AFAS announces STAP changes Published Feb. 21, 2012 By Air Force Aid Society Education Assistance Department ARLINGTON, Va. -- Due to Air Force reductions in funding and manpower, Base Education Centers will no longer provide administrative support of the Air Force Aid Society's Spouse Tuition Assistance Program for spouses at outside the contiguous United States locations after July 2012. In response, the Air Force Aid Society has looked at possible solutions sets to keep STAP operational. However, the software development costs and the time necessary to develop and implement such a solution for the upcoming academic year were simply not feasible. Therefore, in an effort to maintain some support of spouses at OCONUS locations for the 2012-2013 academic year, the Society has decided to discontinue STAP at the conclusion of the current program year, July 31, 2012, and to immediately expand eligibility requirements of our General Henry H. Arnold Education Grant Program to include spouses at overseas locations. Although this change limits assistance to only full-time undergraduates with demonstrated need, the advantages of the Arnold Grant Program must also be emphasized: $2,000 Arnold Grant awards vs. $1,500 annual $300 term limits for STAP; enrollment in any school approved by U.S. Department of Education for participation in Title IV programs vs. only contracted schools; and spouses at any location are eligible to apply vs. only those command-sponsored at participating bases with Education Centers and Airman and Family Readiness Centers. Please note that the Arnold Grant Program has an established application deadline of March 9, 2012, for Academic Year 2012-2013, but due to this short notification, the Society will extend the application deadline to March 30, 2012, for OCONUS spouses only. Nevertheless, it is imperative that any student who anticipates full-time enrollment during Academic Year 2012-2013 act quickly. To access the Arnold Grant Program information and application, visit www.afas.org/Education/ArnoldEdGrant.cfm. In addition, all Arnold Grant applicants must provide supporting documents as part of their complete application --these documents must either be faxed or scanned and attached to the online application as defined under procedures and instructions. If you do not have access to a personal fax machine or scanner, please visit your Base Education Center or Airman and Family Readiness Center for assistance. We regret any disappointment this change may cause, but we will continue to look for possible modifications of the Arnold Grant program to better align with the original STAP parameters for academic year 2013-2014. For more information visit or call the Eielson Education and Training Center at 377-5106 or the Airman and Family Readiness Center at 377-2178.