educationstate

Guard Tuition Assistance — Full Undergraduate Tuition, Paid Back to You

The adjutant general may pay 100% of tuition for a first undergraduate degree at a university campus, and 50% toward a first master’s. It is a reimbursement with a 30-day application window, and the statute funds it only so far as money is available.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: 100% of tuition for a first undergraduate degree; 50% toward a first master’s

The figure shown is two semesters of resident undergraduate tuition at the flagship campus for 2026–27, which the registrar publishes as $5,880 per semester at twelve or more credits. A community college costs far less and the award is correspondingly smaller.
The statute limits eligibility to enlisted persons, warrant officers and company grade officers (O-1 through O-3) in the state national guard who are residents of the State as the board of regents defines residence, and who are undergraduate students working toward a degree on any campus of the university.
The programme’s own application page adds the conditions the statute leaves to rule: good standing, an undergraduate or incoming freshman at a university system school, an ETS date extending past the last day of class, and completion of advanced individual training, with waivers available.
Reimbursement is 100% of tuition for courses applicable to a first undergraduate degree and 50% for a first master’s degree.
The statute says the adjutant general "may award" assistance "subject to the availability of funds". Nothing in it obliges a payment in any given semester.

Who is entitled to it

The programme is for serving Guard members.
Your home is in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

Deadline: Within 30 days of the start of the semester

1Apply within 30 days of the start of the semester. The window is short and it is counted from the semester start, not from enrolment.
2Check your ETS date against the academic calendar before applying — it has to extend past the last day of class, and a separation date inside the term is the common disqualifier.
3Enrol on a campus of the university system. The statute names that system and no other institution.
4Submit end-of-course paperwork within 15 days of grades posting. This is a reimbursement programme, so the payment follows the grade rather than the enrolment.
5Ask the education office on (808) 672-1019 whether the master’s-level 50% is open in the year you are applying — the statute authorises undergraduate study, and the wider offer sits in the adjutant general’s rules.

File with: The state Army National Guard education office
Each term: Claimed per academic term.

CorrectionThe statute authorises undergraduate study only — "undergraduate students working toward a degree on any campus". The programme page offers 50% toward a first master’s degree. The extension is real and published by the office that runs it, but it rests on the adjutant general’s rules under §121-45(b) rather than on the statute, so confirm it for your own semester rather than assuming it.

CorrectionThis is not a tuition waiver. You pay the campus, then submit end-of-course paperwork within 15 days of grades posting and are reimbursed. Anyone planning on the bill never arriving has the mechanism backwards.

Worth knowingResidence is defined by the board of regents under §304A-402, not by the military. A Guard member who has been in the State less than twelve months may be a resident for Guard purposes and a non-resident for tuition purposes at the same time.

Worth knowingThe statute requires the adjutant general to publish rules covering minimum qualifications, acceptable fields of study, periods of eligibility, and "any reenlistment obligations". No service obligation is stated on the application page read here, which means the rules are the only place to find out whether one exists.

Known gapThe rules adopted under §121-45(b) were not read this session. Award ceilings, the list of acceptable fields of study and any reenlistment obligation all live there.

Sources

authority · statuteHRS §121-45 — Tuition assistance for Hawaii national guard personnel to attend the University of Hawaii
operating · published policyHawaii Army National Guard — State Tuition Assistance Program (STAP) applications

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.