Maine National Guard Education Assistance Program

The Maine National Guard Education Assistance Program pays full tuition at a Maine college or university for a serving member of the Maine National Guard. It is a serving-member benefit rather than a veteran benefit, and it is listed here because Guard service is where a large share of Maine's veteran population begins. The programme covers up to 130 credits, which is more than the 120 credits a bachelor's degree usually needs and therefore leaves room for a change of major or a failed course. Eligible programmes are a bachelor's degree, an associate degree, a certificate, or a licence. The member must maintain a 2.0 grade point average and must serve at least one year after receiving the financial assistance. That service obligation is the condition to plan around, because it attaches to assistance already received rather than to assistance still to come. Three things make a member ineligible. Already holding a bachelor's degree, which makes this a first-degree benefit. Nine or more unexcused training absences. And failure to complete annual training. Those last two are worth stating plainly: the programme is conditioned on being in good standing as a Guard member, and drill attendance is part of the eligibility test rather than a separate matter between the member and the unit. Because this is a state programme rather than a federal one, it sits alongside federal tuition assistance and the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve, Chapter 1606, rather than replacing them. A member should ask the education office how the state programme is applied when federal benefits are also in play, because the order of application changes what is left to cover. No disability rating is involved anywhere, so a rating filter never hides this entry.