Should the TA limit be raised or gotten rid of all together?

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 16:45:21 -0400

Should the Tuition Assistance cap be removed to allow individuals to complete their degrees faster? I have maxed my TA each year by March meaning I either use my GI bill to cover the other courses, or I sit around and wait until October to take more classes.

Is there a better solution to this problem?

Response by SSG Carlos Madden made Apr 23 at 2020 5:02 PM

SSG Carlos Madden — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 17:02:40 -0400

That's a good point. Should it be an option to instead calculate your cost over 4 years and then let you use it as you as you see fit?

Response by LT Brad McInnis made Apr 23 at 2020 5:23 PM

LT Brad McInnis — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 17:23:30 -0400

If you have a plan to take more courses, and your unit allows it, then go for it you should get more. But, taking the other side, I have had sailors in the past use school as a n excuse to get out of stuff. Granted, few and far between, and I would rather have a better rule that helps more people.

Response by SFC(P) Jonathan P. made Apr 23 at 2020 5:37 PM

SFC(P) Jonathan P. — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 17:37:23 -0400

What I have done to substitute is used Fafsa and state tap to help cover the costs through out the year. I have even gotten money back several times. If you are guard then you have MGIB 1606 which also helps you cover tutitiom costs. Thee is also a RIRP tuition grant each semester for soldiers if you are guard. How ever Actibe duty can use GIbill 9/11.

Just apply for FAFSA,TAP,ARMY TA, and GIbill. Once the schoo verifies your awards you can plan accordingly for the whole year. That’s what I did for my BA and I am doing now for my MS.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 23 at 2020 5:43 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 17:43:45 -0400

Why would you consider getting rid of TA as a course of action?

Response by 2LT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 23 at 2020 6:26 PM

2LT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 18:26:10 -0400

I was in the same boat in using TA to pursue my Masters. I’d love to see the limit loosened a bit to allow soldiers the opportunity to complete degrees at a quicker pace. However, it’s hard to argue the TA limit due to the fact that it’s essentially free money you are getting to complete a degree without necessarily having to tap into your GI Bill.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 23 at 2020 7:31 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 19:31:46 -0400

The whole purpose of the TA limit is to prevent people from knocking out their degrees quickly and leaving the Army. A few years ago, there were even more restrictions like new Soldiers has to wait a year and people getting Masters degrees had to wait even longer. It's the same reason you can't transfer your GI Bill until you have six years in and you have to add four more. It's all about retention incentives. A few years ago when the Army was downsizing, the TA became more restrictive. When the Army started growing again, it became more permissive. When I joined the Army in the 90s during the Era of Bill Clinton and the massive reduction in military end strength, TA only payed for 75% of your class. You had to pay for it out of pocket up front and get reimbursed on the backside. Nearly impossible for a barracks E4 making $600 a month. By the time the Iraq war was surging, TA in the Army and the Reserves grown to pay 100% of everything up front.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 23 at 2020 10:46 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 22:46:07 -0400

I say no. It’s a benefit for service that wasn’t always there. I would use it but be grateful it’s there.

Response by MAJ Samuel Weber made Apr 23 at 2020 11:30 PM

MAJ Samuel Weber — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 23:30:07 -0400

I agree with getting rid of the limit, but there must be limits on how much a Soldier can use and they should institute a service obligation. Enlisted Soldiers incur zero service obligation for using TA. If the limit is lifted, you’ll have Soldiers going to school all the time, earning a degree and leaving the Army. Is that good for the service? I’d argue no, educate them then retain them though a service obligation to make use of the training. Officers incur a service obligation every time we use TA. There has to be a balance of job proficiency and advanced education. You’ll not find a civilian employer who gives “free” education without a catch. The Army needs to get something out of it too, not just the Soldier.

Response by SFC Herve Abrams made Apr 24 at 2020 12:39 AM

SFC Herve Abrams — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 00:39:13 -0400

I believe TA limits have been waived in the past.

Response by MAJ Byron Oyler made Apr 24 at 2020 10:20 AM

MAJ Byron Oyler — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 10:20:07 -0400

The problem with a college education today is we as a society have allowed them to charge whatever they want. I graduated with a BSN with only $34,000 in debt, there are colleges that charge more per semester! My wife has a bachelors degree from the Philippines, a nursing associate degree, and they want her to start completely over here in the US. We do not need to increase TA, we do not need to do student loan forgiveness for the entire country, we need the government to tell these schools no more. Generally I am not in favor of more government regulation but these schools are outta hand. My nursing school 19years ago charged $5,000 per semester with 100 students and still comes asking for more money. The school was housed on the second floor of a hospital education building and they probably had zero building costs. $500,000 a semester and you still think you need money? It is crazy.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 24 at 2020 4:43 PM

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 16:43:08 -0400

It's liquid so use it. Time is more valuable than money every time. Use what's left of Bill for post-grad.

Response by SPC(P) Brandon Jenkins made Apr 24 at 2020 4:50 PM

SPC(P) Brandon Jenkins — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 16:50:39 -0400

Get rid of it. Just have to make sure you pass what they pay for. That's the deal.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 12 at 2020 3:21 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 03:21:40 -0400

The TA limit F^&*s Soldiers.
If they did it by the dollar amount, it is not too bad, but doing it by number of credits screws people. Why would you only want us doing half a year at a time?
It is especially stupid for reserve components.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2020 12:09 PM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Jul 2020 12:09:03 -0400

YES!!!

Response by MAJ Karl Swenson made Dec 7 at 2020 5:36 PM

MAJ Karl Swenson — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 17:36:50 -0500

There is a solution to this problem SSG Private RallyPoint Member. Go to a school that charges by the term, rather than by the credit hour. Western Governors University (WGU) charges its students a tuition fee of about $3600 per term - which lasts 6 months. The university would like to see undergrads finish twelve Competency Units (equivalent to 12 credit hours) and grads to finish 8 CUs during that term. If you are industrious, you can accelerate courses and finish as many as you can without incurring more fees during that term. I know of one student who gave up her full-time job to go back to school and completed 52 CUs in one 6 month term! But, of course, that was all she did. Take a look at the web page (http://www.wgu.edu) and see about joining 120,000 currently active students and over 200,000 graduates.

www.wgu.edu)

Response by SFC Kelly Fuerhoff made Dec 7 at 2020 6:15 PM

SFC Kelly Fuerhoff — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 18:15:02 -0500

Are you in a graduate program? Because that's the only way I could see you maxing out your TA. If someone is getting a Bachelor's you shouldn't max out TA.

I used TA to get my first Master's degree. That covered about half - and then I paid the other half. Then when funds were depleted by a mistake, I started to use my 9/11 GI Bill to cover the rest. Then I used more of my GI Bill to get a second Master's.

I don't understand how, if you're not in a graduate program, you're using up your TA so fast.

Also realize we almost did lose it. There was a point that it was discussed to get rid of TA because the services were running out of money for it.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 27 at 2020 11:59 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 27 Dec 2020 23:59:04 -0500

I don't think we should keep it in it's current form, or get rid of it. I think we need to set it to a flat amount that can be used for trade school, no cap on credit hours costs, while maintaining the overall cap (or expanding to $5k). This could also be opened to use at foreign universities with recognized equivalency in the States, like King's College London (they do online Masters programs).

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 3 at 2021 9:48 AM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 09:48:26 -0500

Coming from the NG side, there are a lot of benefits for NG soldiers in their state where a certain number of semesters in college equals a certain number of years in your state's National Guard. If Big Army started treating TA for junior soldiers like that (i.e. tuition is completely paid for, but you owe us a certain number of years) it could probably make everyone happy. Soldiers can get their degree paid for, and the Army can get the use out of the degree that soldier earned.

One of the issues I have with Federal T.A. now is that it is relatively prohibitive for officers. On every career progression chart for officers, they want you to have a Master's level degree by the time you're a senior O-3 or junior O-4, but make you jump through hoops for it (especially if you used any portion of it for a Bachelor's).

I also think the Army should be more willing to embrace the skills that soldiers can bring to the table from their civilian education. One of the benefits of the National Guard is that your soldiers bring their civilian career and education experience with them to drill. Imagine how much it could better your unit if your PSG had a degree in exercise science or Sport's Medicine? One of your SPCs getting a degree in some sort of cyber or communications field?

Response by LtCol Robert Quinter made Feb 4 at 2021 7:08 AM

LtCol Robert Quinter — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 07:08:24 -0500

The pot of money has a bottom, but the monitoring of expenditures is normally at a higher level. and lower priority. Individual limits are placed so that opportunity isn't limited to just a few individuals, but probably can be waived if you can get in touch with the command level that holds the appropriation.