Federal Tuition Assistance (ArmyIgnitED)

Federal Tuition Assistance (FTA) is a federally funded program that pays schools directly for the cost of tuition for soldiers. FTA pays your tuition cost up to $250 per credit hour and up to $4,500 per fiscal year (October 1 - September 30). Fees are authorized for payment as long as they are directly related to the course(s). Soldiers must provide details of fees on the uploaded statement of tuition cost (see application process below). FTA cannot be used for books. Per Department of Defense guidelines, undergraduate flat rate tuition must be broken down in a “per credit” cost. For the 2025-2026 academic year, this “per credit” cost would be $985.45 - $1,478.17/credit.

FTA can be used towards one degree at each level: bachelor’s and master's degree. Soldiers are limited to 18 credit hours per fiscal year and a lifetime limit of 130 Undergraduate, 39 graduate semester hours, and one academic certificate up to 21 credit hours.

For more information about FTA, please visit Iowa National Guard’s website at https://nationalguard.com/education. 

Eligibility

Reach out and receive approval from an Educational Services Officer (ESC) or counselor within the Military Service prior to enrolling and check eligibility.

To qualify for Federal Tuition Assistance the student should be currently serving in good standing in the ARNG and have a Common Access Card (CAC).

Applying for Benefits

The deadline to apply for FTA is the start date of the course(s). You must apply for FTA each semester because the application is specific to the courses you are registered for.

  1. Go to ArmyIgnitED to create an account by clicking “Get Started” (CAC ID required) and complete AIED 101 Training & Career Path Decide support tool.
  2. Request an Educational Goal (select Grand View University and degree program).
  3. After enrolling in a course at GVU, return to ArmyIgnitED and request Tuition Assistance (TA) for the courses.
  4. Once courses are approved, return to ArmyIgnitED, print the authorization form and provide it to Grand View and your Military Education Contact (515) 252-4422.

Receiving Payments

FTA is applied to your Grand View account after you provide the approved authorization(s) to the Veterans Services Office. The Veterans Services Office will log your authorizations and provide copies to Student Accounts. Student Accounts will credit your Grand View account for the amount of the authorization(s). Grand View University invoices ArmyIgnitED on a quarterly basis and physically receives the money for your tuition and fees.