State Tuition Assistance (STA)

Reminder: Grades must be submitted in the STA portal within 30 days of course completion

General Information

Applies to all accredited schools NOT just schools located in Utah
Service members (Army and Air) are authorized up to $7,000 per fiscal year
The school will be paid directly based on the funding approved
Soldiers who have (first) applied for Federal Tuition Assistance or the State Tuition Waiver (STW) or those who are not eligible for FTA are eligible to apply
STA is subject to the availability of funds. This means that authorized yearly limits (e.g. $7,000) might change year-to-year based on funds.
Can be used for part-time or full-time enrollment
Service obligation to the Utah National Guard from the end date of the course requested is two years.

FY2026 STA Policy

Eligibility

To check your school's eligibility for accreditation, check the DAPIP website
Eligibility requirements can be found in the State Tuition Assistance Policy, Section 1-7.
These requirements include:
- Member cannot be flagged (or have an Unfavorable Information File - Air)
- Member must be a satisfactory participant
- Member must be an active drilling member or their unit
- Member must be deployable

How To Apply

Applications are requested three weeks prior to class date but need to be submitted absolutely no later than eight days before the course start date.

Visit the website

guard-statetuition.utah.gov

How to Apply for STA:

Step-by-step instruction for UtahID
Step-by-step instructions for STA Program

[email protected]

Upload the following:

Course cost verification/Tuition bill with student name and all courses and fees listed
Unofficial transcript which includes school and student name
Schedule verification with the student name and/or Student ID
Student must upload all financial aid documentation. This includes FTA, Grants, Scholarships, GI Bill approval, etc.
The commander's signature is no longer required for STA (Amended 1 August 2025).
Member contract statements are included in the online Portal Application process.
After receiving the completed State Tuition Assistance form (pdf) from the education office, the member must submit a copy of the form to the school for payment coordination.

If you have any questions or encounter any errors while applying, email our Education Office group email

Exception to Policy

The files must be downloaded and opened in Adobe Acrobat on your desktop.

Exception to Policy - Late

The STA applications must be sent in no later than 8 days prior to the class start date. Your application will now require an Exception to Policy (ETP). Please fill out the attached ETP 4187.

Admin data in section I
Section IV #4 MUST have a detailed reason as to why application is late.
Commander must sign and RECOMMEND approval in Section V.
Email application to our education group email and we will process through channels

If approved this will be a one-time per career approval.

Exception to Policy - Funding Amount

Current State Policy limits funding to $7000 each Fiscal Year. If you are requiring more than $7000 you may request an Exception to Policy (ETP). Please note this process is not a quick process and it is not guaranteed. You will want to work with the school to work out payment plans in case it is not approved, or it is approved later than their deadlines.

Section IV #2 MUST have a detailed reason as to why you are requesting more than policy allows and how it will benefit the Utah National Guard.
Section IV #3 must list the TOTAL amount you are requesting for the current Fiscal Year.
Commander must sign and RECOMMEND approval in Section V.
Email application to our education group email and we will process through channels.

Exception to Policy - Service Obligation

Current State Policy requires a two-year service obligation to the Utah National Guard from the last day of the last course funded by State Tuition Assistance or from the end of the last semester covered by the State Tuition Waiver. If you can not fulfill the two-year service obligation you may request an Exception to policy. Please note this process is not a quick process and it is not guaranteed. You will want to work with the school to work out payment plans in case it is not approved, or it is approved later than their deadlines.

Section IV #2 list your current contract end date (ETS or MRD) .
Section IV #3 MUST have a detailed reason as to why you cannot fulfil the two-year service obligation how it will benefit the Utah National Guard.
Commander must sign and RECOMMEND approval in Section V.
Email application to our education group email and we will process through channels.

Important Information

Submitting a Tuition Assistance request does not enroll you in the course. You must register for the course at your Academic Institution.

With the new ArmyIgnitED 2.0, Soldiers must request tuition assistance in the system 60 to 8 days prior to the class start date.

Submit requests for wait-listed classes. The Education Office can assist with removing requests if you do not get in.

A Soldier may pre-register for a course to secure a slot.

For questions about STA invoicing, contact [email protected]

All Tuition Assistance must be approved prior to the start date of the course; however, if a class is canceled at the last minute and you select a new course or if you drop a course, the Education Office can assist with adjusting your Tuition Assistance.

If an eligible Soldier decides to use Tuition Assistance, Academic Institutions will enroll him/her as TA-funded only after the TA is approved by the Army.

Soldiers will be solely responsible for all tuition costs without this prior approval.

Tuition Assistance is approved on a course-by-course basis and only for the specific course(s) and class dates that a Soldier requests.

If you find an error on your TA request

Start by contacting the education office. We can often fix the problem - even after the start date.

Call us before you delete or remove it