The Hazlewood Act Exemption is a State of Texas benefit that provides qualified veterans, spouses, and dependent children with an education benefit of up to 150 hours of tuition exemption, including most fee charges, at public institutions of higher education in Texas. A few ineligible fees include the student service fee, property deposit, courseware fees and taxes, books, housing, and meal plans.
The Texas Veteran Commission establishes the rules for program eligibility, but the basic qualification requirements are listed below:
If eligible for Hazlewood and Chapters 31 or 33, a student must exhaust all federal benefits before using Hazlewood. Chapters 30, 35, and 1606 may be used in conjunction with Hazlewood, but students must submit a Hazlewood Application AND a Benefit Request Form for each semester they wish to use benefits.
Additionally, effective beginning Fall 2014, the Texas Legislature approved Senate Bill 1210 which states that recipients of Texas state exemptions and/or waivers must meet Financial Aid's satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirement of a grade point average (GPA) of 2.000 for undergraduate students and 3.000 for graduate students. Also, recipients must not be in excess hours status. If a student does not meet this minimum GPA requirement or is in excessive hours status, the student may submit an appeal.
Tuition and Fees
Hazlewood benefits are paid directly to the school toward tuition and fees. You will be notified via email once your Hazlewood certification has been processed, and you should expect to see your Hazlewood credit applied to your TouchNet account within two business days from certification. Students are responsible for any remaining balance after benefits have been applied to the account. Failure to take care of a remaining balance may result in classes being voided, and you will no longer be registered for classes. Please contact the MSU Business Office to make payment arrangements or for information about payment deadlines. You can reach them at (940) 397-4101 or bus.office@msutexas.edu.
Students may use Hazlewood for as many or as few courses per semester as they wish. However, we default to using Hazlewood toward a student’s full course load. If you wish not to use Hazlewood toward your full course load, you must contact our office in writing to inform us you wish to only use a certain number of Hazlewood hours.
Hazlewood is divided into 3 types: Texas Veteran, Legacy Children, and Child or Spouse of a 100% Disabled or Service-Related Deceased, Missing in Action, or Killed in Action Veteran. Please see the tabs below for a checklist of required background documents based on your type.
Qualifications:
Military veterans, who, at the time of entry into the U.S. Armed Forces, were Texas residents, designated Home of Record as Texas, or entered military service in the state of Texas
A veteran may reassign all or part of eligible Hazlewood hours to a biological, adopted, or step child who is 25 years of age or younger.
Qualifications:
Eligible children of Texas veterans whose parent transferred all or part of their unused Hazlewood benefit hours
To qualify for Legacy Hazlewood, the student must be the biological child, stepchild, adopted child, or claimed as a dependent in the current or previous tax year of a qualifying veteran. The student must also be classified as a Texas resident by MSU and be 25 years or younger on the first day of the semester for which the benefit is being used.
The student and veteran must provide Texas addresses on the initial Hazlewood Application.
Please note that if multiple children are authorized to use a veteran’s hours, the exemption may be used by only one student (including the veteran) at a time. The total combined used hours cannot exceed 150.
Important!
Only classes required for your degree program may be certified for Legacy Hazlewood. Be sure to review the University Catalog and speak with an academic advisor every semester to ensure your classes apply toward your program. A Course Substitution form is required prior to certification in order to certify any classes not included in your program as outlined in the Catalog.
Repeated classes may be certified ONLY if you must repeat the class to meet your program requirements. For example, if your program requires a grade of C or better in a specific class and you make a D, Hazlewood will pay for you to retake the class.
Qualifications:
Eligible child or spouse of a Texas veteran classified as one of the above
Can be used in conjunction with Chapter 35 benefits
To qualify for 100% Disabled or Deceased Hazlewood, the student must be the spouse, biological child, stepchild, adopted child, or claimed as a dependent in the current or previous tax year of a qualifying veteran. The student must also be classified as a Texas resident by MSU.
Please note that Deceased or MIA Hazlewood users do not need to meet the minimum GPA requirement to use Hazlewood benefits, nor are they subject to the excessive hour restriction.