Navy Education - GI Bill | Navy Times

Education: Tuition assistance

Tuition assistance for voluntary off-duty education is available to all service members for a maximum of $4,500 at 100 percent of tuition costs per year, or a maximum of $250 per semester hour.

Montgomery GI Bill benefits may be used to cover education costs that exceed tuition assistance ceilings. Restrictions may apply. More information is available at base education or Navy College offices.

Tuition assistance can be used for courses that are taught in a classroom or by distance learning. However, the courses must be offered by colleges and universities approved by accrediting agencies recognized by the Department of Education.

Visit your installation education office for more information.

MONTGOMERY GI BILL —ACTIVE DUTY

The primary education benefit for active-duty service members is the Montgomery GI Bill. While the GI Bill is available to those on active duty who have served at least two years, its main purpose is to help veterans.

Service members are enrolled automatically when they come on active duty. Those who do not want to participate must decline enrollment, normally within the first three days to two weeks in uniform, depending on the service.

Participants’ pay is reduced $100 a month for the first 12 months of active duty. Pay reductions are considered a forfeiture of basic pay and thus not subject to taxes. Reductions are nonrefundable and cannot be suspended once the election to participate is made.

If a service member dies while on active duty or within one year of leaving active duty, however, pay reductions up to $1,200 may be refunded to a beneficiary, depending on the original contribution.

Eligible participants must have a high school diploma or equivalent before applying for benefits. Twelve hours of college credit will fulfill this requirement. For those using benefits while on active duty, the rate of payment will be equal to the cost of the course or what the individual would receive as a veteran, whichever is less.

In exchange for the $1,200 pay reduction, a service member can receive up to $1,101 per month in basic GI Bill benefits at current rates for up to 36 months for a full-time student, for a total of $39,636 in benefits. Part-time students receive less money per month but for a longer period.

Some service members may contribute up to an additional $600 to the GI Bill to receive increased monthly benefits. For an additional $600 contribution, you may receive up to $5,400 total in additional GI Bill benefits. The $600 contribution must be made while on active duty, but the increased benefit is payable only after leaving active duty. For more information, contact your personnel or payroll office.

Individuals have 10 years from the date of their last separation from active duty in which to use their GI Bill benefits.

Benefits are available for qualifying officers and all enlisted service members who initially entered active duty after June 1985. Service academy graduates and some ROTC scholarship recipients are not eligible.

Laws were enacted since the passage of the original bill which create certain exception categories that allow officers to become eligible. For example, officers who participated in ROTC and received less than $3,400 in scholarship money for at least one school year are eligible.

Veterans. Eligible veterans must have received an honorable discharge and must use their benefits within 10 years of the date of their last discharge or release from active duty.

Some service members who were covered by the Vietnam-era GI Bill may receive Montgomery GI Bill — Active Duty benefits. To determine eligibility, members should submit all DD214s with VA Form 22-1990 to the Department of Veterans Affairs and must fall under one of the following categories:

å Must have had remaining Vietnam-era GI Bill entitlement on Dec. 31, 1989; must have been on active duty at least one day between Oct. 19, 1984, and July 1, 1985; and must have served continuously from that day until June 30, 1988.

These individuals are not eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill if they were commissioned after Dec. 31, 1976, based upon a ROTC scholarship or service academy graduation. The 10-year period in which to use benefits is reduced by the time the individual was not on active duty between Jan. 1, 1977, and June 30, 1985.

å Must have had remaining Vietnam-era GI Bill entitlement on Dec. 31, 1989, and must not have been on active duty on Oct. 19, 1984. The individual must have subsequently re-entered active duty on or after Oct. 19, 1984, and on or after July 1, 1985, served at least three years of continuous active duty service.

These individuals are not eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill if they were commissioned after Dec. 31, 1976, based upon an ROTC scholarship or service academy graduation. The 10-year period in which to use benefits began Dec. 27, 2001, and is reduced by the time the individual was not on active duty between Dec. 1, 1977, and June 30, 1985.

Individuals who are eligible for conversion from the Vietnam-era GI Bill to the Montgomery GI Bill will receive payments equal to one-half of the rate of the Vietnam-era GI Bill plus the current rate.

The VA offers direct deposit of funds to GI Bill recipients.

Contact: (888) 442-4551; http://www .gibill.va.gov

MONTGOMERY GI BILL —SELECTED RESERVE

Reservists currently can receive $317 per month as full-time students, and must have made at least a six-year commitment to the Selected Reserve, signed after June 30, 1985, and otherwise fulfill their service requirements.

VA regional offices can answer questions about eligibility, approved schools and benefit amounts. Many colleges and universities also maintain offices for veterans.

Contact: (888) 442-4551; http://www.gibill.va.gov