Military Programs
Military Scholarship for Service Members
Military Scholarship for Family Members
Military Tuition Assistance
Active duty, National Guard, Reserve, and Veterans may be eligible for tuition assistance and/or scholarships. TA pays up to $250.00 per credit hour until the fiscal year (FY)* cap is reached. Some National Guardsmen and Reservists may receive only 75% TA benefits or $187.50 per credit hour.
*Each branch of the military has its own criteria for the amount of TA a service member receives.
DANTES Reimbursement
Grantham courses have Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) approval for tuition reimbursement. For more information on this financing program, students should contact the Educational Service Officer on their base and their University representative.
Tuition Assistance Top-Up
The Code of Federal Regulations states active duty service members may not receive VA benefits for the same courses for which they receive Tuition Assistance (TA) from the military. To help cover potential out-of-pocket expenses of students using TA, the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) was amended to permit the VA to pay a Tuition Assistance Top-Up benefit.
The amount of the benefit can be equal to the difference between the total cost of a college course and the amount of TA that is paid by the military for the course. Top-Up is the only VA program that will pay a student on active duty and receiving TA for the same course(s).
These claims are handled differently from claims for MGIB without TA. For Top-Up claims, a student will not need to check in with the school official who certifies VA benefits. The VA does not need an enrollment certification on VA Form 22-1999. A student will not need to check for approval of the program for VA benefits. Approval is not an issue because Top-Up is payable for any course for which TA is payable under Department of Defense (DoD) criteria.
Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC)
The Servicemember’s Opportunity Colleges (SOC) is a consortium of national higher education associations that function in cooperation with the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Military Services including the National Guard and the Coast Guard to help meet the voluntary higher education needs of service members.
Hundreds of thousands of service members, civilian employees of DoD, the Military Services including the National Guard, the Coast Guard, and family members enroll annually in programs offered by more than one thousand colleges, universities, and postsecondary occupational and technical institutions. These voluntary programs are a significant joint venture and require strong commitment and coordination among academic institutions and agencies, the Military Services including the National Guard, the Coast Guard and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).
SOC is a vehicle to help coordinate voluntary post-secondary educational opportunities for service members. SOC does this by:
- seeking to stimulate and help the higher education community to understand and respond to special needs of service members;
- advocating the flexibility needed to improve access to and availability of educational programs for service members;
- helping the Military Services including the National Guard, and the Coast Guard understand the resources, limits, and requirements of higher education;
- helping the higher education community understand the resources, limits, and requirements of the Military Services including the National Guard, and the Coast Guard; and
- seeking to strengthen liaison and working relationships among military and higher education representatives.
Grantham has been designated as a SOC institution and is committed to serve the educational needs of service members and their families. As a member of the SOC Consortium, Grantham commits itself to fully support and comply with the SOC Principles and Criteria. Grantham ensures that:
Service members and their families share in the postsecondary educational opportunities available to other citizens.
- Service members and their families are provided with accredited educational programs, courses and services.
- Flexibility of programs and procedures, particularly in admissions, counseling, credit transfer, course articulations, recognition of nontraditional learning experiences, scheduling, course format and residency requirements are provided to enhance the access of service members and their families to higher education programs.
A military student is advised to contact his/her Education Services Officer for more information on the Servicemember’s Opportunity Colleges and to visit http://www.soc.aascu.org/.
To get started today, complete the Information Request Form, call 1.800.955.2527 or e-mail us.
