AVECO July 15-18, 2013

1. Tuition Assistance and VA Benefits AVECO July 15-18, 2013

2. Tuition Assistance and VA Benefits • What is Tuition Assistance (TA) • Student Responsibilities • SCO Responsibilities • Compliance Survey Responsibilities • Questions

3. Tuition Assistance and VA Benefits WHAT IS TUITION ASSISTANCE?

4. What is Tuition Assistance? • Federal Tuition Assistance (TA) is a Department of Defense (DoD) program. TA Rules vary by branch of service and can even vary between components within the branches depending on whether the service member is Active Duty, Reserve, or National Guard. • State Tuition Assistance is offered for National Guard service members. Based on State guidelines and eligibility. (TA, Waivers, exemptions, student loan repayment, etc.) • VA does not administer TA.

5. Tuition Assistance and VA Benefits STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

6. Student Responsibilities Duplication of benefits may be an issue if a student is receiving TA. • Know their own benefits for TA and VA. Each service has its own criteria for eligibility, obligated service, application process’ and restrictions. • TA funds are usually paid directly to the institution by the individual services. • Active Duty members may elect to use the MGIB “top-up” in addition to their service provided TA to cover high cost courses.

7. Student Responsibility

8. Tuition Assistance and VA Benefits SCO RESPONSIBILITIES

9. SCO Responsibilities Duplication of benefits may be an issue if a student is receiving TA. Know your individual State Veteran benefits: http://www.military.com/education/money-for-school/state-veteran-benefits.html

10. SCO Responsibilities Duplication of benefits may be an issue if a student is receiving TA. • Business Office Ledger review to identify TA payments. • State TA • Federal TA (Signed DoD MOU, http://www.dodmou.com/) • Is student at least ½ time rate of pursuit? • Reconcile and monitor progress throughout term.

11. SCO Responsibilities How to Certify? Can SCO submit an Enrollment Certification for the same courses for which Federal Tuition Assistance is being paid?

12. SCO Responsibilities CH33 Recipients • Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserve service members may receive Chapter 33 benefits for the same courses for which they receive TA from the military. CH33 students receiving TA should be certified as any other CH33 student in VA Once (ensuring net cost is determined). • Depending on their mobilization time, national Guard and Reserve service members may have varying percentages of Chapter 33 benefits ranging from 40% to 100%. • Schools must deduct TA benefits from the net tuition and fees submitted to VA, and Chapter 33 is used to pay toward the remaining out-of-pocket costs.

13. SCO Responsibilities CH30 Recipients • Active Duty, National Guard AGRs, and Reserve AGRs service members may not receive Chapter 30 benefits for the same courses for which they receive TA from the military.(with the exception of Top-Up) • If a student takes several courses, the student cannot receive Chapter 30 benefits for the courses for which TA is paid, but the student can receive Chapter 30 benefits for the courses for which TA isn’t paid. (common for students who reach the cap per year for TA) • Former Active Duty who are now members of National Guard or Reserve, may receive standard Chapter 30 benefits for the same courses for which they receive TA from the military National Guard and Reserve (AGRs cannot)

14. SCO Responsibilities CH30 “Top UP” • Top-Up allows VA to pay the difference between what TA pays and the cost of the course. • Service members send direct application to VA for Top Up. • SCO’s do not certify courses for which an Active Duty service member will receive TA funds.

15. SCO Responsibilities CH1606/1607 Recipients • M-day service members may use Chapter 1606 or 1607 in conjunction with their military tuition assistance. • DoD regulations state National Guard and Reserve service members may not receive Chapter 1606 or 1607 and TA for the same courses if they are less then ½ time ROP.

16. Compliance Survey Responsibilities • Finding all TA funding listed on the student’s account. • VA is last payer since 08/01/11. All TA must be included in CH33 T/F submitted to the VA. • Identify any refunds provided to the student. (ensure they are only Title IV, loans, or non specific scholarships) • Look for CH30 students at NCD schools. • Check BDN screens for CH30 to ensure proper rate of pursuit is being processed. (credit hour duplication) • TIMS file should hold “top-up” documents for CH30.

17. Compliance Survey Responsibilities • SCO’s normally will not ask students if they are receiving TA. They should always ask if they are on Active Duty which should raise additional questions about TA. • Historically CH33 payments for “top-up” will be processed without school notification (due to student submitting base education form). Possible double payment scenarios have been identified in BDN. SCO’s should have process in place to recognize all VA overpayments. • Corrective action should be completed by SCO Hotline inquiry or RNW inquiry.

18. QUESTIONS?