1 WI Army National Guard Education Services Office Madison, WI

2 2MISSION: To support the strength and readiness of the WI Army National Guard by supporting the civilian education needs of Soldiers and families through career counseling and providing information which focuses on the optimal usage of benefits and incentives available to further professional and military goals.

3 3 OFFICE STAFF MAJ Dustin Cebula Education Services Officer (GI Bill) CPT Russell Simonis Incentives Officer (GI Bill) SSG Jingbo Zhang Assistant Incentives NCO (Loans) SFC John McCamey Incentives Manager (Bonuses) Ms. Karen Behling (DMA) WI Tuition Grant Program Manager Mr. Norris Johnson (Go Army) Regional Educ Services Specialist

What does the Education Office do for Soldiers? 1.Ensure Soldiers are administratively eligible for benefits and incentives: -Montgomery GI Bill Select Reserve and “Kicker” -Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP)/bonuses -Federal Tuition Assistance (Go Army) and Tuition Grant Reimbursement 2. Initiate payment process for SLRP, bonuses, certifications/licensures and State Tuition Reimbursement 3.Provide advising and assistance on the usage of state and federal education benefits (Post 9-11 transferability) -Individual counseling at annual readiness event 4

5 The Role of the Education Office VA Education Office PEC School CVSO Units (BN Career Counselors

Benefits Available to WI ARNG Soldiers Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 1606, 30, 1607, 33) Kicker Programs ($200 or $350) Federal Tuition Assistance (GO ARMY) Wisconsin Tuition Reimbursement Wisconsin Tuition Remission (WI GI Bill) Student Loan Repayment Program DANTES Testing (CLEP/DSST) Reimbursement (GRE/GMAT) & National Certifications/Licensure 6

7 Student Loan Repayment Program SLRP Benefits – $50,000 maximum repayment of student loans – Pays 15% of disbursed loans up to $7,500 (including interest) or $500 per year, whichever is greater. – Taxed prior to payment, paid directly to lender – May add new disbursed loans depending on what contract states Eligibility Requirements – Must have at least 1 qualifying (Title IV Federal loan) and disbursed student loan at time of enlistment or extension. Check for qualifying SLRP loans – NSLDS Aid Summary Sheet – NSLDS Detail Loan Information Sheet(s) Must have a completed contract in personnel records to receive this program for a 6 year period. – Must be in a active drilling status

Student Loan Repayment Program Payment Process DD 2475 sent to Soldiers military from WI-Education office (90 days from anniversary date). Generally date of contract (600 series form in IPERMS) Detailed Instructions will be sent to Soldier/unit, to include guidance on how to properly fill out DD Soldier is responsible for receiving the form back from the loan holder. Forms should not be sent directly to EDUC office from the lender. All documents should be consolidated at unit for submission to EDUC office. *Soldiers that have (2) loan holders should consolidate loans immediately. This will be more advantageous for the Soldier. Again, this is strongly encouraged to better process payments etc. *Loans in default are not eligible for repayment and lose payment for the entire year. -All Soldiers should inquire with their loan holder on how to request loan/s be put in forbearance/deferment. 8

Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) CH Buy Up Procedures Any Soldier in the Ready Reserve may contribute $600 at any time (if eligible) to receive the additional $150 payment. 1.Complete enrollment form (each time contribution made) 2.Mail form, with Certified Check or Money Order and DD214 3.A confirmation will be sent to military when approved 4.Benefits will begin the first enrollment period after the contribution was made. 5.Soldiers do not receive refund if transfer to Post 9-11 *Forms are available thru the Education Office or from the Battalion Career Counselors (unit)

(i)Active Guard and Reserve (ii) ADOS / ADSW/ FTNGD AGR - Title 32 or Title 10Title 32 Service: - 502(f) - Operation Noble Eagle - 11 Sep 2001 – 31 May 2002 *All AGR service qualifies if receive an Honorable Discharge. -Can have current orders or DD214 *ONLY qualifying time period - Qualifying Full Time National Guard Duty For Post 9-11

FTA Overview 11 Region IV FTA States FTA Enrollment Data Federal Tuition Assistance Program Fees FTA Changes The Soldier Process (GAE) Putting it all Together

Ms Jovanda Curry Region 4 Education Services Specialist RESS Norris Johnson ESS Michael Reynolds ESS Amber Manke ESS Joshua Fenner ESS Michael Robinson ESS Harold Hall

FY 14/15 ARNG Region IV Enrollment Data FY2014FY2015 EnrolleesEnrollmentsTA CostEnrolleesEnrollmentsTA Cost ARNG Illinois4511,616$938, $564, ARNG Indiana1,0074,105$2,236, ,850$1,135, ARNG Iowa6752,657$1,567, ,092$693, ARNG Michigan6042,246$1,403, ,092$668, ARNG Minnesota1,1364,700$2,897, ,364$805, ARNG Ohio4151,467$917, $561, ARNG Wisconsin179605$401, $240,960.64

FY 14/15 Enrollment Data FY2014 Students Enrolled Class Enrollment Count Semester Hours Course Completion Number of Withdrawals Mission Related Withdrawals Recouped Amount Army Tuition PortionEnrollments - Enrolled NG- Wisconsin Education Services Office FY2015 Students Enrolled Class Enrollment Count Semester Hours Course Completion Number of Withdrawals Mission Related Withdrawals Recouped Amount Army Tuition PortionEnrollments - Enrolled NG- Wisconsin Education Services Office

Federal Tuition Assistance (FTA) Financial assistance provided to Soldiers for taking voluntary off-duty education programs in support of: 1)A Soldier’s professional and personal self-development goals 2)Retaining quality Soldiers 3)Enhancing their career progression 4)Increasing the combat readiness of the Army 5)Preparing Soldiers to return to civilian careers The Department of the Army provides TA support for its own members but not for those of other Services.

FTA Con’t All soldier must access the GAE portal to use FTA FTA must be requested prior to class start date FTA pays up to $250 per semester hour or $166 per quarter hour FTA does not exceed $4500 per FY (Oct- Sep) FTA will fund one credential at any level up to a Masters Degree FTA will fund a BA/BS or up to 130 SH of undergraduate credit FTA will fund a Masters or up to 39 SH of graduate credit… “whichever comes first”

FTA Con’t Soldiers will be eligible for TA upon successfully completing one year of service following AIT/BOLC Soldiers can use TA for a second, higher (post bachelors) once they have 10 years of service, if any portion of the undergraduate degree was funded with TA. There is no 10-year requirement if TA did not fund any portion of the undergraduate degree. To be eligible for FTA, Soldiers must meet Army Standards for the Physical Fitness Test and HT and WT standards and not have a Dept of Army Adverse Action Flag.

FeesFees No longer paid with FTA funds!!

FTA Changes 16 SH Limit Effective 4 April 2015, updates to GoArmyEd allow eligible Soldiers to receive up to 16 SH of FTA per fiscal year. Any remaining SH beyond 16 must be self- funded. Previously if a Soldier signed up for a class that put them over 16 SH limit, they were required to self-pay for the entire class. Now when a Soldier enrolls in a class that puts them over 16 SH, TA will cover the amount of credits up to and including 16 SH and the Soldier will self-fund remaining SH.

FTA Changes Usage of FTA and CH 1606/1607 Department of Defense (DoD) policy does restrict the concurrent use of TA with certain veteran's education benefits. Specifically, TA is not allowed in conjunction with other educational benefits programs authorized under title 10, United States Code (U.S.C.), to include the Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve program (Chapter 1606) or the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (Chapter 1607) for the same course.

The Soldier Process All NG Soldiers have a base role created in GAE Soldier completes six step activation process and requests GAE activation Requests sent to CRM queue FTA Manager retrieves from queue and either activates or rejects If rejected, Soldier is sent an explanation If activated Soldier requests TA for classes prior to start date FTA manager reviews TA requests and either approves or rejects If rejected Soldier is sent an explanation

The Soldier Process Con’t If approved, Soldier prints TA authorization form and submits to school There are some critical documents the Soldier needs to attach to their TA request in order to get approval: 1) Documented degree plan, degree audit report 2) Course verification document (Start and end dates/SH) 3) Cost verification document (Tuition identified) 4) Current Statement of Understanding

Putting it All Together School Invoicing Process Training Aids for Soldiers and Schools available on the GAE portal Legacy FTA missing grades Questions/Comments!!