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TCC Veterans Services
Mission Statement
Service members, military veterans, and their families have unique needs when it comes to furthering their educational goals. The TCC Veterans Service Office is here to help them meet those goals by meeting them where they are. We support these students’ needs, whether it be academic, social, or administrative. Our comprehensive knowledge base and campus-wide connections works to provide a network of resources to make our students successful.
About Veterans Services
TCC honors the personnel who have served our country. We offer excellent programs to help service members, military veterans, and their families meet their educational, social, and administrative goals.
Tacoma Community College does not engage in fraudulent and aggressive recruitment of military students, and will not provide any commission, bonus, or other incentive payment to individuals for securing military enrollments or engaging in high-pressure recruitment tactics.
The Solomon Amendment is a federal law that requires institutions receiving certain federal agency funding to fulfill military recruitment requests for lists containing student directory information. It provides branches of the military access to student directory information which would have been denied them under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Students can opt out of directory information release through their ctcLink account. If they have opted out, their information is not included in the list to the military.
Learn About Your VA Benefits
How to Get Started
Here are the steps you need to take to enroll at TCC and get your veterans benefits.
Chapter 35/ Survivor and Dependent Benefits
Tuition Waiver Information
The college only awards tuition waivers to Chapter 35 beneficiaries (dependents, spouses and surviving dependents and spouses of disabled or deceased veterans). The specific guidelines recently enacted into law by the State of Washington authorize the tuition waivers for these categories of survivors and dependents:
- The child or spouse of a veteran who served in active federal service and said veteran
became totally disabled while engaged in active federal military or naval service,
and has no earned income,
- OR who is determined by the federal government to be a prisoner of war or missing in action,
- OR who lost his or her life while engaged in active federal military or naval service;
- AND if discharged, received an honorable discharge;
- AND is a Washington resident
TCC does not offer tuition waivers to veterans receiving Chapter 30, 31, 33, 1606 or 1607 benefits. Please note the new Post 9-11 GI Bill does include payment of some or all of the tuition based on the number of months served on active duty after Sept. 11, 2001.
Read more about the tuition waiver law
Utilizing Benefits in High School
There are 5 months of full benefits available that do not take away from the 36 months for DEA. This allows students who are in High School to start using their Chapter 35 benefit while transitioning from High School to a higher education. The high school must be approved for VA Benefits by the state education accreditation agency and if they are not on the approved list yet, they can apply through their state. Please note: this program will no longer be available after August 1st, 2026.
Students currently utilizing Running Start at Tacoma Community College cannot use Chapter 35 benefits. Once they are finished with Running Start, students can utilize their Chapter 35 benefits.
For more information about utilizing benefits in high school, please call VA Education Benefits at 1-888-442-4551.
Chapter 33/ GI Bill® Benefits
The GI Bill helps Veterans pursue their academic goals by covering college, graduate school, and training program fees. Veterans have the option to utilize their own benefit for school or transfer their benefits to a spouse or dependent.
General information about the GI Bill
Starting Winter Quarter 2022, Post 9/11 GI Bill students will need to submit their Verification of Attendance directly to the VA monthly. Failure to verify attendance for two (2) consecutive months will impact your Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA/BAH).
NOTE: GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
Montgomery GI Bill (Active Duty)
The Montgomery GI Bill (Active Duty) can help Veterans who have served at least 2 years on Active Duty pay for their education and training program.
Montgomery GI Bill (Active)Montgomery GI Bill (Reserve)
The Montgomery GI Bill (Reserve) can help Veterans obtain 36 months of education and training benefits.
Montgomery GI Bill (Reserve)Chapter 31/ Veterans Readiness & Employment (VR&E) Benefits
The VR&E benefits are for:
- Veterans that have a VA service-connected disability rating of at least 20 percent with an employment handicap that have been discharged or released from military service under other than dishonorable conditions, OR
- Veterans that have a VA service-connected disability rating of 10 percent with a serious employment handicap that have been discharged or released from military service under other than dishonorable conditions.
Veterans who are eligible for both VR&E services and Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits may elect a special subsistence allowance that is based on the monthly basic allowance for housing paid to active duty military. The monthly amount varies depending on the ZIP code of the training facility and is usually greater than the regular subsistence allowance rates that are available to Veterans with no Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility who are using VR&E benefits. Active-duty Service-Members are not eligible for subsistence allowance until after release from active duty.
General information about the VR&E
Veterans utilizing VR&E must apply for their Chapter 31 benefit
If your Chapter 31 application is accepted, the VA will assign you a Chapter 31 counselor who will go over your career/employment goals and required training. When your academic/training curriculum has been approved, please ensure your counselor sends us a copy of your approval letter.
Benefit Rates
To estimate the monetary amount you should receive for the academic quarter, please check out the TCC VA Benefits Comparison Tool.
Other Benefits
Additional Resources
Point of Contact
TCC Veterans Services can help you enroll, secure financial assistance and get the most out of your time on campus. For information and assistance, please contact our staff directly.
Survey
This survey will allow you to submit your feedback 100% anonymously. We truly value your insight and hope with this information we can provide the VA and TCC leadership a clearer picture of which areas need improvement to better support your needs.