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NGAUS has teamed with Columbia Southern University in Orange Beach, Alabama, to provide a new scholarship for the association's active annual members.
The NGAUS-CSU Scholarship will be awarded every year to a current active annual or active life member of the association. The recipient may also transfer the scholarship to their spouse or another family member.
"The NGAUS partnership with Columbia Southern University gives great flexibility to NGAUS active members who want to advance their education," said Maria Kelly, the association’s director of membership and marketing.
The application process for the scholarship will start Feb. 1 and will run through July 1.
The scholarship will be applied to one online undergraduate, graduate or doctorate degree program at CSU.
It can be directly applied to the recipient’s tuition for up to 60 credit hours or 36 consecutive months in their selected online degree program, whichever comes first. The scholarship also covers tuition and technology fees.
All other fees are the scholarship recipient's responsibility.
Based on current tuition rates, the present value of this scholarship is $32,700.
"Columbia Southern University is proud to launch this exciting partnership effort with the National Guard Association of the United States and offer its members an opportunity to improve their education via a scholarship toward an online degree," said a CSU spokesman.
"The NGAUS-CSU scholarship represents the university’s commitment to keep education affordable and achievable," the spokesman added.
The NGAUS-CSU Scholarship is one of two scholarships the association offers to members. The other is the NGAUS-AFBA Scholarship.
"We noticed when selecting winners for the NGAUS-AFBA scholarships that most of the military applicants were pursuing advanced degrees that enabled them to support other service members and veterans," Kelly said. "The NGAUS-CSU Scholarship provides that same opportunity for those pursuing their degree online."
To be eligible for the scholarship, candidates must have a high school transcript or equivalent, must be available to begin their coursework within six months of the date of the award and must be capable of maintaining a 2.0 undergraduate GPA or 3.0 graduate GPA.
Students who have previous college experience must meet academic requirements for admission to CSU. Current CSU students must already meet these requirements for consideration.
Kelly said the first scholarship will be awarded in 2024. The winner will be recognized during the association's 146th General Conference & Exhibition in Detroit in August.
According to CSU, there are currently 585 Guardsmen attending the university.
Nearly 1,900 Guardsmen have graduated from CSU.
More scholarship application details are available here.
More information about CSU is available at www.columbiasouthern.edu.
— By Donald Lambert
