National Guard member serving in Iraq will have longer to complete a college education in a Guard program that provides tuition aid if a bill passed Thursday by the Senate becomes law.

The bill, which passed by a 48-0 vote, would extend the time to complete the Guard’s educational assistance program by a month for each month of service or one year, whichever is longer.

Currently, the law gives Guard members five years to complete 10 semesters, said Tess Candori, a spokeswoman for state Senate Democratic Leader Robert J. Mellow of Peckville, the bill’s chief sponsor.

Mr. Mellow said he received an e-mail in February from Sgt. Matthew Chase of Moscow, a Guard member serving then in Iraq, who was working on a bachelor’s degree before he was deployed. Mr. Chase said his service in Iraq would prevent him from finishing the degree within five years.

“As a veteran, registered voter, student and sergeant in the Pennsylvania National Guard, I believe that myself and the men I’ve served with this long and difficult year are owed the full 10 semesters worth of education, regardless of how much time we were unable to attend school due to being deployed to a war zone fighting for the freedoms that so many take for granted,â€