Military Tuition Assistance

Military Tuition Assistance

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 prior to enrolling. 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. The program is available to active duty, National Guard, and Reserve Component service members. 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 $4,500 per fiscal year (Oct 1 - Sep 30)

Every military branch of the U.S. Armed Forces has its own criteria for eligibility, restrictions, and application process.

For more information, visit:

For a general guideline of the process, you can download the TA Pocket Guide

Return of Military Tuition Assistance

If you withdraw from a course for which you have received military tuition assistance funds, the Maricopa Community Colleges are required to return any unearned portion of tuition assistance back to your branch of the Department of Defense. You can read the policy at the 2.2.10 Refund Policy page. 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 with Maricopa. The potential percentage of what may be returned to the DOD and what you may owe to Maricopa can be found here and is based on the length of your class.

Return of Military Tuition Assistance Schedules

In determining the amount of unearned TA, the number of days in which the student participated/attended class will be divided by the total number of days for the class to determine the earned portion of TA. Then, the earned portion of TA will be subtracted from 1.00 to determine the unearned portion of TA which will be rounded up to the nearest 5%; the percent of unearned TA will then be multiplied by the total amount of TA allotted for the enrollment in order to determine the dollar amount of TA to be returned to the respective branch of service. To view the table of percentages returned please go to the MCCCD Benefits for Veterans web page.