Veterans Education Benefits

|| Veterans Education Benefits||Enrollment Certification Procedures||Retroactive Enrollment Certification Payment||

|| Payment Procedures and Information ||Enrollment Certification and Regulations||Student Responsibilities ||

|| Higher Education Opportunity Act||

---

If you are eligible to receive Veterans' benefits, please contact Paula Makosky @ 570-348-6251, or email makosky@marywood.edu or come to the Office of the Registrar, Room 92 Liberal Arts Center for assistance.

The United States Veterans Administration operates various education assistance programs for eligible veterans, war orphans, surviving spouses or children of veterans killed while on duty with the Armed Forces, disabled veterans, dependents of veterans with service related total disability, and certain members of the selected reserve. Inquiries concerning eligibility may be directed to the Veterans Administration, US Dept. Regional Office (1-888-442-4551).

The Department of Veteran's Affairs determines the eligibility to receive educational assistance benefits for students.  Benefits depend on yor student status: full-time, part-time, or less than part-time.  Veteran's benefits and certifications are processed in the Office of the Registrar.

Veterans Education Benefits                                                                              

Upon admission to the university, students eligible for financial benefits from the Veterans Administration must report the the Registrar's Office, Room 92 Liberal Arts Center, to complete the proper paperwork.  A copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD-214) or a Notice of Basic Eligibility (NOBE) is necessary to complete the application process.

Students planning to train under Chapter 30, Chapter 35, Chapter 1606 or Chapter 1607 are required by the university to pay in advance for tuition, fees, books, and supplies, when due. Students, in turn, receive an allowance for each month of schooling based upon credit hours enrolled.

Students who wish to utilize veterans' education benefits must identify themselves to the Office of the Registrar so that the proper certification procedures are initiated for the following entitlement programs:

• Chapter 30 Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty
• Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation
• Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill
• Chapter 35 Survivors and Dependents Benefits
• Chapter 1606 Montgomery GI Bill - Selected Reserve
• Chapter 1607 Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP)

More information is available to all veterans from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Enrollment Certification Procedures

Applying for department of veterans affairs education benefits for the first time:

Chapters 30, 1606 or 1607:

You must complete VA form 22-1990, Application for Educational Benefits, Note: current regulations require that you send the VA a signature in the mail after electronic submission in order to process your application. Present your signature page to the veteran representative in the Registrar's Office, LAC Room 92.

Chapter 31

Your VA Rehabilitation Case Manger will provide VA form 28-1905 to the Registrar's Office.  This form will detail the specific guidelines that the University must adhere to for payment of tuition and purchases of school supplies.

Chapter 33

Individuals desiring to elect Chapter 33 may complete the Application for Benefits on-line at VON APP or by completing VA form 22-1990 (May 2009).  The on-line application can be accessed on the GI Bill home page at www.gibill.va.gov. The paper application can be downloaded from  http://www.va.gov/vaforms/form_detail.asp?FormNo=22-1990 Individuals applying for post-9/11 GI Bill must understand the decision is irrevocable and Chapter 33 benefits will be in lieu of a previous chapter benefit for which they have entitlement remaining.  Individuals should be advised  to carefully consider all the available information on the GI Bill web site and the Application for Benefits before making the decision.

After the VA processes an individual's Application for Benefits and the individual is found eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, a Certificate of Eligibility will be issued to the veteran in two copies.  The veteran will keep one copy. The second copy is to be provided to the the veteran representative in the Registrar's Office, LAC Room 92.  The Certificate of Eligibility will show the payment tier, the 15-year eligibility date, the number of months of entitlement remaining, and the approved program (if indicated).  The Certificate of Eligibility will tell the institution the tier level (40% to 100%) of tuition and fees the VA will pay to the school on the veteran's behalf.

Individuals who have Chapter 30 entitlement remaining may elect to transfer their remaining entitlement to Chapter 33 and will receive a maximum of a total of 36 months of benefits.  Individuals who have chapter 30 entitlement remaining and who subsequently completely exhaust all of their Chapter 30 entitlement may, after the Chapter 30 is all used up, apply for an additional twelve months of Chapter 33 benefits.  Chapter 30 eligible individuals should be advised to carefully consult the GI Bill web site, the Post-9/11 Frequently Asked Questions (especially #978), and the election statements on the VA Form 22-1990 before making the irrevocable decision to apply for Chapter 33 benefits.

Chapter 35

You must complete VA form 22-5490, Application for Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance, available on line.

Change Place of Training

If you have used your chapter 30, 1606 or 1607 benefits at another school or training facility and your VA status has not changed, you must inform the VA that you have elected for a "Change in Program or Place of Training", by completing VA Form 22-1995.

Chapter 31

Your VA Rehabilitation Case Manger will provide VA form 28-1905 to the Registrar's Office.  This form will detail the specific guidelines that the University must adhere to for payment of tuition and purchases of school supplies.

Chapter 35

You must inform the VA that you have elected a "Change in Program or Place of Training", by completing VA Form 22-5495.

To check on the status of our application for benefits, time remaining for benefits, or any other general benefit questions, please contact the Veteran's Affairs Office of the Philadelphia Education Department at 1-888-GI-BILL-1 (1-888-442-4551).

Retroactive Enrollment Certification Payment

Students have one year form the beginning date of their training in which to file an application and to receive benefits from the beginning date.  The VA will only pay educational assistance allowance up to one year prior to the date the claim and certification of enrollment are received in the VA regional processing office.

Payment Procedures and Information

The initial application for benefits will take the Department of Veterans Affairs 10 to 12 weeks to process.  Subsequent certifications take 8 weeks to process. Chapter 30, 35, 1606 and 1607 applications and enrollment certifications are processed in the VA Regional Office located in Buffalo, NY.

Chapter 35 - (qualified dependents of deceased or disabled veterans) need the veteran's social security number in order to apply for benefits, and a copy of their eligibility letter.

Chapter 30 - (Montgomery G.I. Bill) and CHAPTER 1606 (National Guard and Reserves) must verify their enrollment on the last day of each month, and up to two weeks afterwards, by visiting www.gibill.va.gov and follow the link to the Web Automated Verification of Enrollment (WAVE) program.

Enrollment Certification Regulations and Student Responsibility

The State Approving Agency (SAA) approves programs and courses of instruction so that education benefits may be paid to eligible students under the programs administered by VA.  Therefore, students must be admitted as matriculated and pursuing an approved program of student for enrollment certification of VA benefits.  Students are also expected to make satisfactory academic progress toward completion of a degree. Any changes in enrollment including change of major, change of course, course deletions and complete or partial withdrawals must be reported in writing to the Registrar's Certifying Official located in LAC room 92.

Failure to comply with the official school withdrawal procedure may affect both past and future benefits.

Payment of benefits will not be allowed for any course in which a non-punitive grade is assigned.

Payment of courses will not be allowed for repeating a course which transfer or passing grad has been granted.

Payment of courses will not be allowed for courses not required in a degree program.

Higher Education Opportunity Act

Marywood University complies fully with requirements for Readmission of Veterans as defined in the "Higher Education Opportunity Act."

In part, the act states that:

"A person who is a member of, applies to be a member of, performs, has performed, applies to perform, or has an obligation to perform, service in the uniformed services shall not be denied readmission to an institution of higher education on the basis of that membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation.

IN GENERAL- Any Student whose absence from an institution of higher education is necessitated by reason of service in the uniformed services shall be entitled to readmission to the institution of higher education if-

A) the student (or an appropriate officer of the Armed Forces or official of the Department of Defense) gives advance written or verbal notice of such service to the appropriate official at the institution of higher education;

B) the cumulative length of the absence and of all previous absences from that institution of higher education by reason of service in the uniformed services does not exceed five years; and

C) "except as otherwise provided" in the Act, "the student submits a notification of intent to reenroll in the institution of higher education in accordance with" certain institution.

Any student providing the requisite documentation of eligibility and readmitted to Marywood under the terms of the statute will return with the same academic status as when last in attendance.  Service members separating from the military under certain conditions are not eligible for readmission under the terms of the Higher Education Opportunity Act.  Those individuals may seek return to the University under the academic policies applicable to all students.

It is the intention of the University to afford all veterans eligible for readmission under the terms of the Higher Education Opportunity Act every assistance in completing their education www.gibill.va.gov.