Our office reviews each application to determine whether an applicant meets all the qualifications for a State TA award and to determine the qualifying amount for reimbursement. The review process focuses on 3 categories of information. An applicant must get a GO in all 3 in order to be approved to receive a State TA award. The 3 categories are:
1) Military Service qualifications. We reach out to a representative for your component to verify certain military criteria. The verification is done by the TXARNG Education Office Counselors for Texas Army National Guard members, by the TXANG BETM Offices for Texas Air Guard Members, and by the TXSG T1 office for Texas State Guard members.
2) Financial Eligibility. This is NOT the same financial requirement as in qualifying for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). We do not use income or living expenses to determine eligibility. We only look at the amounts charged for tuition and fees and the financial aid each applicant receives to calculate a qualifying amount for reimbursement. The qualifying amount for a State TA award is determined using a combination of documents provided by the student and information received directly from the colleges and universities. Click the "More Information" on this page and the link "How Much Can I Get" for more on how the qualifying amount is determined.
3) Scholastic Eligibility. The official transcript that applicants turn in at the end of each semester will show the final grades for each class and the cumulative GPA. State TA awards can only reimburse for classes that are successfully passed (no F, W, or I grades). Applicants must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. If a transcript shows that an applicant has not met one or more of these minimum standards, a State TA award may be reduced or cancelled out.
Click on the “More Information” link below to find more information about the review process.
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Application Instructions:
There are 3 basic steps to complete a request for State TA. If you apply before the beginning of the Fall semester, you can request aid for the whole school year, in other words for both the Fall and Spring semesters. This will save you a step in completing your request for the Spring semester. To do this you must attend classes for the same school for the whole school year. If you plan on transferring schools for the Spring term, then you will have to start with step 1 again for the Spring semester.
Follow these 3 steps to apply for State TA.
Step 1. Complete The State TA Application Form
- There is a new, mobile-friendly application form. You can use a desktop, laptop, or mobile device to complete this web-based application form. If you use a touch-screen device, you can sign using your finger. Click SUBMIT when you're done to automatically send it in. This is the easiest method available to apply. Click here to access the new web-based version.
- May not work on RCAS network. If you are on a government computer and cannot connect to the application form, try using a non-government computer. This application form is mobile friendly, so you can easily complete the form using your smart phone or tablet.
- If you have problems with the online application itself, email our office at ng.tx.txarng.mbx.trp@mail.mil.
Step 2. Send in Supporting Documents.
- Our office will send a Document List once the semester begins listing ALL documents needed.
- 3 basic items required of ALL applicants: 1) a tuition statement, 2) class schedule, and 3) financial aid information.
- Do NOT send anything before the beginning of the semester. If you get your statement too early it will possibly be missing some important information as well as changes that could occur at the beginning of the semester.
- Click here to view examples of the 3 basic documents required by all applicants, but remember it is best to wait until you receive your Document List before you send any supporting documents.
Step 3. Submit an Official Transcript AFTER the end of the semester.
- When the semester is over, come back to this website and see the section "How Do I Submit My Transcript?"
- You will also want to check out the "Due Dates/Deadlines" section of this site.
Due Date/Deadline summary:
If you are applying for:
|
Fall Semester Only
-OR- Fall/Spring Combined**
|
Spring Semester Only
|
1) Application Primary Due Date |
August 14, 2020 |
--- |
Application Final Deadline |
September 4, 2020 |
February 5, 2021 |
2) Supporting Documents Due Date |
September 30, 2020 |
March 1, 2021 |
3) Official Transcript Due Date |
January 15, 2021 |
June 7, 2021 |
** NOTE: If you apply for Fall/Spring Combined in one application form, you must meet the due date/deadlines under "Fall/Spring Combined" AND Steps 2 and 3 under "Spring Semester Only".
Award Funding Limitations
All eligible applicants that are approved for a State TA award will receive a reimbursement of up to 6 credit hours worth of tuition and mandatory fees, not to exceed $2,250. Applicants registered for more than 6 credit hours per semester can request for an award upgrade. Award upgrades allow State TA awards up to 12 credit hours of tuition and mandatory fees, not to exceed $4,500. Undergraduate students have top priority for upgrades. Upgrade approval is subject to availability of funds. Upgrade approvals are not guaranteed under any circumstances.
If an applicant receives aid other than State TA, the qualifying amount for reimbursement may be less than the above mentioned amounts. The qualifying amount for State TA awards will be the amount of qualifying tuition and mandatory fees that are not paid by gift aid, i.e. financial aid you do not have to pay back. The intent of State TA is to help reimburse some or all of the out-of-pocket expenses for qualifying tuition and fee charges.
In addition to the financial criteria described in the “How Do I Qualify” section of this site, award amounts are based on: 1) available funding, 2) the number of eligible applicants for that semester and 3) the successful completion of courses.
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Figure 1. Summarized 5 step process for State TA.
The State TA Program will reimburse Service Members with out-of-pocket expenses for tuition and mandatory fees. Students are responsible to the school for all charges at the beginning of the semester. If all steps are followed, after the semester is over an award payment is sent to the school. The school will either apply the funds to new charges or refund the amount to the student.
Figure 1 shows a simplified model of the State TA process. Status updates are sent to all applicants throughout the semester. At a minimum, the completion of each of the 5 steps in this model will be announced to the applicant in a status update email.
The general process is detailed a little more fully below. More specific steps required to apply for this benefit can be found in the “How To Apply” section.
More Information
- STATE TA awards are based on: 1. available funding, 2. number of eligible applicants and 3. successful course completion. Since any one of these factors can change from one semester to the next, an award amount received one semester may not be the same as one received another semester even for the same person.
- Applicants will receive multiple email status updates throughout the semester. If you are not receiving status updates, contact the Education Office to ensure that your application was received and is being processed. See the section on “How It Works” for a list of expected status updates.
- The tuition award will only reimburse classes that are successfully completed. Classes that are withdrawn, incomplete or failed will not be reimbursed. Official transcripts are required to confirm grades.
- This program does not pay until after the end of the academic semester. Therefore, it is the applicant’s responsibility to work with the school to satisfy the payment requirements at the beginning of the semester. Most schools will not defer charges based on your application for State Tuition Assistance.
- Schedule changes should be reported by submitting an updated course schedule and fee statement to the Education Office.
- The State TA award will be issued at the completion of the academic semester and only after an official transcript is received in the Education Office.
- By Texas State law, this program is only authorized to issue payments directly to a college or university in Texas. We cannot issue payments to out of state institutions or to individual persons.
- Payments are sent as a bulk payment that includes all awards for all award recipients at a given school. Schools may take 7-10 days from the date the payment is received in their accounting system to process the payment. It may take additional time for the school to update the student’s account.
- If the STATE TA payment creates a positive balance on the student’s account, then the school may issue a refund of the appropriate amount. The school may offer other options to handle the positive account balance.
The last step to complete a Tuition Assistance request is to send in your official transcript AFTER the semester is over. Only OFFICIAL transcripts will be accepted. Unofficial versions or screen shots of your grades will NOT be accepted. See the "Due Dates/Deadlines" section for the transcript deadline.
PLEASE NOTE: Send in your official transcript AFTER your grades have posted. If you send in your transcript without the grades showing, you will have to order another transcript.
The general rule is to send your transcript to our office in an electronic/digital format. Most schools now provide an electronic PDF version that can be ordered online and sent electronically to our office. If this option is available to you, this is the method you should use.
Electronic transcripts.
Find the online transcript order site for your college/university. On the transcript order page, enter our information as the recipient:
- Name: Texas Military Dept. State Tuition Assistance
- Email address: statranscripts@gmail.com
Non-Electronic transcripts
If your school does not offer electronic transcripts, order a paper copy for yourself. Pickup in person or have it mailed to YOUR OWN ADDRESS. Once you have it, scan it and email a copy of ALL pages to our office.
Once we receive your transcript, we will record your grades into our system and then email you a confirmation. At certain points it may take a few days from receiving the transcript to update the grades. Please be patient, but if a week passes or the deadline approaches with no confirmation from our office please send an email to confirm if we received your transcript.
Click on the link below to see a more detailed explanation of the suggested steps to send in your official transcript.
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MISSION:
In alignment with the TMD Strategic Plan 2021-2025, The State Tuition Assistance Program supports TMD’s overarching goals of Retention, Building Resiliency and enhancing Community Support.
GOALS
- Recruitment and Retention of highly qualified Soldiers, Airmen and State Guard Members.
- Increase the number of TMD Members who complete an undergraduate degree.
- Promote postsecondary education which accelerates military readiness and resiliency as well as personal and professional development.
- Improve and expand upon the quality of services offered to the state’s workforce and community.
- Increase representation in the STEM disciplines such as cyber space security, computer science, natural or biological sciences, education, engineering, mathematics, physics, public health and the sciences.
- Develop a cadre of future leaders for Texas and America by facilitating the completion of higher education.
VALUES
- Military Service
- Scholastic Eligibility
- Successful completion of classes
- STEM Degrees that increase employee knowledge and skills that contribute to the TMD Agency and Mission. Applicants meeting the criteria for an award upgrade and pursuing STEM degree will be prioritized for an upgrade above other degree programs.