Eligibility Requirements

Veterans

You must:

  • At the time of entry into the U.S. Armed Forces:
    • Be a Texas resident,
    • Designate Texas as Home of Record, or
    • Enter the service in Texas.
  • Be classified by TCC as a Texas resident,
  • Have served at least 181 days of active military duty (excluding training),
  • Have received an honorable discharge or separation or a general discharge under honorable conditions,
  • Have no federal veteran's education benefits, or have federal veterans education benefits dedicated to the payment of tuition and fees only (such as Chapter 33 or 31; Pell and SEOG are not relevant) for term or semester enrolled that do not exceed the value of Hazlewood benefits,
  • Not be in default on a student loan made or guaranteed by the State of Texas,
  • Enroll in classes for which the college receives tax support (i.e., a course that does not depend solely on student tuition and fees to cover its costs), and
  • Meet the GPA and excessive hour requirement of TCC's satisfactory academic progress (SAP) in a degree or certificate program determined by TCC's financial aid policy.

Beginning Fall 2011, veterans who are granted their first Hazlewood Exemption must reside in Texas during the semester or term for which the exemption is claimed. This requirement does not apply to veterans who received the exemption prior to the 2011-2012 academic year.

Legacy Program (Transferability of Benefits)

Eligible veterans may assign unused hours of exemption eligibility to a child under certain conditions.

To be eligible, the child must:

  • Have a veteran parent who qualifies for the Hazlewood Exemption,
  • Be classified by TCC as a Texas resident,
  • Be the biological child, stepchild, adopted child, or be claimed as a dependent in the current or previous tax year,
  • Be 25 years or younger on the first day of the semester or term for which the exemption is claimed (unless granted an extension due to a qualifying illness or debilitating condition),
  • Not be in default on a student loan made or guaranteed by the State of Texas,
  • Meet the GPA and excessive hour requirement of TCC's satisfactory academic progress (SAP) in a degree or certificate program determined by the institution's financial aid policy.

If a child to whom hours have been delegated fails to use all of the assigned hours, a veteran may reassign the unused hours that are available to another dependent child. To apply for revocation or previously assigned exemption hours, please use the following form:

Veterans' spouses are not eligible to receive a transfer of unused hours.

Children and Spouses of Deceased/Disabled Veterans

Spouses and dependent children are entitled to each receive 150 credit hours exemption if they are related to an Active Duty, Reserve, or Texas National Guard veteran who:

  • Has died in the line of duty or as a result of injury directly related to military service,
  • Are missing in action, or
  • Became totally disabled (100%) for purposes of employability as a result of a service-related injury or illness.

Children and spouses of a veteran must:

  • Have a veteran parent or be the spouse of a veteran who qualifies for the Hazlewood Exemption,
  • Be classified by TCC as a Texas resident,
  • Have no federal veteran's education benefits or have no federal veteran's education benefits dedicated to the payment of tuition and fees only (such as Chapter 33 or 31; Pell and SEOG Grants are not relevant) for the term or semester enrolled that do not exceed the value of Hazlewood benefits,
  • Not be in default on a student loan made or guaranteed by the State of Texas,
  • Meet the GPA and excessive hour requirement of TCC's satisfactory academic progress (SAP) in a degree or certificate program determined by the institution's financial aid policy. This requirement does not apply to the dependent child or spouse of a Texas Veteran who is MIA, KIA or died as a result of service.

The benefit may not be used for correspondence courses unless the courses are part of the student's degree plan.

Effective with tuition and fee charges fall, 2011, a veteran's spouse or a child's guardian, conservator, custodian, or other legally designated caretaker may re-assign unused hours to an eligible child (through Legacy) on behalf of the veteran if the veteran died prior to requesting the transfer of hours.

Updated January 20, 2023