State Tuition Waiver (STW)
State Tuition Waiver (STW) letters are issued by the education via email @ mdngeducation@army.mil . STW is up to 50% tuition waived at one the Maryland partner schools. To receive a waiver, you may inquire via email, or call the education office at 667-296-4144/4137/4139. The list of state partner schools is found at the following link: https://military.maryland.gov/NG/Pages/Partner-Schools.aspx
Click here for: State Tuition Waiver Form.pdf
State Tuition Assistance Reimbursement (STAR)
For the STAR you will have to complete this twice in a semester. The documents need to be complete and sufficient for us to send them to the finance office. Failure to provide said documents can result in you not receiving reimbursement.
The initial STAR needs to be sent to us no later than 45 days after the semester starts. The documents you will need to provide us with is:
- The completed STAR forms.
- An itemized bill showing all charges on your student account.
- Your class schedule.
The final STAR needs to be sent to us no later than 45 days after the semester ends. The documents you will need to provide us with is:
- An itemized bill showing all charges and payments. This bill must reflect a $0.00 balance.
- Your grades for the semester.
Please note that STAR only covers tuition and fees with a financial cap of $8500/FY. STAR will not reimburse you for books and other course supplies you may need. You MUST have at least 2 years left on your contract from the time of your course ending. If your ETS date is less than 2 years you must extend to use this benefit, inactive guard time does not count. If you fail a class (Under a C or 2.0 GPA) you will not be reimbursed for that class.
Click here for: STAR GUIDE.pdf
Click here for: EXAMPLE_STAR form.pdf
Federal Tuition Assistance (FTA)
If you are not already using it, you should sign up for FTA on Army Ignited.
FTA will provide you Up to $250 per SH (semester hour) or $165 per QH (quarter hour) up to 16 Credits or $4000 fiscal year/FY, whichever comes first. You MUST submit an education goal to submit your TAR, which is where you input your classes. We recommend you submit your education goal at least 10-12 days in advance of the course starting date so it can be approved. You MUST submit your funding request no more than 60 days prior to term start and no later than 8 days in advance of the course starting or else you will not be able to submit it.
Attached to this site are tutorials for Army Ignited for creating an account, creating your education goal and Tuition Assistance Requests.
First, you will follow the education goal tutorial to make an education goal.
As of October 1, 2024, all new Soldiers to Army Ignited MUST complete Army ignited 101 training before their education goal will be approved.
**This is required before applying for funding.
After your goal is approved and you’ve completed the Army Ignited 101, you can apply for funding. Please see tutorials to complete that.
If you have any issues, please contact our office. Ms. Jamie Eddins, Education Services Specialist can assist with Army Ignited issues.
Her phone number is 667-296-4144 or (443)356-6676 Google Voice Number. (Text Friendly).
**Soldiers must pass their courses, or they will be recouped.
**Passing for undergraduate courses is a C- or higher.
**Passing for graduate courses is a B- or higher.
**Please read the entirety of the STAR and STW forms as they state the service obligations on them! **
Click here for: Federal Tuition Assistance.pdf
Click here for: Scholarships and Grants
Click here for: ArmyIgnitED 101 Flyer
Click here for: ArmyIgnitED 101 Training
Montgomery GI Bill – SR and 9/11
The MGIB-SR is the CH1606 GI Bill. This GI Bill offers up to $466 for full time enrollment and it goes directly into your pocket. I just changed your record so it will take about a week to reflect and update before you could apply if desired. You will apply on VA.Gov and follow the steps under the Education Programs
In order TO USE YOUR 9/11 GI Bill, you need to apply to get your eligibility memo that will tell you the qualifying time the VA recognizes and what your percentage is. Log onto VA.Gov. From there you will select VA Benefits and Healthcare. On that drop down will be Education and Training which will open a side bar where you can then select How to Apply. That will bring you to the GI Bill home page. https://www.va.gov/education/how-to-apply/
From there you will see a section under How to Apply? and you can select “Apply for a new benefit”. You will go through a series of questions to apply for the correct benefit. From there you will follow the prompts for your specific GI Bill you are applying for.
The VA makes all final determinations on eligibility. Please allow them 4-6 weeks to process your application and send you a letter with their determination. Once you receive that letter, you will bring that to your school’s VA rep and they will certify you are in school and enrolled in classes, then the necessary payments will be made.
To transfer for Post 9/11 Benefits you must:
- Be eligible for the CH33 (Post 9/11 GI Bill). This means you had to have served on qualifying active duty for at least 90 days. Your initial entry training does not apply until you have completed at least 24 months of qualifying active-duty time.
- Served at least 6 years before being eligible to transfer your benefits and have agreed to serve at least 4 additional years from the date you submit your request on https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect.
- Your spouse can use your benefits right away once your transfer has been approved. They will be at the same payment tier as yourself, plus receive the book stipend and MAH(as long as you are not on active duty and receiving your own BAH).
- Your children can use the transferred benefits once the sponsor have served at least 10 years, and the child has reached the age of 18. You must transfer your benefits to your children before they turn 23 and they cannot use those benefits after they turn 26.
When you transfer the benefits, you will log onto https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect and select “Transfer My Education Benefits” and follow the steps on there. It usually takes the VA 4-6 weeks to decide and send you a letter or email letter to let you know their determination.
Click here for: Chap 33 Transfer of Education Benefits.pdf
Click here for: Montgomery GI Bill.pdf
Click here for: Post-9-11 GI Bill Chapter 33 flyer.pdf
When your spouse or child is ready to use the transferred benefit, they will log onto https://www.va.gov, create a DS log in and then follow the prompts to apply for the GI Bill benefits to get their eligibility memo. This will also take roughly 4-6 weeks, sometimes quicker.
Click here for: Spouse,Dependent Education Flyer.pdf
This is just an overview of the most important information for the GI Bill transfer.
If there are any problems or questions, please reach out to our office at: 667-296-4144/4137/4139.
When replying to/forwarding your forms use the following email MDNGEducation@army.mil.
This will ensure you receive a timely reply from someone in our office.
Please reach out to us if you should have any more questions. You can reach us at MDNGEducation@army.mil.
HELPFUL SITES:
ASFAB,AFCT,MCAT,DAT: https://march2success.com/
ASVAB: https://www.crackasvab.com
ASVAB: www.asvabprogram.com
MWR Libraries: https://www.dodmwrlibraries.org
Federal Tuition Assistance: https://ArmyIgnitED.army.mil/student
GI Bill Program: https://benefits.va.gov/gibill/
GI Bill comparison tool: https://www.va.gov/education/gi-bill-comparison-tool/
TEB Request: https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/
CLEP Exam: https://clep.collegeboard.org
Army Credentialing Opportunities Online (COOL): https://www.cool.osd.mil/army
eBenefits: https://www.ebenfits.va.gov
Joint Services Transcripts: https://jst.doded.mil/jst/
Department of Veteran Affairs Education: www.va.gov/education
Coursera: www.coursera.org
DANTES: https://www.dantes.mil/dsst this free resource is not just for Soldiers but also spouses
Click here for: DANTES Credit by exam.pdf
TUTOR.COM: https://www.tutor.com this free resource is not just for Soldiers but also spouses and children
Click here for: Tutor dot com.pdf
SECO: Military Spouse Educational and Career Opportunities: SECO Login | Military Spouse Education & Career Opportunities | MySECO (militaryonesource.mil) and MyCAA: Scholarship for Military Spouses | Military OneSource
FAFSA: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/FAFSA
