PURPOSE OF COUNSELING
Tuition Assistance
The purpose of this counseling is to make sure you are aware of the TA policies and requirements.
KEY POINTS OF DISCUSSION
The Tuition Assistance program provides financial assistance for off-duty education. TA is only available for courses that are part of an approved academic degree or certificate program. It is also available to Soldiers to complete a high school diploma.
TA covers 100% of tuition costs but is limited to $250 per semester hour and a maximum of 16 semester hours of TA-funded courses per fiscal year. And there is an annual limit of $4,500 in TA.
STEPS:
1. Coordinate with your supervisor before signing up for any class. This is to ensure there are no schedule conflicts or scheduled TDYs that will prevent you from attending or having enough time to study.
2. Submit TA enrollment requests through www.GoArmyEd.com at least 30 days before the course start date. Soldiers who want to take a class with a school that does not participate in the GoArmyEd system, must still request TA through GoArmyEd. The TA Request will be routed to an Army Education Counselor to be reviewed.
3. GoArmyEd will notify you by e-mail when TA is approved (or disapproved).
4. Soldiers who don't complete a class (get below a 60 or don't attend) must repay the TA. Soldiers who don't complete a class due to valid military reasons may request a Withdrawal for Military Reasons through GoArmyEd.
5. Soldiers must sign the TA Statement of Understanding (TA SOU) each quarter they wish to use TA.
I advise caution and serious consideration when signing up for classes. It is very common for Soldiers to obligate themselves for more classes than they are capable of and then failing one or more of them. I failed one myself and had to pay the full cost of the class while getting no credit for it. I recommend taking one class at a time until you are sure you can take more.
More information on Tuition Assistance can be found in AR 621-5.
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PLAN OF ACTION
SPC Anderson has an appointment with the Education counseler to discuss opportunities and map out his course strategy. He has been briefed that the mission always comes first and that if he fails to complete a class, he will have to pay 100% of the class cost.
He will coordinate with his supervisor before signing up for any classes. He will keep me informed of any classes taken and their schedule requirements.
LEADER RESPONSIBILITIES
I will ensure that SPC Anderson is notified as far in advance as possible of any schedule changes or possible deployments. I will try to make sure that one hour per shift is available for studying.
