Application Process For Strong Act Tuition Reimbursement

(1) Members of the Tennessee National Guard who meet the requirements of Rule 0930-02-01- .06 may apply for STRONG Act tuition reimbursement using the application process as set RULES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE “TENNESSEE SUPPORT, CHAPTER 0930-02-01 TRAINING AND RENEWING OPPORTUNITY FOR NATIONAL GUARDSMAN (STRONG) ACT OF 2017” forth by this Rule and Departmental guidelines, and in accordance with guidance from the Adjutant General. (2) Service members must apply for tuition reimbursement through this Program 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. (3) Service members shall be required to submit a release to their educational institution that explicitly allows their educational institutions to lawfully release student records or other information requested by the JFHQ G-1/JFHQ A-1 during the application process. (4) Service members must submit completed and signed STRONG Act tuition reimbursement applications to the JFHQ G-1/JFHQ A-1 in a timely manner. Upon receipt, the JFHQ G- 1/JFHQ A-1 will time/date stamp the applications as received, conduct an initial review of the applications for eligibility, accuracy, completeness, and process the applications accordingly. Incomplete or invalid applications may be returned without action by the JFHQ G-1/JFHQ A-1 for necessary corrections that would render the application complete and valid. (5) The JFHQ G-1/JFHQ A-1 shall submit a form to the service member’s unit commander, or his or her designee, which requires the commander, or his or her designee, to report any disciplinary action(s) pending against the service member and document whether he or she would recommend the service member as a candidate for approval of STRONG Act tuition reimbursement. (6) The Adjutant General has ultimate authority to approve or deny applications for STRONG Act tuition reimbursement through this Program. At his or her discretion, the Adjutant General may delegate this authority to the TN STRONG AB, under his or her direction and guidance, in accordance with this Rule and Departmental guidelines. (7) The JFHQ G-1/JFHQ A-1 must submit a complete application to the TN STRONG AB for review and approval, in accordance with this Rule and with Departmental guidelines. For the purposes of this Program, a complete application will include all of the following: (a) The Tennessee National Guard member’s timely-submitted application for STRONG Act tuition reimbursement; (b) The form referenced in 0930-02-01-.07(5), completed by the service member’s unit commander or designee, to include his or her formal recommendation as to whether or not to approve the service member’s application for STRONG Act tuition reimbursement; and (c) The JFHQ G-1/JFHQ A-1’s formal recommendation as to whether or not to approve the service member’s application for STRONG Act tuition reimbursement. (8) The TN STRONG AB, acting under the authority and instruction of the Adjutant General, may consider the complete, timely application to make a determination as to whether the service member is in good standing and currently active in the Tennessee National Guard for the purposes of this Program. When a service member is deemed to be currently active and in good standing, the Board will consider the application for approval in accordance with these Rules and Departmental guidelines. The Board, in its discretion, may consider all information obtained during the application process, in accordance with these Rules and Departmental guidelines, when making a determination of whether or not to approve a service member’s application for STRONG Act tuition reimbursement through this Program. However, neither RULES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE “TENNESSEE SUPPORT, CHAPTER 0930-02-01 TRAINING AND RENEWING OPPORTUNITY FOR NATIONAL GUARDSMAN (STRONG) ACT OF 2017” the aforementioned recommendations nor any other factor(s) taken into consideration are inherently determinative with regard to the ultimate determination to approve or decline to approve a service member’s application for STRONG Act tuition reimbursement through this Program. (9) Approved applications will be time/date stamped and returned to the JFHQ G-1/JFHQ A-1 for processing STRONG Act tuition reimbursement, in accordance with this Rule and Departmental guidelines. Applications that are declined by the Board will be time/date stamped as declined and returned to the service member, who will have thirty (30) days from the date of the Board’s determination to submit an appeal to the Adjutant General for his or her consideration of the Board’s decision, in accordance with this Rule and Departmental guidelines.