Tuition Assistance

September, 15 2007

Overview

The Tuition Assistance (TA) program provides financial assistance for voluntary off-duty education programs in support of a Soldier's professional and personal self-development goals. All Active Duty Soldiers (officers, warrant officers, enlisted) are authorized to participate in the TA program through the GoArmyEd portal (subject to qualifying criteria). This includes members of the Active Guard Reserve, as well as Reserve Component Soldiers who are activated under U.S. Code Title 10 or Title 32.

Tuition Assistance Provisions

The Department of Defense (DoD) has directed a uniform TA fiscal policy across the military services. Currently (Dec 05), the established semester hour cap is $250 and each Soldier has an annual ceiling of $4,500. The Army will pay 100 percent of the tuition and authorized fees charged by a college up to the established semester hour cap and annual ceiling.

Authorized fees covered by TA are mandatory fees that are associated with an individual course enrollment. Non-reimbursable fees and fees that are not linked to individual course enrollments (e.g., application fees, graduation fees) are not covered by TA. Further details on fees and the provisions of TA are found in AR 621-5. http://www.usapa.army.mil/pdffiles/r621_5.pdf

Tuition Assistance Coverage

TA is available for courses that are offered in the classroom or by distance learning. The courses must be offered by colleges that are accredited by accrediting agencies that are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. A list of approved accrediting agencies may be found at www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg6.html#NationallyRecognized.

In addition to degree programs, TA is available to Soldiers to complete a high school diploma and to complete certificate programs. However, TA will not be approved to complete credentials at the same or a lower educational level than that which the Soldier already holds. TA is not authorized for programs beyond the master’s degree.

Further details on the programs covered by TA are found in AR 621-5.

Tuition Assistance Eligibility

Most Soldiers qualify for TA. Details of exceptions are found in AR 621-5.

By law, officers incur an Active Duty service obligation (ADSO) of two years when they use TA. The ADSO is calculated from the date of completion of the last course for which TA was used.

TA is available to all Army components. However, TA is funded separately for the Regular Army, the Army Reserve, and the Army National Guard. Each of these components has its own procedures for obtaining TA. Activated Reserve Component Soldiers and the Active Guard Reserve receive TA and other education support from Regular Army (Active Duty) resources and should use the GoArmyEd portal to access TA. Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers in drilling status do not access TA through the GoArmyEd portal and should refer to the following Web sites for information on obtaining TA:

The USAR WEBS site is: https://www.armyreserveeducation.com
The NGB iMARC site is: https://www.nationalguardbenefits.com

Non-Army servicemembers must obtain TA through their own Service. This policy has been mutually agreed upon by all Services.

Tuition Assistance Procedures - Initial

1. All TA for Active Duty Soldiers must be requested through the GoArmyEd portal. The first step is for the Soldier to obtain a username and password via the GoArmyEd public Web site: www.goarmyed.com.

2. The next step is to establish the educational goal. In order to obtain TA, the Soldier must declare a specific degree/credential as an educational goal and obtain a degree map. TA will only be approved for courses that are listed on the degree map or lead to the goal. Soldiers should review their personal goals and look at information available on the GoArmyEd portal.

3. We strongly recommend that Soldiers take the GoArmyEd training course, which is available on the portal.

4. The Soldier should print the TA Statement of Understanding (SOU) from the GoArmyEd portal, sign it, and obtain a signature from the Unit Commander. The TA SOU should be submitted to the Soldier’s Army Education Center. The Army Education Center can be identified via the "Points of Contact" link in GoArmyEd. The TA SOU will be uploaded into the Soldier’s eFile by the counselor. The Soldier may submit the TA SOU in person at the Education Center, by email, by regular mail, or by fax.

5. Soldiers must contact an Education Center counselor for validation of their chosen educational goal and activation of the Soldier’s access to the TA functionality of the GoArmyEd portal.

Tuition Assistance Procedures - Ongoing

1. Soldiers request TA through GoArmyEd, which is accessible from any computer with Internet access.

2. TA is requested on a course-by-course basis.

3. GoArmyEd will notify the Soldier whether the TA is approved or rejected. If the TA request is rejected, GoArmyEd will advise the Soldier of the reason and on next steps.

4. All withdrawals must take place through the GoArmyEd portal. Soldiers who receive an "F" grade will be required to repay TA. Soldiers who are unable to complete a course due to military duties must ensure that they withdraw from the course through GoArmyEd to ensure that they will not be charged.

5. If the Soldier wishes to use TA to take a class with a college that does not participate in the electronic course upload, registration, invoicing, and grade submission processes of GoArmyEd, the TA requests must be made using the Reimbursement Request Process. A reimbursement request form must be completed in GoArmyEd. It will be routed to an Army Education Counselor to be manually reviewed and approved. Soldiers should allow extra time for this. If approved for TA, the Soldier will be notified by email. Soldiers must print the approved TA Reimbursement Form from GoArmyEd and enroll in the class directly with the college. The Soldier will self-pay for the class. Reimbursement for these courses will be made directly to the Soldier, rather than the college. Soldiers must ensure that the college submits grades to the Army for the class to receive TA reimbursement from the Army.

6. Soldiers must submit a new, signed TA SOU annually. No further TA will be approved until an Army Education Counselor has verified the receipt of the TA SOU.

7. Further details regarding TA procedures are outlined in the GoArmyEd Training which is accessible by clicking the Training link from the GoArmyEd homepage after logging into the portal.

Courtesy of GoArmyEd