Federal Military Tuition Assistance
As part of our commitment to providing excellent service to military students who utilize Military Federal Tuition Assistance, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is a signatory of the Department of Defense Voluntary Education Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (DoD MOU).*
Tuition Assistance (TA) is a government benefit offered to current service members of all branches of the Armed Forces to assist with the cost of tuition. Our office is available to assist students with their use of TA funding.
If you are an eligible service member utilizing TA, you must contact your designated education service officer (ESO) or military service branch counselor prior to enrollment.
TA funds are a unique, distinct source of financial aid available to eligible Service members, and such institutions must identify TA as a first payer.
Mandated by the Department of Defense, this uniform Federal Tuition Assistance (FTA) fiscal policy serves military branches including the Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy.
- The FTA program pays for tuition only.
- The FTA pays up to $250 a semester and up to 18 semester hours per fiscal year (the fiscal year ceiling is $4,500).
- FTA payments are limited, per student, to a lifetime total of 130 undergraduate semester hours and 39 graduate semester hours.
How to apply?
The soldier must first meet with their Education Services Officer and complete the Statement of Understanding, obtain all appropriate signatures, and then complete the appropriate admissions application with UTC. Soldiers receiving Tuition Assistance (TA) are required to register for classes through MyMocsNet. With the new ArmyIgnitED portal, academic advising is now mandatory for all soldiers. You can locate your academic advisor by checking your MyMocsNet academics tab, email your advisor by clicking on the envelope icon next to their name under your Academic Profile on the Academics tab in MyMocsNet. Please visit or contact your local education center to speak with your Education Services Officer to ensure all steps in the portal have been completed.
Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard
Army
Air Force
UTC Refund Process for Federal Military Tuition Assistance
UTC has a refunding process in place that refunds students based on the date a student drops or withdraws from classes. The refund process identifies all students who have a credit based on classes remaining and charges for dropped courses.
The Bursar’s Office works closely with the VMA to ensure funds are returned to appropriate sources including TA if applicable. The Department of Defense is billed after the last day to withdraw from the semester, which is after 60% of the term. Refunds are generated based on the refunding schedule below:
Bold type identifies the 60% completion point, shown below.
70-days Fall Full Term - Course Withdraw submitted
- Prior to Day 1 100% return
- Day 1-7 100% return
- Day 8-14 80% return
- Day 15-21 60% return
- Day 22-28 40% return
- Day 29-35 0% return
- Day 36-42 0% return (60% of course is completed)
- Day 43 0% return Department of Defense billed 43rd day of semester after last day to officially w/d
69-days Spring Full Term - Course Withdraw submitted
- Prior to Day 1 100% return
- Day 1-7 100% return
- Day 8-14 80% return
- Day 15-21 60% return
- Day 22-28 40% return
- Day 29-35 0% return
- Day 36-42 0% return (60% of course is completed)
- Day 43 0% return Department of Defense billed 43rd day of semester after last day to officially w/d
35 days Fall and Spring Part of Term I & Part of Term II - Course Withdraw submitted
- Prior to Day 1 100% return
- Day 1-4 100% return
- Day 5-8 80% return
- Day 9-12 60% return
- Day 13-16 40% return
- Day 17-20 0% return
- Day 21-24 0% return (60% of course is completed) Department of Defense billed 22nd day after last day to officially w/d
60 days Summer Full Term - Course Withdraw submitted
- Prior to Day 1 100% return
- Day 1-7 100% return
- Day 8-14 80% return
- Day 15-21 60% return
- Day 22-28 40% return
- Day 29-35 0% return
- Day 36-42 0% return (60% of course is completed) Department of Defense billed 37th day after last day to officially w/d
30 days Summer Part of Term I & Part of Term II - Course Withdraw submitted
- Prior to Day 1 100% return
- Day 1-4 100% return
- Day 5-8 80% return
- Day 9-12 60% return
- Day 13-16 40% return
- Day 17- 20 0% return (60% of course is completed) Department of Defense billed 18th day after last day to officially w/d
* Per DoD MOU paragraph 3.j.(2), institutions are required to, “Refrain from providing any commission, bonus, or other incentive payment based directly or indirectly on securing enrollments or federal financial aid (including Tuition Assistance funds) to any persons or entities engaged in any student recruiting, admission activities, or making decisions regarding the award of student financial assistance.”
* Per DoD MOU paragraph 3.j.(3) institutions are required to, "Refrain from high-pressure recruitment tactics such as making multiple unsolicited contacts (3 or more), including contacts by phone, email, or in-person, and engaging in same-day recruitment and registration for the purpose of securing Service member enrollments.”