UNH students on Boulder Field for Blackhawk helicopter training (Photo: Jeremy Gasowski, UNH Communications and Public Affairs)
During the 2015-2016 academic year some 313 members of the New Hampshire National Guard received tuition waivers from UNH. The amount of tuition waived for UNH Guard members totaled $1,620,420 during that time.
System-wide — including UNH, Keene State College, Granite State College and Plymouth State University — 797 tuition waivers were issued, totaling more than $2.4 million.
Honoring Those Who Serve
Students who are members of New Hampshire National Guard have been receiving tuition assistance from the University System of New Hampshire since 1996 when the state passed House Bill 1450, which allows guardsmen to take courses tuition-free “on a space-available basis in state-supported postsecondary institutions.” It also provides for in-state tuition rates for guard members who are out-of-state residents.
“By having the tuition waiver, Guard students end up with less debt when they graduate,” says Karen Gilbert, director of Military & Veterans Services at UNH. “I talked to one of our Air National Guard students who shared with me that he probably wouldn’t have come to UNH without it. The waiver has made it so he has to pay less to attend UNH, and by joining the Guard he is also learning about leadership and service to the state and to the country. While we don’t know how many wouldn’t attend without the waiver, it is safe to think that it would be a substantial number.”
New Hampshire Guard students can receive up to $4,000 per year once they have first applied for federal assistance.
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Written By:
Jody Record ’95 | Communications and Public Affairs | jody.record@unh.edu
