educationstate

National Guard Tuition and Fee Waiver — and 130 Hours a Member Can Pass to Dependants

An active member of the Massachusetts National Guard gets a waiver of both tuition and fees at state colleges, universities and community colleges. The family education programme lets specified dependants draw on the same allowance — capped at 130 semester hours per member, transfers included.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: Tuition and fees waived at public institutions, up to 130 semester hours per member

The Executive Office of Veterans Services describes a waiver of both fees and tuition at state colleges and universities for members of the National Guard, under Acts of 2005 ch. 130.
The Department of Higher Education describes it as a 100% tuition and fee waiver for active members attending a state college, university or community college programme, continuing while the member is in good academic standing and until 130 semester hours are reached.
M.G.L. c.33 §137A caps the credit total of tuition benefits at 130 semester hours per member, including hours transferred to a member’s dependants — so the member and their dependants share one allowance.
The cost of the waivers is borne by the Commonwealth rather than by the institutions.
No dollar figure is published here because the value is whatever tuition and fees would have cost at the institution you attend.

Who is entitled to it

You are an active member of the Massachusetts National Guard.
You are the serving member.
The family education programme issues certificates of exemption to specified dependants of members.
You are not in default on a federal student loan.
Your home is in Massachusetts.

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: Before each semester you register for

1Request the Certificate of Eligibility from the Massachusetts National Guard Education Office for the total number of credit hours you are registered for that semester. The certificate, not your membership, is what the college acts on.
2Expect to renew the certificate every 30 credits, which is the interval the Department of Higher Education describes.
3Take the certificate to the veterans representative at your college or university. Both agencies direct you to that person for the practical detail.
4Watch the shared 130-hour pool if you intend to pass benefits to a dependant. Hours you use yourself come out of the same total, so plan the split before you start rather than after.
5If you are a dependant, note the clock: the allotment must be used within 10 years of the member separating from service, or by age 26, whichever date is later.
6Keep good academic standing. The Department of Higher Education conditions continuation on it.
7Clear any federal student loan default first. Massachusetts conditions its tuition waivers on not being in default.
8Ask the education office to confirm your running credit total in writing each year, because the military division is required to maintain that record and it is easier to correct early.

Form: Tuition and Fee Waiver Certificate of Eligibility, requested every 30 credits
File with: Massachusetts National Guard Education Office, then your institution’s veterans representative
Each term: Claimed per academic term.

CorrectionThe 130 hours are not per person. M.G.L. c.33 §137A caps them per member, including hours transferred to dependants — so a member who studies to a degree themselves may have little or nothing left to pass on.

CorrectionThis is a different benefit from the categorical tuition waiver open to Massachusetts veterans under M.G.L. c.15A §19. That one is tuition only and space-available; this one covers fees as well.

Worth knowingThe dependant deadline is the later of two dates, not the earlier: 10 years after the member separates, or age 26. For a young dependant of a long-serving member, that can be a much longer runway than it first appears.

Known gapmalegislature.gov refused retrieval this session, so the text of Acts of 2005 ch. 130 and of M.G.L. c.33 §137A was not read directly. Both citations and the terms quoted come from the two administering agencies’ own pages.

Sources

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