Tuition Assistance Overview/Eligibility
Department of Defense Tuition Assistance Programs

When looking to take advantage of military tuition assistance, the first step is always to connect with your education service officer (ESO) from your branch of service and get approval from your command. They will have updated information on the process for your specific branch of service.

Military Tuition Assistance is a benefit paid to eligible members of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Each service has its own criteria for eligibility, obligated service, application processes, and restrictions. The Tuition Assistance Program will fund up to 100% of your college tuition and certain fees with the following limits:

• Not to exceed $250 per semester credit hour or $166 per quarter credit hour
• Not to exceed 16 credit hours or $4,500 per fiscal year (Oct 1 - Sep 30) 
  • $4,000 for U.S. Army.  See link below for details.
• Effective May 1, 2021 The Chapter 1606 VA EDUCATIONAL BENEFIT MAY BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE DoD FEDERAL TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR THE SAME COURSES.  Please see your state education office or ROTC PMS for details on how this effects certain scholarships or ROTC scholarship programs.

For each tuition assistance program and application procedures, please select the appropriate tab for more information.

We also recommend you visit the following websites before deciding to attend USI: (Select the underlined text to visit the webpage)

College Scorecard - Find the college that's the best fit for you! The U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard displays data in five areas: cost, graduation rate, employment rate, average amount borrowed, and loan default rate.

College Navigator - The College Navigator, a free online tool from the National Center for Education Statistics, can help you with your search. The tool provides a wide range of information for more than 7,000 postsecondary education institutions, allowing you to compare schools' features that are most important to you like the following: Tuition and cost of attendance, Financial aid statistics, Accreditation information, Graduation and retention rates, Credit transfer, Student loan default rates.

Cost of Attendance - This  is intended to provide estimated net price information (defined as estimated cost of attendance — including tuition and required fees, books and supplies, room and board (meals), and other related expenses — minus estimated grant and scholarship aid) to current and prospective students and their families based on what similar students paid in a previous year.

Paying for College - Get help to make informed financial decisions about how to pay for college. Start by comparing financial aid offers or understanding student loan repayment options.

Tuition Assistance (TA) Decide - This dynamic information and comparison tool is designed specifically to aid participants of DoD's Tuition Assistance (TA) program in making informed choices on schools and education programs. The TA DECIDE engine is fueled by more than 10 recognized and trusted data sources from across the departments of Defense, Education and Veterans Affairs. It provides a first of its kind experience, uniquely tailored to the needs of the TA participant. We hope TA DECIDE provides you with high value, actionable information on educational costs and outcomes to compare educational institutions that you may be considering. While this website was designed for the individual user, your Service's education counselor can also be your partner in this process.

Course Approval

Approved Courses. If an eligible Service member decides to use TA, USI will enroll him or her only after the TA is approved by the individual’s Service. Service members will be solely responsible for all tuition costs without this prior approval. This requirement does not prohibit USI from per-registering a Service member in a course in order to secure a slot in the course.

If you enroll online before the appropriate Service approves Military TA, then you could be responsible for the tuition. All Military TA must be requested and approved prior to the start date of the course. The Military TA is approved on a course-by-course basis and only for the specific course(s) and class dates that you request. If a military student “self-identifies” their eligibility and the Service has not approved the funding, then the Service member will be solely responsible for all tuition costs, not the Service.

Military Transfer Credit

Military credit may be granted for eligible coursework based on submission of an official Joint Services Transcript (JST) or Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) transcript, and review of the American Council on Education (ACE) credit recommendation. Students whose JST includes basic training can receive 2 credit hours in KIN, if not already awarded via evaluation of their DD-214 (credit offer form prepared by Veteran, Military, and Family Resource Center). The KIN credit satisfies the Physical Activity and Wellness requirement in Core 39. There is no fee assessed for evaluation of a JST transcript, a CCAF transcript, or submission of a DD-214 credit offer form.

Return of Military Tuition Assistance

Military Tuition Assistance (TA) is a benefit paid to educational institutions on behalf of eligible members of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Each branch has its own criteria for eligibility, obligated service, application process, and restrictions. Funds are approved on a course-by-course basis dependent upon degree requirements. Additionally, students may also use other eligible financial aid in conjunction with TA.

Service members using TA should submit their TA authorization to the Bursar’s Office each semester and report these benefits to the Student Financial Assistance (SFA) Office, if receiving federal or state aid.

If you withdraw from a course for which you have received military tuition assistance funds, the University of Southern Indiana is required to return any unearned portion of tuition assistance back to your branch of the Department of Defense.  Be aware that withdrawing from a course for which you have received tuition assistance funds can result in a debt with the Department of Defense and/or the University of Southern Indiana. 

Return of Military Tuition Assistance Schedules

TA is awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When a student withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of TA funds originally awarded.

 To comply with the Department of Defense policy (DoDI 1322.25), the University of Southern Indiana will return any unearned TA funds on a prorated basis through at least the 60% portion of the period for which the funds were provided. TA funds are earned proportionally during an enrollment period, with unearned funds returned based upon when a student stops attending. These funds are returned to the military Service branch.

 In the event a service member stops attending due to military service obligation, the University will follow the outlined procedures within the Active Military Policy (https://www.usi.edu/outreach/veterans/active-military-policy/).

 Institutions Schedule for return of unearned TA funds:

The calculation for determining unearned funds will be based on the specific course start and end date. The last date of attendance will be determined by the official withdrawal date or for an unofficial withdrawal, the last date of activity determined by the professor. Using the number of days the student completed, divided by the number of days within the course, the University will determine if the student completed at least 60% of the course. Any unearned funds will be returned to the military service, which may result in a balance on the student’s account.

 16 Week Course Withdraw

  8-week Course Withdraw submitted: