ``(b) Expiration of Authority.--A waiver under this section may not 
be granted after September 30, 2000.''
