All four service branches and the U.S. Coast Guard offer financial assistance for voluntary, off-duty education programs in support of service members’ personal and professional goals. The program is open to officers, warrant officers and enlisted active-duty service personnel. In addition, members of the National Guard and Reserve Components may be eligible for TA based on their service eligibility.

The TA program is a benefit that is available only while you’re in the service. To be eligible for TA, an enlisted service member must have enough time remaining in service to complete the course for which he or she has applied. After the completion of a course, an officer using TA must fulfill a service obligation that runs parallel with – not in addition to – any existing service obligation.

The TA program may fund up to 100% of your college tuition and certain fees with the following limits:

• Not to exceed $250 per semester credit hour or $166 per quarter credit hour
• Not to exceed $4,500 per fiscal year, Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

While the TA program is offered by the services, the Department of Veterans Affairs administers a variety of education benefit programs. Some of the VA programs, such as the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008, also known as the Post-9/11 GI Bill®, can work well with the TA program, as it can supplement fees not covered by TA.

The TA program is a benefit that is available only while you’re in the service. However, the Post-9/11 GI Bill® funds are available to you after you leave the military.

• If your service ended before Jan. 1, 2013, you have 15 years to use this benefit.
• If your service ended on or after Jan. 1, 2013, the benefit won’t expire.

Tuition assistance will cover the following expenses:

• Tuition
• Course-specific fees such as laboratory fee or online course fee

NOTE: All fees must directly relate to the specific course enrollment of the service member.

Tuition assistance does not cover the following expenses:

• Books and course materials
• Flight training fees
• Taking the same course twice
• Continuing education units, or CEUs

You will have to reimburse any TA funds already paid if any of the following situations occur:

• Leaving the service before the course ends
• Quitting the course for reasons other than personal illness, military transfer or mission requirements
• Failing the course

The Tuition Assistance Top-Up program allows funds from the Montgomery GI Bill® Active Duty or the Post-9/11 GI Bill® to be used for tuition and fees for high-cost courses that are not fully covered by TA funds.

• Eligibility: To use the TA top-up, your service branch must approve you for TA. You also must be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® or the Montgomery GI Bill® Active Duty.

• Application: First apply for TA in accordance with procedures of your service branch. After you have applied for TA, you will need to complete VA Form 22-1990 to apply for Department of Veterans Affairs education benefits. The form is available online from the VA. Make sure you specify “top-up” on the application and mail it to one of the education processing offices listed on the form.

Aside from using the Montgomery GI Bill® Active Duty or Post-9/11 GI Bill® for items such as tuition and fees not covered by TA, there are other federal and state financial aid opportunities available to service members. The federal government provides $150 billion per year in grants, work-study programs and federal loans to college students.

This aid comes in several forms, including:

• Need-based programs such as Pell grants, subsidized Stafford Loans, Supplemental Educational Opportunity grants and federal work/study programs
• Low-interest loans through the federal government.

Visit Federal Student Aid to find out more or complete the online FAFSA® application at no cost to you. Updates to the FAFSA^© form expand eligibility and streamline the application process.