Army Tuition Assistance: What You Need to Know
Army Tuition Assistance: What You Need to Know
Want to use the Army Tuition Assistance program? Each military service branch has service criteria for Tuition Assistance funds. Here is a breakdown of the Army Tuition Assistance program.
Who Qualifies for the Army Tuition Assistance Program
Qualifying active-duty, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve Soldiers may apply for Army Tuition Assistance. Enlisted Soldiers must have sufficient service time left on their contract to complete the requested course.
Commissioned officers and commissioned warrant officers incur a service obligation that runs parallel with existing service agreements. Commissioned officers remain eligible for Tuition Assistance but cannot use the Credentialing Assistance program.
RELATED: Schools Fully Covered By Tuition Assistance
Army TA Service Obligation
Officers incur an official service obligation upon using Tuition Assistance. Active-duty officers incur a two-year Active Duty Service Obligation. Reserve component officers incur a four-year Reserve Duty Service Obligation.
The Army calculates this commitment from the completion date of each funded course. Obligations for overlapping courses run concurrently rather than consecutively.
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What Can You Use Army Tuition Assistance for?
- TA provides financial support for voluntary off-duty education programs, including classroom and online study.
- Soldiers must use Tuition Assistance for an academic certificate, an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree, or a master’s degree.
- Funding does not cover doctoral degrees, first professional degrees, or lateral degrees at an educational level the Soldier already holds.
- Soldiers can pursue one degree or certificate program at a time.
- A Soldier who already holds a bachelor’s degree may use Tuition Assistance to complete a graduate certificate.
- The Army authorizes one academic certificate across a career, capped at 21 semester hours.
How To Apply For Army Tuition Assistance
Soldiers submit requests through the ArmyIgnitED portal. First-time applicants must complete the ArmyIgnitED 101 training and the Career Path Decide assessment before submitting an education goal.
Once an education counselor approves the education goal, the Soldier can establish and submit course funding requests.
How Much Does Tuition Assistance Cover?
The Army covers up to 100 percent of tuition costs within Department of Defense caps: up to $250 per semester hour, $166.67 per quarter hour, or $16.67 per clock hour. Soldiers receive authorization for up to 18 semester hours per fiscal year. Tuition Assistance does not cover institutional fees or books.
The Army enforces an annual ceiling of $4,500 per fiscal year. This $4,500 limit combines Tuition Assistance and Credentialing Assistance funding. Credentialing Assistance funding is capped at $2,000 per fiscal year ($1,000 for aviation credentials). Eligible Soldiers may pursue one credential per fiscal year, with a maximum career limit of three credentials within 10 years.
What are the Limits on Army Tuition Assistance?
Tuition Assistance pays for up to 130 semester hours of undergraduate credit or completion of a baccalaureate degree, whichever occurs first. The Army limits graduate funding to 39 semester hours or completion of a master’s degree.
Soldiers must maintain good academic standing to retain funding. Undergraduate students must maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA after finishing 15 semester hours. Graduate students must maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA after completing 6 semester hours.
Two-Tier Army Tuition Assistance Eligibility
Tier One covers Soldiers who have not earned a bachelor’s degree and seek an undergraduate certificate, associate degree, or bachelor’s degree. It also covers Soldiers who hold a bachelor’s degree earned without Tuition Assistance and want to pursue a master’s degree or graduate certificate.
Enlisted Soldiers must complete Advanced Individual Training, warrant officers must complete the Warrant Officer Basic Course, and officers must complete the Basic Officer Leader Course.
Tier Two applies to Soldiers who used Tuition Assistance to earn any portion of an undergraduate degree and now seek a master’s degree. Enlisted Soldiers must complete the Advanced Leaders Course to unlock Tier Two. Warrant officers must graduate from the Warrant Officer Advanced Course. Officers must graduate from the Captains Career Course or an equivalent branch school.
What to Know About Tuition Assistance?
- Soldiers must submit course requests through ArmyIgnitED no earlier than 60 days and no later than 7 days before class begins.
- Army policy allows Soldiers to take two courses before submitting and having an official Evaluated Degree Plan approved in the portal. After two courses, the system places a hold on additional funding until the academic institution uploads the official plan.
- When a school participates in data sharing with ArmyIgnitED, requests that meet all guidelines can be processedbe processed automatically. If an account has administrative holds, exceeds credit maximums, or involves manual entry, an Army Education Counselor reviews the file.
- If a school does not list courses directly in the portal catalog, Soldiers must enter course information manually and route the request to their education center for manual review.
RELATED :
- Tuition Assistance Overview
- Army Education Programs
- National Guard Tuition Assistance
- Reserve Tuition Assistance
- Colleges Fully Covered by Military Tuition Assistance
- Army ROTC Scholarships and List of Colleges
About the author
Michelle Nati is a contributing writer to CollegeRecon who has written about higher education and finance for Granita Media/Big Edition site Work and Money. She's also written law content for Leaf Group's Legal Beagle site and is a ghostwriter of non-fiction books. She lives in Los Angeles and spends her spare time combing flea markets for vintage photos and decor and playing with her dogs, Jellybean and Jukebox.
