Eligibility

To qualify for STRONG Act tuition reimbursement pursuant to T.C.A. § 49-04-1005, the Tennessee National Guard member must satisfy all of the following conditions: (1) The service member must be in good standing as defined in this Rule. (2) The service member must be currently active in the Tennessee National Guard as defined in this Rule. (3) The service member must have served in the Tennessee National Guard during the applicable academic term for which the application for STRONG Act tuition reimbursement is submitted. (4) For members seeking a first bachelor’s degree or first master’s degree, the service member must have maintained satisfactory academic progress and received a minimum grade point average of 2.0 for members seeking a first bachelor’s degree or 3.0 for members seeking a first master’s degree, as determined by the educational institution attended for the academic term for which STRONG Act tuition reimbursement is sought. (5) For members seeking a certificate or diploma from a vocational or technical program at a public or private educational institution, satisfactory academic progress and either a minimum grade point average of 2.0, or academic good standing, as determined by the institution, if grade point averages are not utilized by the institution, are required to be eligible for reimbursement. For such programs, an institutional review of a student’s satisfactory academic progress standing need not coincide with the end of each academic term, but timely notification from either the member or the vocational or technical program of the member’s grades and academic progress is still required to determine eligibility for reimbursement. (6) The service member must be pursuing either postsecondary semester hours toward a first bachelor’s degree; postbaccalaureate semester hours toward a first master’s degree; or semester hours or the equivalent toward a certificate or diploma from a vocational or technical program. (7) The service member’s STRONG Act tuition reimbursement application must be time/date stamped as received by the JFHQ G-1/JFHQ A-1 within forty-five (45) days of the last day of instruction for the academic term, as determined by the service member’s educational institution, for which the service member is seeking STRONG Act tuition reimbursement.