MTSU Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center
The Tennessee S.T.R.O.N.G. Act
Support Training and Renewing Opportunity for National Guardsmen
The Tennessee STRONG (Support, Training, and Renewing Opportunity for National Guardsmen) Act established a program to provide eligible members of the Tennessee National Guard tuition funding toward a first bachelor’s or first master’s degree or a certificate or diploma from a vocational or technical school through a tuition reimbursement program. This program is used in conjunction with Federal Tuition Assistance to pursue professional and personal self-development goals. The Tennessee STRONG Act provides educational opportunities for those who protect and serve our state and country and supports the Drive to 55 goal of equipping 55 percent of Tennesseans with a degree or certificate by 2025.
More information on Tennessee STRONG can be found here.
Tennessee Army National Guard Major General Holmes visiting the Daniels Center on May 4, 2022
The S.T.R.O.N.G. Process
New Students:
Apply to the university prior to your intended entry term.
Once you have been accepted, sign up for CUSTOMS Orientation. During the orientation, you will meet with an advisor who will help you enroll in classes for your first term.
For help registering for orientation, contact the CUSTOMS department: 615-898-5533 [email protected]
To find an advisor, find your major in the Advising Index.
Register for classes on Pipeline.
For help registering for classes, refer to the Registration Guide or contact your advisor.
Returning Students:
Register for classes on Pipeline.
For help registering for classes, refer to the Registration Guide or contact your advisor.
To find an advisor, find your major in the Advising Index.
To qualify for the TN STRONG reimbursement program, you must be:
Enrolled in an eligible TN public or private institution,
Maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 (undergraduates) or 3.0 (graduate students) EACH SEMESTER,
Apply for and use FTA if eligible,
Be in good standing with and currently in the TN National Guard, and
Apply for reimbursement within 45 days of the end of course.
Note: You must earn at least a 2.0 (undergraduates) or 3.0 (graduate students) GPA each semester. If less than that, no classes for that term will be reimbursed, even classes that were passed. Repeated classes will also not be reimbursed.
Also, STRONG does not pay for flight lab fees or study abroad.
If you are a traditional member of the TN Air National Guard or an Army ROTC Cadet on scholarship you can skip this step.
If you are a member of the TN Army National Guard or Army Reserves, you must apply for FTA using ArmyIgnitED (Note: If an error page pops up when you open the link, click “Advanced” then “Proceed to site”). This is a lengthy process that takes ~1-2 business days for approval, so get started early, especially if you have never used it before (you can request TA up to 60 days before classes start). You must have approval AT LEAST 8 days prior to the first day of classes. More information on eligibility and on how to apply can be found in the MTSU Daniels Center.
ArmyIgnited 1.0 has been upgraded to ArmyIgnited 2.0 in late August. If this is your first time accessing ArmyIgnited 2.0, you must do the following:
Step 3 – Once Education Goal has been approved by Education Center (how find your Education Center), submit your Tuition Assistance request. Tutorial.
Step 4 – Once Tuition Assitance Request has been approved, you must log back into ArmyIgnited and print your TA Approval Form and submit to [email protected] for processing. Tutorial.
To apply, you can find a pdf version of the TN STRONG application here. In addition to FTA, there are several things you will need to complete and gather:
You will complete Pages 1 and 3-5 (NOTE: only DOD CAC or handwritten signatures are acceptable. All other digital signatures will be rejected).
Once you have filled out Pages 1 and 3-5, you will send that pdf to your commander to sign at the bottom of Page 1. For MTSU students, the Postsecondary Institution POC is Becky Bussell (Page 5).
Page 2 will be completed by the MTSU Bursar’s office. You can submit your request for completion of Section IV- Enrollment Certification Form (Page 2) by clicking here. ALL students will be required to submit a new Statement of Understanding and the Authorization to Release as of October 1, 2022. The completed Enrollment Certification Form will be sent to your MTSU email address.
For further questions about your application packet, contact Natalie Hill.
DO NOT SEND ENTIRE PACKET BY EMAIL!!
Your Social Security Number is in your application packet. Do not send your packet by email!
Once you have done all of the above steps, you should have a complete packet with:
FTA verification
Your commander’s signature, and
Section IV- Enrollment Certification Form.
You will email your branch all of these documents in pdf form. The email subject line should be labeled: “Term Year Application Packet” (i.e., “FALL 2022 Application Packet”). ***MAKE SURE TO SEND FROM YOUR ENCRYPTED MILITARY ACCOUNT OR HAND DELIEVER, AS YOUR SSN IS ON THE PACKET ***
Defer. As STRONG is a tuition reimbursement program, students are expected to pay in full or on the installment payment plan and to be reimbursed after the semester by TN STRONG if eligibility requirements are met. However, MTSU does offer a deferment plan for STRONG students. You may qualify for a tuition deferment if:
An acceptance letter from TN STRONG has been received by the Bursars Office before the fee payment deadline. To ensure that TN STRONG has enough time to process your application packet before the deadline, please submit your completed application packet to your branch as soon as possible. You can request the Enrollment Certification Form from the Bursar’s Office as soon as you register.
The Deferment Paperwork must be completed by the fee payment deadline. The deferment, if eligible, will be processed once the Bursar receives an acceptance letter. The amount deferred is the total amount of instate undergraduate tuition and fees less any FTA, federal or state funded grants, scholarships or discounts. The deferment will not cover out-of-state tuition charges, dorm, or meal plan charges.
No late deferments will be accepted.
*** DO NOT COMPLETE A DEFERMENT MORE THAN ONCE A SEMESTER! ***
DO NOT Defer. If you do not or cannot complete the application prior to the fee payment deadline, you are responsible for covering the cost of your tuition and fees in order to confirm registration and will be reimbursed after the term is over and final grades have been submitted. The MTSU Bursar will submit your final grades for you at the end of the term and you will be reimbursed for all eligible classes.
You must confirm or pay any remaining balance due by the fee payment/confirmation deadline.
