New Hampshire National Guard Tuition Waiver

The New Hampshire National Guard Education Assistance Act, RSA 110-B:63-a through 63-g, waives tuition rather than paying a grant. RSA 110-B:63-b, III defines educational assistance as "the waiver of the tuition cost of a course at a state-supported postsecondary institution", and paragraph V defines tuition as the total semester, quarter or classroom hour cost of instruction as established by the university system or community college system trustees. Tuition only. Fees, books, room and board are outside the definition, which is narrower than several Guard programmes elsewhere in this catalog. Eligibility, from RSA 110-B:63-c, is three conditions and they are worth reading in order. First, be "a sworn in active member of the New Hampshire national guard residing either in-state or out-of-state". Residence does not matter. An active member of the New Hampshire Guard who lives in Massachusetts or Vermont is eligible for the waiver itself. "Active member" is defined in RSA 110-B:63-b, I as a member of a federally recognised New Hampshire Guard unit who meets the minimum requirements for satisfactory membership under Army and Air Force regulations. Second, be enrolled in a degree-enhancing curriculum at a college under the chancellor of the community college system or the chancellor of the university system. RSA 110-B:63-b, II defines that as a series of courses programmed to culminate in a specific degree. A single course taken for interest does not qualify. Third, and this is the sequencing rule: "Have first utilized any post-September 11, 2001 tuition benefit and other federally funded military tuition assistance." The state waiver is last-dollar behind federal tuition benefits. But the same sentence carves out what does not have to be spent first: "Montgomery GI bill benefits, post-September 11, 2001 educational program housing, allowance, federal educational entitlements, national guard scholarship grants, and other non-tuition benefits shall be excluded from consideration when determining eligibility for a tuition waiver under this section." That carve-out is valuable and often misread. Montgomery GI Bill entitlement does not have to be exhausted first. The Post-9/11 housing allowance is not counted against the waiver. So a member can draw the housing allowance and still take the tuition waiver, and can preserve Montgomery GI Bill months. The spouse transfer, in RSA 110-B:63-c, IV, is the provision to act on because it is going away. A member who has completed an initial mandatory service obligation of no less than 6 years "may transfer their national guard tuition waiver benefit to their spouse", to be used in a degree-enhancing curriculum in the community college or university system. The transfer costs the member a 4-year reserve duty service obligation running from the date of transfer. The spouse may transfer the benefit back, but the member and spouse cannot use it at the same time. "Spouse" is defined in RSA 110-B:63-b, VI as a person legally married to a member, regardless of gender or state of residence, as recorded in the defense enrollment eligibility reporting system. The statute carries a bracketed note: "[Paragraph IV repealed by 2022, 342:4 effective July 1, 2027.]" The transfer was created by the same 2022 act that set its own expiry. A member who wants to transfer the waiver to a spouse has until July 1, 2027 to do it, and should weigh the 4-year obligation that comes with it. Termination, in RSA 110-B:63-e, is stricter than most and permanent. Assistance may be terminated for failure to complete the Guard military obligation, failure to maintain a 90 percent rate of attendance at annual training and drill assemblies, or nine unsatisfactory drill period performances in a calendar year while enrolled. If service is terminated or becomes unsatisfactory while the member is receiving assistance, the member must pay the remainder of the tuition for the course on a pro rata basis. And then: "Once terminated for the above causes, an individual shall be ineligible for any further educational assistance under this subdivision." There is no route back. Separately, a member dismissed from any school for academic or disciplinary reasons is ineligible for further assistance. The fallback for out-of-state members is RSA 110-B:63-f: any member of the New Hampshire Guard who is an otherwise eligible out-of-state resident and cannot qualify for the waiver "may take such course at the in-state tuition rate". In a state where the out-of-state differential at the university system is large, that is a substantial benefit on its own. Admission is not guaranteed. RSA 110-B:63-c states that admission "shall be in accordance with the state-supported postsecondary institution's standard student admissions criteria policies and practices". Eligibility is determined and monitored by the adjutant general under RSA 110-B:63-d, who establishes the procedures, so the operational detail sits with the Guard rather than with the institutions. The two chancellors report annually by November 1 to the speaker, the senate president, the adjutant general and the governor on enrolment and courses under RSA 110-B:63-g.