Tuition Assistance & Credentialing Assistance Programs

• TA funds up to 18 semester hours (SH) per fiscal year at the rate of up to $250 per SH for the cost of tuition only.
• Soldiers may complete one degree at the associate, bachelor's, and master's level within the following lifetime limits: 130 SH undergraduate credit or a bachelor's degree (whichever comes first), and up to 39 SH graduate credit or a master's degree (whichever comes first). 
• Soldiers are authorized one undergraduate or graduate certificate per lifetime with a cap of 21 SH.
• Soldiers may pursue one Special Program such as USAREC-approved AMEDD programs or Specialized Chaplain Certificates, with a lifetime cap of 39 SH.

• Soldiers must log into ARMYIGNITED with their CAC.
• Soldiers who are first time TA users must complete ArmyIgnitED 101 TA training and use a decision support tool prior to requesting TA funding.
• Soldiers must declare an educational goal in ArmyIgnitED and upload an Evaluated Degree Plan (EDP). 
• Soldiers must request TA in ArmyIgnitED up to 60 days prior to the term start date and no later than 7 days prior to the term start date.
• Soldiers must maintain a minimum TA grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 after completion of 15 SH of TA-funded undergraduate credit or a TA GPA of 3.0 after completion of 6 SH of TA-funded graduate credit.
   

• CA funds up to $2,000 and one credential per fiscal year; for aviation-related credentials, Soldiers are limited to $1,000.
• CA funds 3 credentials for every 10 years of service based on a Soldier's Basic Active Service Date (BASD). 
• CA can be used for any credential listed on the ARMYCOOL website and does not have to be related to the Soldier's MOS
• CA may pay for expenses for classroom, hands-on, online/blended training and required associated materials to include: manuals, study guides, textbooks, processing fees, test fees, related fees for continuing education requirements, and recertification of credentials.
• Soldiers must take associated credential exam or recoup the cost of the course work/training paid by CA.

• Soldiers must apply for CA funding in ARMYIGNITED
• Soldiers who are first time CA users must complete ArmyIgnitED CA training and use the MILGEARS decision support tool prior to requesting CA funding
• Soldiers will need to create a Credentialing Assistance Education Goal and upload a custom quote provided by the vendor
• CA requests must be submitted at least 45 days prior to the course or exam start date, but not more than 90 days from the submission date.
• The Army Credentialing Assistance Program Office (ACAPO) will review the request for funding and Soldiers will be notified via ArmyIgnitED messaging once the CA request is approved. 
• Virtual Army CA Counselors are available to assist with required CA training and the CA request process using the link on the ARMYCOOL website.

ArmyIgnitED 101 is mandatory for all new Army TA users.

If you already attended ArmyIgnitED 101, but still receive a blocker on your account stating you need to attend an ArmyIgnitED 101 Brief, send a message in ArmyIgnitED to your education center. Your education center will need to review your account to determine if you need to attend the new briefing. 

A decision support tool allows Soldiers to research information on specific career and vocational outlooks, provides information on academic institutions that are eligible for Army TA, and take skill assessments to use when exploring career fields. A decision support tool goals report is required to be uploaded by Soldiers into ArmyIgnitED prior to creating an Education Goal. Links for the approved decision support tools can be found in ArmyIgnitED. 

Tutorials are available to Soldiers by logging into ArmyIgnitED, selecting the HELP link in the upper right corner, then navigating to the Documents and Links section.