Tuition Assistance (TA)

Tuition assistance (TA) is a financial benefit available to all active-duty service members that significantly reduces the cost of a college education. Since World Campus has agreed to the terms of the Department of Defense Voluntary Education Partnership Memo of Understanding, you're free to access this benefit during the course of your studies here.

How to use TA

Enroll in classes at Penn State World Campus. Your academic adviser can help you choose classes and learn how to enroll.
Request Tuition Assistance through your service branch.
Provide the required documentation for your branch to Penn State World Campus, using our payment document upload form.

If you are unable to use our payment document upload form, you may also send the required documentation to our office:

Military Educational Benefits Office
Penn State World Campus
121 Outreach Building
University Park, PA 16802
Email: militarybenefits@worldcampus.psu.edu
Fax: 814-863-1385

If you need to drop or withdraw from your class(es), Penn State will comply with DoD requirements for the return of TA funds. The policy can be viewed here: TA Billing and Student Schedule Changes

Updated GI Bill link under the MGIA Official US Government website: https://www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/

Degree Plan

Part of receiving TA is working with your academic adviser to make an approved degree plan every semester. This is a document, provided and digitally signed by your adviser, that details the courses that you will take in your next semester. Once you have this document, you'll submit it through the portal used by your branch of service. It's in your best interest to schedule your courses and a meeting with your adviser as far ahead of the beginning of the semester as possible to allow for processing time for your TA.

One piece of information that you'll be asked to provide when requesting TA is the ID number for World Campus. This number is OPE-ID #00332900.

Once your TA has been approved, you'll need to submit your tuition authorization to the Bursar's Office at

Bursar
Penn State World Campus
121 Outreach Building
University Park, PA 16802-7012
Email: bursar@worldcampus.psu.edu
Fax: 814-863-1385

Penn State Military Grant-in-Aid (MGIA)

One benefit that you'll want to be sure to utilize in conjunction with your military TA is the Military Grant-in-Aid (MGIA). This benefit, offered only through World Campus, lowers the per credit cost of your undergraduate tuition. This means that when the MGIA is combined with your TA, your cost to attend World Campus is lowered significantly. For eligibility and up-to-date tuition costs after the MGIA benefit is applied, please see the Financial Aid for Military and Veteran Students web page.

As we mentioned previously, our MGIA can be combined with your TA; however, it cannot be combined with any GI Bill benefits. If you aren't at a 100% rating on the GI Bill, it may be in your best interest to use the TA and MGIA, particularly if you're attending part-time. This will allow you to save the GI Bill benefits for future needs. It's worth noting that if you've attended institutions other than World Campus, they may have used different procedures concerning your TA. It's always worth reaching out to your education officer or a staff member at World Campus (i.e., your academic adviser, the bursar's office, etc.) to make sure that you have all the information to help you make the right choices. Spouses are also eligible for MGIA, though the service member or their spouse must be serving in the military at some point during the semester in which they're registering.

You must complete the Military Grant-in-Aid Form each semester that you plan to take courses through World Campus. This form must be completed and submitted prior to the start of the semester, or within 7 days of registering if you register during the drop/add period.

Completed forms should be sent to the World Campus Bursar's Office at bfo@outreach.psu.edu.

If you would like further information on either TA or MGIA please visit our Military Grant-in-Aid and Tuition Assistance page.

GI Bill^® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government web site

Return to Module 1: Funding Your Education.