Department of Defense Military Tuition Assistance
Federal legislation allows the each branch of the U.S. military services to pay up to 100 percent of education costs for service members. The Department of Defense has mandated a uniform tuition assistance fiscal policy across the services. The per semester hour cap is $250 and the fiscal year ceiling is $4,500.
Qualifying courses and degree and certificate programs may be academic or technical and can be from two-year institution in the civilian community; thus our for-credit courses within our degree and certificate programs at Clinton Community College qualify for service members to receive tuition assistance for them. However, TA is not authorized for courses leading to a lateral or lower level degree than the applicant already possesses. In addition, TA is not authorized for books.
Authorized fees covered by TA are mandatory fees associated with an individual course enrollment. Non-refundable fees and fees that are not linked to individual course enrollments are not covered by TA. In the case of charges on students' bills at Clinton Community College, the only costs that these tuition assistance programs cover are tuition and lab fees.
Service members must obtain TA through their branch of service and should consult with their education liaison officer at their base of operations to begin this process. Once the service member has initiated the process through their education liaison officer at their base of operations, he or she will have to contact Clinton Community College's designated point-of-contact for processing Military Tuition Assistance for further instructions:
Financial Aid Office
136 Clinton Point Drive
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Office Phone: (518) 562-4126
Office Fax: (518) 562-4373
Email: Financial Aid
Office Hours: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM: Monday - Thursday, 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM Friday
Service Tuition Assistance Programs
Army
Courses must be offered by colleges registered in GoArmyEd and accredited by accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Clinton Community College is a college that is registered with GoArmyEd and is regionally accredited by The Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
All regular active-duty and Reserve Component soldiers, members of the Active Guard Reserve, and Reserve Component soldiers activated under United States Code Title 10 or Title 32 may request TA through GoArmyEd, subject to qualifying criteria. Regulation 621-5 details.
Air Force
Students must meet the eligibility criteria before TA reimbursement can be made, including the following:
- Enlisted students' time in service must extend beyond the course end date of the last course approved for TA or the individual must extend or re-enlist.
- Commissioned officers must have a mandatory separation date of not less than 24 months of service commitment starting at the end of the last course completed. In addition, officers incur a four-year reserve service commitment (see Air Force Reserve Command Instruction 36-2102). Each time an officer applies for TA, he or she must sign a contract for Air Force selected reserve service commitment.
- Students must provide a degree plan to the Air Reserve personnel center prior to the completion of nine semester hours. Note: All courses submitted for TA approval must be on the degree plan.
Air Force Transition Assistance Resources
- Air Force Reserve Information
- AF Portal Login (This site requires a common access card.)
Navy
Navy TA pays up-front for the tuition and fees charged by education institutions for course enrollments. For Navy TA there is a fiscal year credit limit of 16 semester hours per individual. Waiver requests cannot exceed the $4,500 per fiscal year limit.
Additional Navy TA Resource
Marine Corps
All Marines must apply for and receive written authorization for TA prior to enrollment through the appropriate education office. First-time students must complete a TA orientation class prior to using TA. Marines at remote sites (non-Marine Corps installations) may access the course online.