Starting this fall, military-affiliated students—veterans, active-duty military personnel, reservists, Tennessee National Guard members and U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force ROTC cadets—can attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga at the in-state tuition rate regardless of which state is their home.
The new benefit is the result of legislation authorizing Tennessee public university boards to classify veterans and military-affiliated students as in-state residents. The legislation was approved in the spring and signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee. The UT Board of Trustees adopted the measure at its June meeting.
Military-affiliated students from throughout the country can take advantage of the benefit starting in the fall 2022 semester.
“UTC is proud to have a number of faculty, staff and students who are veterans, and we look forward to welcoming even more military-affiliated students as a result of this exceptional opportunity to obtain an excellent UTC education more affordably than ever,” said UTC Director of Veteran and Military Affairs Sylvana Matthews.
“Many service members and veterans reside in surrounding states due to the locations of their permanent duty stations. Additionally, some veterans and military service members have little to no VA education benefits to help pay for tuition and fees, so the savings we can provide help a great deal. These men and women have served our country, and it is our honor to be of service to them in pursuing their education and career goals.”
UTC has been designated a military-friendly campus for the last seven years by MilitaryFriendly.com, an organization that sets standards for support of veteran and military-affiliated college students toward “positive reinforcement for American organizations to invest in programs that improve the lives of veterans.”
In fall 2021, the UTC student body included 156 undergraduate and 25 graduate student military veterans, as well as more than 180 spouses and dependents of veterans. Over the past five years, UTC has granted 316 bachelor’s degrees and 72 graduate degrees to veteran students, spouses and dependents of veterans.
UTC military student resources are extensive and veteran support runs the gamut from the innovative National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program—marking its 10th anniversary in 2022—to peer mentoring to specialized counseling services.