College policy restricts institutional financial aid (scholarships/grants) from paying more than 100% of tuition when combined with certain non-Guilford awards. When your VA Benefits cover 100% of your tuition costs, there are certain situations in which your VA Benefits will take precedence over any institutional scholarships or grants for which you might otherwise qualify. Examples of this include:

• Yellow Ribbon eligible students
• Students who are 100% Post-9/11 GI Bill® eligible

Should your status for 100% eligibility change, or you reach your annual tuition cap, you would then be able to utilize your institutional scholarship or grant.

Guilford College has partnered with the Veterans Affairs (VA) Administration to offer the Yellow Ribbon Program Scholarship to students with 100% eligibility under the Post-9/11 GI Bill®.

• The Yellow Ribbon Program at Guilford College will cover 100% of tuition and fees over the Post-9/11 GI Bill® yearly tuition cap (50% funded by Guilford and 50% funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs.)
• All students with 100% Post 9/11 GI Bill® eligibility are eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Scholarship, except for Active Duty students and their spouses, per the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• The cap on Yellow Ribbon funds is currently unlimited.
• Because the Yellow Ribbon award is a form of Guilford College institutional aid, it cannot be combined with any other Guilford scholarships or discounts.

Tuition Assistance 

Tuition Assistance (TA) is a benefit offered to service members to assist with the cost of tuition. Military Tuition Assistance covers up to the $250 per credit hour. Tuition Assistance only applies to tuition.

Tuition Assistance Policies

• Military Tuition Assistance does not pay for fees unless a base education office or branch service portal specifies on a TA authorization form or request that they are willing to do so.
• Students will be recouped for grades that are not deemed successful. The following grades are acceptable and will not be recouped.
  • Undergraduate: C grade or higher
  • Graduate: B grade or higher (- and + will be treated as just a letter grade).
• Both Tuition Assistance and the Post 9/11 GI Bill® (Chapter 33) benefit can be utilized for applicable courses for approved programs. You can use your Chapter 33 VA Benefits to pay the remaining balance between the amount of funding from Tuition Assistance and 100% of the tuition charged by Guilford. These payments will follow normal Post 9/11 GI Bill® rules and entitlement, charging your months of benefits based upon your enrollment status.
• Tuition Assistance cannot be utilized with any VA benefits other than the Montgomery GI Bill® Active Duty and the Post 9/11 GI Bill®. Students will have to decide whether they want to utilize VA benefits or Tuition Assistance for those courses.

Tuition Assistance (TA) is earned in a prorated manner on a per diem basis (calendar days) up to the 60% point in the semester. TA is viewed as 100% earned after that point in time. Guilford will perform a return of funds calculation to determine the amount of earned aid up through the 60% point in each payment period or period of enrollment. The institution will use the Department of Education’s prorate schedule to determine the amount TA the student has earned at the time of withdrawal. All unearned funds will be returned to the Department of Defense within 45 days.

Example of Calculation

1. Determine the percentage of TA aid earned by the student by taking the calendar days completed in the payment period, divided by the total calendar days in the payment period (excluding breaks of 5 days or more and days the student was on an approved LOA).

18(completed days) ÷118 (total days)  = 15.3% (% of completed calendar days)

1. Determine the amount of TA earned by the student by multiplying the percentage of TA aid earned times the total of the TA disbursed.

15.3 % X $2805.00 = 429.17 (Amount of aid earned by student)

If the percentage is greater than 60%, the student earns 100% of the disbursed TA. If this percentage is less than 60%, then the percentage earned is equal to the calculated value. If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, Guilford would be required to return a portion of the funds. When TA funds are returned, the student may owe a balance to the institution. In the instance when a Service meme stops attending due to military service obligations, Guilford will work with them to identify solutions that will not result in a student debt for the returned portion.