Sec. 3.
(1) The Michigan National Guard tuition assistance program is created within the department of military and veterans affairs.
(2) The adjutant general shall administer the tuition assistance program and prescribe forms and procedures to effectively carry out the tuition assistance program.
(3) An eligible person may apply for tuition assistance from the tuition assistance program before enrolling in an eligible educational institution. The adjutant general shall approve the application if the applicant is an eligible person and if there is sufficient money in the fund to cover the amount of tuition assistance determined to be available under this subsection by the adjutant general in that academic year. The adjutant general shall determine the amount of tuition assistance that may be provided under this subsection in any academic year. The amount of tuition assistance determined by the adjutant general under this subsection applies to all eligible persons.
(4) If an eligible person has enrolled in an eligible educational institution and has not applied for and received tuition assistance from the tuition assistance program, the eligible person may apply for tuition assistance for tuition paid to the eligible educational institution in that current academic year. The adjutant general shall approve the application if the applicant is an eligible person and if there is sufficient money in the fund to cover the amount of tuition assistance determined to be available under this subsection by the adjutant general in that academic year. The adjutant general shall determine the amount of tuition assistance that may be provided under this subsection in any academic year. The amount of tuition assistance determined by the adjutant general under this subsection applies to all eligible persons.
(5) The tuition assistance program applies to any course of study that is intended to culminate in vocational or technical training, a certificate, or the eligible person's first associate degree, bachelor's degree, or master's degree.
(6) The adjutant general may make a tuition assistance distribution under this section to either the eligible person or the eligible education institution, and may determine when the distribution is made.
(7) Upon completion of a course of study, an eligible person who successfully applied for tuition assistance under subsection (3) or (4) shall provide evidence of attendance and completion of the course of study with a minimum grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, as applicable, in that current semester, in a manner prescribed by the adjutant general.
(8) If an eligible person who received tuition assistance under subsection (3) or who received reimbursement for the cost of tuition under subsection (4) did not complete the course of study for which it was granted, that eligible person shall reimburse the fund in an amount and in a manner prescribed by the adjutant general unless the eligible person was deployed in a state or federal status that resulted in the eligible person's inability to complete the course of study. In that case, the matter shall be determined by the adjutant general.
History: 2014, Act 259, Imd. Eff. July 1, 2014 ;-- Am. 2016, Act 531, Eff. Apr. 9, 2017