Veterans Tuition Assistance
Veterans can access a variety of tuition assistance options that are designed to make continuing their education more affordable and achievable.
Federal Tuition Assistance (FTA) is a DoD funded tuition aid program for most eligible current service members. Each branch of the service has its own criteria for eligibility, obligated service, application process and restrictions.
Please reach out to your branch-specific Education Service Officer or Career Counselor at your unit/base/etc. to determine your eligibility and what steps you need to take if you wish to seek out this benefit.
Additionally, once you have determined your eligibility, first! Reach out to your Education Service Officer, and then please feel free to reach out to Veteran Services Coordinator, Anthony Pilota, Maria Gonzalez with the Hammond Registrar office or Barbara Phillips with the Westville Registrar office if you require any assistance.
Undergraduate, resident students enrolled in residential programs who are using Federal Tuition Assistance (FTA) will receive a Purple Star Scholarship by Purdue University to match the FTA rate when the benefit is being used.
Depending on student eligibility, this could be up to 18 credits per fiscal year of the FTA program. The Purple Star Scholarship is available for eligible students at Purdue Northwest, Purdue University – West Lafayette and Purdue Fort Wayne. This Purple Star Scholarship starts Fall of 2025.
Purpose:
Funds civilian education, such as college courses, certificates or degree programs, taken during off-duty hours to enhance skills and career development.
Coverage:
Pays up to 100% of tuition costs, capped at $250 per semester credit hour or $166 per quarter hour. TA doesn’t pay for fees (lab fee, composite fee, etc).
Annual fiscal year cap of $4,500 per service member (some branches may impose lower caps, e.g., Air Force at $3,750 or Coast Guard at $2,250 for FY 2021).
Covers courses from accredited two- or four-year institutions, offered in-person, online, or via distance learning, as long as the school is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and has signed the DoD Voluntary Education Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Payment Process:
Funds are paid directly to the educational institution after approval by the service member’s branch.
- Eligible Service Members who plan to use Department of Defence Tuition Assistance must seek approval from their Educational Service Officer (ESO) or counselor with the Military Service prior to applying for admission to PNW.
- Contact PNW Veteran Services to get Benefits counseling.
- Begin the PNW application (Free for Veterans!)
- Obtain prior college transcript and Joint Service Transcript.
- Complete appropriate applications per military branch/education office instructions. In most cases TA application must be completed at least 8 days prior to the class start date.
- For Army, Army Reserves and Army National Guard applications, visit the ArmyIgnitED.
- For Active Guard Reserve Air National Guardsmen applications, visit the AI Portal.
- Please note that IN Air National Guardsmen do not qualify for Federal Tuition Assistance.
- For Air National Guard applications, visit the AI Portal.
- For Navy and Marines, visit the Navy College Program.
- For all others, please communicate with the education office within your branch of service.
- Apply for other education benefits
- FAFSA
- VA Education Benefits (Chapter 1606 for most reservist and National Guard)
- Indiana Education Benefits (i.e. Indiana National Guard Supplement Grant)
- Submit DD-214 to the Registrar’s Office
- Contact your advisor to determine what classes you need to register for.
- Register for classes
- In most cases you will have to register for classes before completing a TA request.
- When your Military TA is approved, please communicate with the Purdue Northwest Registrar office. Anticipated Military Credits will be applied to your student account to hold you harmless from any payment or late fee activity.
- Invoices will be sent to the Military Sponsor after the last refund period (approximately six weeks after the first day of class) and will be due within 30 days. A reminder will be sent to Military TA sponsors who have invoices with a balance due after 60 days. If payment is not made within 75 days, the sponsor’s credit will be removed from the student account, a hold will be placed on the student’s record and it will become the responsibility of the student to pay. In order to resolve any issues, both the student and the sponsor will be notified prior to removal of the tuition credit.
- Beginning with your first semester at PNW, you and your academic advisor must submit the following documents every time you register for classes:
- Veteran’s Certification Request
- If you prefer to complete the Certification Request in person, paper forms are available in the Office of the Registrar, or the form can be mailed to you.
- Advisor Approval Form
- Contact your academic advisor and ask them to submit their approval every semester after you register for classes.
- After a certifying official in the Office of the Registrar receives these approvals, the appropriate certification forms will be submitted to the VA. The certifying official can only certify courses that meet the degree requirements for your program of study as currently listed in the PNW Academic Catalog. They cannot certify courses a second time unless you withdrew from or did not successfully pass the initial course. Repeated courses that were successfully completed, whether at PNW or another institution, cannot be certified
- Veteran’s Certification Request
- If you are eligible for Tuition Assistance Top Up, please contact PNW Veteran Services at apilota@pnw.edu. Please reach out if you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding anything.
Military Service Excusal Policy for Students
Policy Statement
Purdue University Northwest recognizes that those who are actively serving in the Reserves or National Guard of the United States are required by their military contract to attend mandatory training, with failure to attend punishable under law. The University therefore provides the following rights to students required by their military contract to attend mandatory training through the Military Absence Policy for Students (MAPS).
Students will be excused, and no penalty will be applied to a student’s absence for mandatory military training and be given the opportunity to make up coursework as defined in the course syllabus. It is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester of the potential for mandatory military service conflicts.
Students should expect that absences from heavier course loads will be more difficult to recover from than absences from lighter course loads. In the event of active duty deployment, the student may withdraw from their courses.
Students are eligible for up to fifteen (15) days of excused absence per academic year, with no more than ten (10) academic calendar (during the fall and spring semester) days taken consecutively, for their mandatory military training. Total absences, including travel, may not exceed 1/3 of the course meetings for any course.
Students may be granted additional absences to account for travel considerations, to be determined by the distance of the verified military training or service from the PNW campus, as follows:
- Within 150-mile radius of a student’s home Purdue Northwest campus, no additional excused absence days.
- Between 150 – 300-mile radius of a student’s home Purdue Northwest campus, one additional excused absence day.
- Beyond 300-mile radius of a student’s home Purdue Northwest campus, two additional excused absence days.
- Outside the 48 contiguous United States, four additional excused absence days.
A student should contact the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS) to request that a notice of the leave be sent to instructors as soon as he or she is informed of the dates of mandatory military training. The student will provide documentation of the mandatory military training in the form of orders or equivalent documents as proof of legitimate absence to the ODOS as soon as these documents are available.
If necessary, the ODOS may consult with the Office of Veterans Services about the nature of the documentation. When documentation is presented to the Office of the Dean of Students a verified absence notification will be sent to the student’s instructors.
The student may provide verbal information about the leave to the ODOS and an unverified preliminary (non–MAPS) notice will be sent to instructors for planning purposes only. MAPS will be applicable only when the student has returned to the ODOS with substantiating documentation and ODOS has sent a verified absence notification to the instructors.
With a verified absence notification from the ODOS, no penalty will be applied to a student’s absence for mandatory military training and the student will be given the opportunity to make up course work as defined in the course syllabus.
Unique or variant exceptions should be dealt with in a negotiated manner between the student and professor, which may include involving the Department Head, Dean of the school or college, ODOS or the Office of Veterans Services to review and consult on his or her situation.
In certain laboratory-based or intensive short-term courses, a student can jeopardize his/her academic status with an unreasonable number of absences, particularly in lab courses that cannot be made up later. In courses with extensive laboratory exercises, group projects, group performances or participation requirements, equivalent exercises or assessments may not be possible as determined by the instructor and subject to review by the Dean of the school or college offering the course, or their designee.
In such a case, the student may be eligible for retroactive withdrawal. The student should always consult with the instructor to determine the potential impact of any absence.
If the student is not satisfied with the implementation of this policy by a faculty member, he or she is encouraged to contact the Department Head and, if necessary, the ODOS or Veterans Services, for further review of his or her case. In a case where grades are negatively affected, the student may follow the established grade appeals process.
Students requesting excused absences or leaves under the above policies should expect that absences from heavier course loads or those in certain laboratory-based or intensive short-term courses will have a greater impact on a student then those with a lighter course load.
In courses with extensive laboratory exercises, group projects, group performances or participation requirements, make up coursework may not be possible as determined by the instructor and subject to review by the Dean of the school or college offering the course, or their designee.
In such a case, the student may be eligible for retroactive withdrawal. The student is advised to always consult with the instructor to determine the potential impact of any absence.
PNW will promptly readmit a service member with the same academic status they had when last attending the school or accepted for admission to the school. This requirement applies to any student who cannot attend school due to military service. Additionally, students who have had an approved leave of absence will maintain their fellowship and scholarship status for all Purdue University-administered fellowships and scholarships
Students who believe that they have not been provided an excused absence(s) or the opportunity to complete make up work are encouraged to attempt to resolve the matter informally with the instructor, department head and the Dean of the College or School that the course is offered. In a case where grades are negatively affected, the student may follow the established grade appeals process.
The University expects that students will attend classes for which they are registered. At times, however, either anticipated or unanticipated absences can occur. The student bears the responsibility of informing the instructor in a timely fashion, when possible.
The instructor bears the responsibility of trying to accommodate the student, either by excusing the student or allowing the student to make up work, when possible. The University expects both students and their instructors to approach problems with class attendance in a manner that is reasonable.
Class attendance is mandatory for Title IV financial aid recipients.
PNW will promptly readmit a service member with the same academic status they had when last attending the school or accepted for admission to the school. This requirement applies to any student who cannot attend school due to military service.
Additionally, students who have had an approved leave of absence will maintain their fellowship and scholarship status for all Purdue University-administered fellowships and scholarships.
