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Service programs — Army

All Army National Guard and Army Reserve members are eligible for benefits from the Army Continuing Education System programs and services at 111 Army Education Centers and 128 Learning Centers on posts worldwide. The centers offer high school completion, college and vocational-technical courses, nontraditional study programs and testing at most locations.

Contact: For more information see www.armyeducation.army.mil or www. eArmyu.com.

American Council on Education Registry Transcript System. This service provides official transcripts for enlisted soldiers in the regular Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard. It outlines their military training, job experience and educational testing achievements, along with recommended college credit for each. It provides prospective colleges or civilian employers a means to evaluate a soldier’s achievements.

The transcripts can be used to gain academic credit when enrolling in college or vocational-technical school. Enlisted soldiers and veterans who entered the service after Oct. 1, 1981, are eligible to receive transcripts at no charge.

Contact: For more information, go to http://aarts.army.mil or contact Manager, AARTS Operations Center, 415 McPherson Ave., Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-1373; (913) 684-3269; toll-free (866) 297-4427 Phone lines are staffed from 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday.

Distance learning tuition assistance. DANTES will provide 75 percent of tuition assistance to Guard and reserve members for up to 15 semester hours; not to exceed $2,000 per service member annually. This is calculated using the following standard:

• For up-front tuition assistance, the course start date determines the fiscal year for caps.

• For reimbursed tuition assistance, the course completion determines the fiscal year for caps.

• Students enrolling in a course to be completed within 24 weeks or less may receive 75 percent tuition assistance up front.

• Those in other distance learning courses are eligible for 75 percent tuition assistance reimbursement.

Army National Guard members must apply for tuition assistance reimbursement through their state education services officer. For other reservists, all distance learning courses can be processed through DANTES, even courses not in a DANTES catalog. State programs may be used in conjunction with distance learning tuition assistance, though not to exceed 100 percent of tuition costs.

Testing programs. The Army National Guard and Army Reserve offer free college-level equivalency exams, though some require a registration fee. Some tests significantly decrease the number of traditional college courses required to complete a degree program.

Before taking credit examinations, check with your college or university to ensure it will accept the credit. Most Army Education Centers have study guides and aids to help prepare for these tests, including:

• General Educational Development

• American College Testing Assessment Program

• Scholastic Assessment Test

• Graduate Management Admission Test

• Graduate Record Examinations

• The Praxis Series

• College Level Examination Program and Excelsior College (formerly Regents College) Examinations; free for Army National Guard spouses and civilians

• DANTES Subject Standardized Tests; free for spouses of both Army Reserve and Army National Guard members, and civilian employees.

Army National Guard and Reserve members also are eligible for:

Army Correspondence Courses. Available through the Army Institute for Professional Development, these are open to soldiers seeking to learn basic and professional skills online at their own pace. Some courses can be taken online while others can be ordered and delivered. Some courses count as college credit.

The Montgomery GI Bill Kicker program. This program is offered to soldiers who enlist or re-enlist in critical units and critical skills. It offers up to $350 per month for full-time students, in addition to the $297 per month offered by the Mongtomery GI Bill Selected Reserve for full-time students, and lesser amounts for part-time students.

Reserve Officer Training Corps simultaneous membership program. Under this program, cadets who enlist as members of a reserve unit receive reserve duty pay, the ROTC stipend and tuition assistance and may be eligible for MGIB and or the kicker bonus.

Army National Guard

In addition to the programs listed above, most states offer Army National Guard members state-funded tuition assistance that can be used in conjunction with federal education benefits and, in some cases, exceed 100 percent of the cost of the course.

Check with your respective Army National Guard Education Services officer or unit commanders to find out what tuition assistance and programs are available in your state.

The Montgomery GI Bill Program, Selected Reserve. This program is available to reservists and members of the Army National Guard who have completed Initial Active Duty for Training and have a high school diploma or equivalency, and enlist or extend for a six-year obligation.

The GI Bill Selected Reserve pays up to $297 per month for full-time students for up to 36 months, or a total of $10,692. It may be used for vocational or technical training or to pursue an associate’s degree or other post-secondary education through the doctoral level.

The Montgomery GI Bill Kicker Program is available to qualifying soldiers who enlist in high-priority units or critical military occupational specialties. The kicker is an additional $350 per month in GI Bill benefits for full-time students (officer and warrant officer candidates, simultaneous members, newly appointed second lieutenants and Army National Guard members enlisted under the “College First” option). A $200 monthly kicker goes to non-prior service, prior service and current Army National Guard members (including first and second lieutenants without bachelor’s degrees).

Other programs of the Army National Guard with special education incentives for individuals enrolled in them:

• Reserve Officer Training Corps simultaneous membership program. Under this program, ROTC cadets who enlist as members of a National Guard unit and serve in both programs receive Guard pay, a ROTC stipend and tuition assistance and may qualify for GI Bill benefits and/or the kicker. They are paid as E-5s unless they previously held a higher rank.

• Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges, Guard. SOCGuard helps Guard members and their spouses with accreditation and school-related mobilization issues. It facilitates student/school agreements that ensure the transfer of credit in obtaining a degree. The program lets service members use their military experience to gain the maximum credit and assists activated student-soldiers and the colleges/institutions in which they are enrolled.

Contact: For more information, see www.soc.aascu.org/socguard.

• National Guard Student loan repayment program. For those who already have student loans, the National Guard will help repay loans up to $10,000. After completing a qualifying year, the National Guard will pay a minimum of 15 percent of the loan amount or $500, with a cap of $1,500 on principal for the years of the re-enlistment contract.

To qualify, service members must be MOS-qualified; must re-enlist or extend for a six-year period, which can be done after a three-year extension for a bonus; and have less than 14 years of service.

Prior-service members have to be in a high-priority unit; re-enlist for six years; have been a member of the National Guard for the last three consecutive years; and be MOS-qualified and in a vacant position in the unit.

Members must have taken out the loan before their enlistment. Loans incurred after enlistment do not qualify for repayment assistance.

Army Reserve

Army Reserve benefits are similar to the National Guard programs listed above, with the exception of state education benefits. Commissioning and ROTC programs detailed above also apply here. Through DANTES, members and their spouses can take free CLEP and DANTES equivalency tests.

Concurrent Admissions Program. ConAP allows new soldiers to delay starting college, for financial or other reasons, by applying for college at the time of enlistment into the Army Reserve.

When soldiers enlist in the Army or Army Reserve, recruiters encourage them to elect to enroll in the program and select a Concurrent Admissions Program college. New reservists must send a College Referral and Intent to Enroll form, stating their intent to enroll during or after enlistment.

Colleges then acknowledge the intent and provide guidelines about applying for admission not more than one year before the expected entry date, beginning the college academic experience, using distance learning, and staying in touch by e-mail and the college Web site. Those accepted for admission have their enrollments deferred for up to two years after completion of Advanced Individual Training.

ConAP is a joint program between the Army Recruiting Command and more than 1,800 community colleges and four-year colleges and universities.

Contact: For more information,see www.soc.aascu.org/conap.

Army Reserve College Loan Repayment Program. The Army Reserve helps soldiers pay off approved Perkins, Stafford or other Department of Education Guaranteed Student Loans. The Army Reserve may pay up to $20,000 for a six-year enlistment.

To qualify, your loan must not be in default.

The following loans qualify for the Army Reserve loan repayment program:

• Auxiliary Loan Assistance for Students

• Stafford Student Loan or Guaranteed Student Loan

• Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students

• Federally Insured Student Loan

• Perkins Loan or National Direct Student Loan

• Supplemental Loan for Students

Most soldiers can qualify for payment of 33 percent of the principal, or $1,500 per year, whichever is greater, for each successfully completed year of enlisted active-duty service.