Federal Tuition Assistance

How Do I Qualify?

• Be currently serving in the ARNG and have a common access card (CAC).
• Not be flagged.
• Not have a hold on your ArmyIgnitED account (once created).
• Note: Completion of IADT, BOLC, and/or WOBC is no longer required.

 Service Requirement/Obligation:

• Officers and Commissioned Warrant Officers are subject to a four-year Reserve Duty Service Obligation (RDSO) OR a two-year Active Duty Service Obligation (ADSO). 
• Enlisted Soldiers are not eligible for TA for courses with term end dates less than 60 days from their separation date.

• An evaluated degree plan/audit will be required after requesting FTA funding for two courses in ArmyIgnitED. 
• The college is regionally or nationally accredited AND is a participant in ArmyIgnitED.
• The funded course(s) meets a requirement listed in your personalized degree plan provided by the school (this can include prerequisite courses).
• You maintain an undergraduate GPA of 2.0 or a graduate GPA of 3.0 for FTA-funded courses.
• Effective 19 March 2026, Soldiers with two recoupment actions in the same fiscal year (between FTA & CA) will be suspended from requesting FTA  or CA  for 12 calendar months.
• Courses can be requested up to 60 days, but MUST be requested 7 DAYS PRIOR to the start date of that course. 

What Do I Get?

FTA now funds up to $250 per semester hour for up to 18 semester hours each fiscal year—all towards tuition to advance your education. Here's a look at the FTA lifetime limits of the program:

• 130 undergraduate semester hours
• 39 graduate semester hours
• 21 semester hours towards an academic certificate

To be eligible, your college or university must be regionally or nationally accredited—and an ArmyIgnitED participant.

FTA CAN be used simultaneously with Chapter 1606/MGIB-SR for the same course, when attending half-time or more.

FTA will pay toward one credential at each of the following levels:

• Associate degree, bachelor's degree and master's degree
• One academic certificate (undergraduate or graduate) up to 21 semester hours per lifetime/career
• First professional degrees are NOT eligible (e.g., doctorate degrees, juris doctorates)

Tuition assistance is for advancing your post-secondary education, so it may not be used to achieve a lower or lateral diploma or degree.

Remember, FTA is tuition assistance, which means it is for tuition only. It does not cover fees, examinations, e-learning or other expenses that are outside of an official degree plan.

Programs NOT Approved for FTA

• Courses leading to a credential that are lower or lateral to the highest credential you have already earned.
  • Example: if you have a bachelor's degree (even if you came in the ARNG with one), you cannot use FTA to pursue a second bachelor's or associate's degree.
• Any program that bundles tuition and fees together into a lump sum charge.
• Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or courses that do not meet degree requirements.

How Do I Apply?

FTA requests are made through ArmyIgnitED. Soldiers with questions can contact their assigned State Education Service Specialist directly or submit a help desk ticket to the ArmyIgnitED ServiceNow.

To start the process, follow the steps below:

IMPORTANT: As of 1 October 2024, all Soldiers who have not previously used ArmyIgnitED to request FTA must complete ArmyIgnitED 101 training before their education goal can be approved. After reviewing the training, Soldiers must send a message to their education counselor via ArmyIgnitED stating they completed the training.

Soldiers can watch the training on YouTube, download and review on LinkedIn or nationalguard.com

All Soldiers who have not previously used ArmyIgnitED to request FTA must also complete Career Path Decide (CPD) career assessment before their education goal can be approved. After completing CPD, Soldiers must input their results in their ArmyIgnitED account. A link to CPD is in ArmyIgnitED.

• Step 1.  Go to ArmyIgnitED and sign in with your CAC card. 

• Step 2.  Once the student account is established, select the education goal. Select education level, school and degree you want to pursue. 

• Step 3.  Once your education goal has been approved by your ESO/ESS, click on the Virtual Benefits Training link; after that is completed, click on TA Requests and issue funding. Effective 19 March 2026, Soldiers with two unsuccessful grades in the same fiscal year (between FTA & CA) will be suspended from requesting FTA  or CA  for 12 calendar months.

• Step 4. Command approval now required for all TA requests (commander must approve 5 days before course start date). Your supervisor or Command representative will and approve or reject it.

• Step 5.  Your assigned education counselor will review your tuition assistance request (TAR) and approve or reject it. You will receive an email stating the status of the TAR and the steps to follow, if necessary. 

• Step 6.  Register with your school.

• Step 7. An evaluated degree plan/audit is required after requesting TA funding for 2 courses in ArmyIgnitED.

Note:  All drops/withdrawals must take place through ArmyIgnitED. Soldiers who do not successfully complete a class will be required to repay the TA. Soldiers who are unable to successfully complete a class due to military reasons must request a Withdrawal for Military Reasons (now called a recoupment waiver).

Effective 19 March 2026, Soldiers with two recoupment actions in the same fiscal year (between FTA & CA) will be suspended from requesting FTAv or CA vfor 12 calendar months.

If assistance is required, you can send a message directly to your assigned counselor in the system or reach out to your Education Services Officer outside of the system.

FTA can be a huge help in driving down the cost of your education, but also be sure to ask your state education office for other benefits and programs they provide National Guard Soldiers—some include full in-state tuition.