Pennsylvania National Guard Educational Assistance Program (EAP)

PHEAA and the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) jointly administer the Educational Assistance Program (EAP) for members of the Pennsylvania National Guard. This program provides tuition assistance to students who enter into a service commitment with the Pennsylvania National Guard, typically for a period of six years.   If the student fails to honor the service commitment with the Guard, all EAP funds the student received must be repaid with interest.

Eligibility Requirements

The Guard member:

• must be in good standing.  EAP eligibility begins upon completion of Basic Training.

• must accept an obligation to serve in the Guard for 8 years from the date of entry into the program (i.e. 6 years active Guard plus 2 years inactive).

• must be a bona fide resident of Pennsylvania and must be enrolled in a degree or certificate-granting program of study.

• must not already have a bachelor's degree.*

• cannot be a ROTC scholarship participant.

• is limited to a maximum eligibility of 5 academic years.

*NOTE:  Guard members who already have baccalaureate or higher degrees may be able to use EAP funds on a part-time basis.

Application Process

Students apply annually through their individual units of assignment with the Pennsylvania National Guard.  The Guard forwards approved applications to PHEAA for processing.  PHEAA calculates the student's eligibility and notifies the student, LHUP, and the National Guard of the EAP award amount.  

Application Status

Questions about general eligibility information, application deadlines, participation in the program, and status of applications may be referred to the student's National Guard unit of assignment.

Questions about award calculation, notification letters, and PA residency may be referred to PHEAA Grant Division at 800-692-7392.  Award information may also be obtained via the Account Access link on PHEAA's web site at http://www.pheaa.org.

Payment Information

At LHUP, the maximum EAP award for a full-time student is equivalent to the tuition charged (i.e. $2519 for fall semester 2006).  Part-time students receive either one-half of the actual tuition charged or one-third (i.e. $839 for fall semester 2006) of the full-time tuition rate, whichever is less.

LHUP receives EAP disbursement rosters (i.e. payments) three times per year, generally in September, January, and April.  Before funds are disbursed to individual student accounts, required checks are performed to confirm student eligibility.

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