Arizona student and vocational grants: Arizona Promise, AzLEAP and WIOA (2026-27)

The Pell test behind Arizona Promise

Arizona Promise is written into state law at A.R.S. § 15-1701. To qualify for a first award, you must ⁠²:

• qualify for in-state tuition status;
• graduate from an Arizona high school with at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale for grades 9 through 12;
• meet the university’s admission standards;
• file the FAFSA and qualify for a Pell Grant of any amount; and
• enroll full time at ASU, NAU or the University of Arizona.

ABOR adds that you must enroll as a first-time, on-campus freshman in the fall right after high school graduation ⁠¹. There is no separate income cutoff. If the FAFSA gives you any Pell Grant (at least $740 in 2026-27), you clear the need test ⁠¹⁠¹².

The award is a last-dollar tuition grant. Each university reduces it by any other federal aid, public grants and gifts you receive, then pays the rest of in-state tuition, mandatory fees and program fees ⁠². It does not pay for housing, meal plans, books or parking ⁠¹. At the University of Arizona, base undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees are $13,900 for 2026-27, before college-specific fees ⁠³. Across the three universities, Promise served 22,888 students in FY 2025 with an average award of $9,294, counting both state money and university aid ⁠⁶.

Each campus applies the rules a little differently:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Sources: ABOR, UA and NAU ⁠¹⁠³⁠⁴. Promise is limited to eight semesters, and at UA unused or ineligible semesters still count toward that limit ⁠²⁠³. Transfer students and students who start later cannot gain eligibility ⁠³.

What the FY 2027 budget cut means for Promise students

For FY 2027 (July 2026 to June 2027), the Legislature gave Arizona Promise $20,000,000 from the General Fund. That is down from $36,300,000 in FY 2026, after a one-time $16.3 million boost was not renewed ⁠⁶. In FY 2026 the fund also received $17,367,100 from leftover money in the Spouses of Military Veterans Tuition Scholarship Fund ⁠⁶. The award itself is protected. If state money cannot cover every eligible applicant, A.R.S. § 15-1701(F) requires ABOR to guarantee the award for students at its universities ⁠². In practice, that means the universities absorb the gap, so an eligible student should not lose Promise because of the cut ⁠⁶.

AzLEAP: the grant that reaches community colleges and trade schools

The Arizona Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (AzLEAP) is the state grant most likely to reach part-time students and students outside the universities, because it requires only half-time enrollment. The FY 2027 budget gives it $1,220,800, the same as FY 2026 ⁠⁶. The maximum award is $2,500 per academic year, and the average is about $1,000 ⁠⁵. To qualify, you must be an Arizona resident enrolled at least half time as an undergraduate at an accredited Arizona school, be Pell-eligible based on the FAFSA, and keep satisfactory academic progress ⁠⁵.

For 2026-27, ABOR lists 37 participating schools. They include Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, the Maricopa colleges, Pima Community College, Yavapai College, Cochise College, Navajo Technical University, Pima Medical Institute, Tulsa Welding School, Universal Technical Institute and Motorcycle Mechanics Institute ⁠⁵. Northern Arizona University is not on the 2026-27 list ⁠⁵. At schools ABOR marks with an asterisk, including ASU, Grand Canyon University, Mesa and Rio Salado, the aid office picks AzLEAP recipients automatically when it builds your aid package. At the others, you need to ask the financial aid office how it awards the grant ⁠⁵.

Community college Promise money is set by each district

Arizona has no statewide free community college program. A.R.S. § 15-1705 created the Arizona Community Colleges Promise Program, but ABOR passes the money to the districts and each district sets its own awards. Twenty percent of the fund is split equally among districts and 80% is split by enrollment ⁠⁷. To get an initial award, you must qualify as a resident, be admitted and enrolled, and file the FAFSA showing Pell income eligibility ⁠⁷. To keep it, you must refile the FAFSA every year and maintain enrollment and academic progress ⁠⁷. Unlike university Promise, the award can pay any cost of attendance, not only tuition ⁠⁷. The FY 2027 budget gives it no General Fund line. Its money in FY 2026 was $2,894,500 moved from the veterans’ spouses scholarship fund, so ask your district’s aid office whether it is making awards this year ⁠⁶.

FAFSA or CSS Profile: the Prop. 308 question

Proposition 308, approved by voters in 2022, gives in-state tuition to any student who attended an Arizona high school or homeschool for at least two years and graduated or earned an equivalency diploma in Arizona, regardless of immigration status ⁠⁹. It also repealed the old ban on state-funded aid for students without lawful status ⁠⁹. On August 27, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Arizona over the tuition law. ABOR says Prop. 308 stays in effect unless a court orders otherwise, and Arizona is defending it ⁠⁹.

Arizona has no state alternative to the FAFSA. Arizona Promise and AzLEAP both depend on FAFSA-based Pell eligibility, so students without a Social Security number who cannot file the FAFSA cannot use them ⁠²⁠⁵. The universities offer the CSS Profile for institutional aid instead. ASU tells Prop. 308 students to file the CSS Profile with code 4007 ⁠¹¹. UA emails a CSS Profile invitation to admitted DACA, Dreamer and Prop. 308 students, starting in mid-spring for fall 2027 entrants ⁠¹⁰. UA’s early action deadline for fall 2027 merit scholarships is November 1, 2026 ⁠¹⁰.

Teachers Academy and other service-based aid

The Arizona Teachers Academy receives $15,000,000 in FY 2027. It pays tuition and fees for education students at ASU, NAU and UA, for post-baccalaureate certification students at participating community colleges, and for teachers seeking national board certification. For each year funded, you must teach one year in an Arizona public school ⁠⁶. In FY 2025 it enrolled 3,064 students ⁠⁶. Teaching students at private colleges can use the Arizona Teacher Student Loan Program instead. It is a forgivable loan, not a grant, with $426,000 in FY 2027 funding ⁠⁶.

Pell and Workforce Pell for short programs in Arizona

The federal Pell Grant pays $740 to $7,395 for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 ⁠¹². Workforce Pell extends Pell to programs of 8 to 14 weeks once the governor certifies them and the U.S. Department of Education approves them. Students in these programs cannot get Direct Loans or work-study, but they can combine Workforce Pell with WIOA funding ⁠¹³. In Arizona, the Workforce Arizona Council handles certification. Its first round ran from July 31 to August 24, 2026, and the council voted on September 17, 2026 ⁠¹⁴. Three programs were certified: the Commercial Driver License program at Eastern Arizona College, the CDL program at HDS Truck Driving Institute, and the Phlebotomy Technician program at Pima Medical Institute ⁠¹⁴. Each school must still win federal designation before it can pay out Workforce Pell ⁠¹⁴. Arizona plans to take applications every January and July, with state decisions in May and November ⁠¹⁴.

Getting a WIOA training account through ARIZONA@WORK

Job seekers who want training paid for apply at an ARIZONA@WORK job center. WIOA Title I-B adult, dislocated worker and youth funds can pay only for programs on Arizona’s Eligible Training Provider List. Programs get on the list only with approval from both a local workforce area and the state ETPL coordinator at the Department of Economic Security, and they are reviewed every two years ⁠¹⁵. The list is public on Arizona Job Connection. Under the Mohave/La Paz board’s policy, out-of-state programs are used only when no comparable Arizona program exists ⁠¹⁵. Each local board can cap the dollar amount and length of an Individual Training Account. You can use Pell or scholarships to pay for training that costs more than the cap ⁠⁸.

1. Run the FAFSA first

   File the 2027-28 FAFSA. Students who will graduate high school in spring 2027 should file by April 1, 2027 for Promise, or by January 15 for ASU’s priority date ⁠¹. Your Pell result tells you right away whether Promise and AzLEAP are possible ⁠²⁠⁵.

2. Use the CSS Profile if you cannot file the FAFSA

   Prop. 308 students should apply for admission early and file the CSS Profile when the university asks ⁠¹⁰⁠¹¹.

3. Ask about AzLEAP at non-asterisk schools

   If ABOR’s list does not mark your college as automatic, email its aid office and ask how AzLEAP is awarded ⁠⁵.

4. Register in Arizona Job Connection

   For WIOA, create an account and browse ETPL programs and their costs ⁠¹⁵.

5. Visit an ARIZONA@WORK center

   A career advisor checks your eligibility, helps you choose a program, and sets up the ITA within the local board’s cap ⁠⁸⁠¹⁵.

6. Stack the money

   Apply Pell or Workforce Pell and any AzLEAP award first. Your WIOA account then covers the rest, up to the board’s limit ⁠⁸⁠¹³.

7. Renew on time

   Promise renewal needs a FAFSA every year (by March 1 at UA, April 1 at NAU), full-time enrollment and continued Pell eligibility. At UA, a semester you skip or lose eligibility for still counts toward the eight-semester limit ⁠³⁠⁴.