VA Chapter 33

U. S. Department of Veterans AffairsAtlanta Regional Processing Office

July 28, 2009

The Post-9/11 GI Bill The Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33 of Title 38 U.S.C.)(Chapter 33 of Title 38 U.S.C.)

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Post-9/11 GI Bill Overview

• Eligibility and Entitlement• Elections• Benefit Payments • Transfer of Entitlement• Yellow Ribbon Program Agreements• Application Procedures• Reporting Procedures• Payments and Overpayments• Student Timeline• Questions

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Eligibility & Entitlement

Individuals eligible for ch33 must have served on active duty after 09/10/01 for:

• A minimum of 90 aggregate days (excluding entry level and skill training);

• At least 30 continuous days if discharged for a service-connected disability.

Active duty members eligible on 90th day after completion of entry level training.

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Elections

Individuals eligible for one of the following benefits on 08/01/09 may be required to make an irrevocable election to receive benefits under ch33:

• ch30-Montgomery GI Bill• ch1606-Montgomery GI Bill-Selected

Reserve• ch1607-Reserve Educational

Assistance Program

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Elections

Individuals electing ch33 benefits will begin receiving payment the later of:

• August 1, 2009 (when an earlier date or no date is elected)

• Effective date of eligibility

• Effective date of election

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• An individual who relinquishes eligibility under ch30, ch1606, or ch1607 may receive benefits for approved programs not offered by IHLs (i.e. flight, correspondence, Apprenticeship/On-the-Job Training, preparatory courses, and national tests)

• Individuals will be paid as if they are still receiving benefits under the relinquished benefit, however, their entitlement will be charged under ch33.

• The monthly housing allowance and the books and supplies stipend are not payable

Elections

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Elections – What should a vet consider?

Which VA benefit pays them more?– Are they receiving other aid?

• Examples: tuition free attendance, state or campus aid, etc.• Will entitlement to that aid change?

– What Chap 33 tier are they eligible for? What type of training

– Exclusively on-line?– Covered under Chap 33?

Is delimiting date important to them? In the Armed Forces on 8-1-09?

– Eligible for T of E? Want to transfer? Does the vet have remaining entitlement under other VA

Edu Programs?– Use that entitlement before using Post-9/11 GI Bill?

Desire to attend school at half-time or less rate?

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• Tuition and Fees• Yellow Ribbon• Monthly Housing Allowance• Books and Supplies Stipend• College Fund “Kickers” and Buy-up• Licensing and Certification Tests• Rural Benefit• Other Benefits

Benefit Payments

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• Individuals on active duty are eligible for the lesser of:– Tuition and fees charged; or– The amount of charges that exceed the

amount paid by the military’s federal tuition assistance

• Individuals not on active duty are eligible for the applicable percentage (based on aggregate active duty service) of the lesser of: – Tuition and fees charged; or– Highest amount of tuition and fees charged

for full-time, undergraduate training at a public institution of higher learning in the state the individual is enrolled.

Tuition and Fees

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Yellow Ribbon Program

• Institutions within the U.S. may voluntarily enter into an agreement with VA to fund tuition and fee costs that exceed the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition and fees

• Provides additional funding for:

– Training at private institutions– Graduate training– Out-of-state tuition

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Yellow Ribbon Program

Only individuals (including transferees) entitled at the 100% benefit level may receive this funding

• Individuals who served at least 30 continuous days on active duty, and discharged due to service-connected disability

• Individuals who served at least 36 months or more on active duty

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Monthly Housing Allowance

A monthly payment equivalent to the military Basic Allowance for Housing for a service member in pay grade E-5 with dependents

Individuals on active duty are not eligible for the monthly housing allowance

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To be eligible for the monthly housing allowance, individuals must be:

– Pursuing training at a rate of more than 50%– Enrolled in at least 1 in-residence course

• Based on the school’s zip code:– Primary institution if concurrently enrolled – In-residence institution if program pursued online

Note: In-residence training is defined in 38 CFR 21.4267(d) and (e)

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In-residence training for under graduate students defined in 38 CFR 21.4267(d) as:

Undergraduate resident training. VA considers the following undergraduate courses to be resident training.(1)A course which meets the requirements for resident institutional training found in §21.4265(f);

(2) A course which requires regularly scheduled, standard class sessions at least once every two weeks and which has a total number of class sessions equal to the number of credit hours awarded for the course, times the number of weeks in a standard quarter or semester, as applicable.

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In-residence training for graduate students is defined in 38 CFR 21.4267 (e) as:

Graduate resident training. VA considers a graduate course to be resident training if the course:

(1) Is offered through regularly scheduled, conventional classroom or laboratory sessions; or(2) Consists of research (either on campus or in absentia) necessary for the preparation of the student’s:

(i) Master’s thesis,(ii) Doctoral dissertation, or(iii) Similar treatise which is prerequisite to the degree being pursued; or

(3) Consists of a combination of training as described in paragraphs (e)(1) and (e)(2) of this section.

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Rate of Pursuit ExampleStandard term:

Full time is 12 credit hoursStudent is pursuing 8 credit hours

8 ÷12 = 0.66667 Rate of pursuit is 67%

Graduate training – school will provide full time equivalent to VA

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Benefit Payments

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Rate of Pursuit

Non-standard term: Equivalent Credit Hours (ECH) must be

computed first ECH will be divided by the number of credit

hours considered to be full time at the institution to determine the rate of pursuit.

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Benefit Payments

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Rate of Pursuit Example

Non-standard term:Full time is 12 credit hoursStudent is pursuing 3 credit hours over an 8-week semesterECH = 6.75

6.75 ÷ 12 = 0.56000 Rate of pursuit is 56%

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Benefit Payments

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Books and Supplies Stipend

• Up to $1,000 per academic year– $41.67 per credit hour – Up to 24 credit hours in a single academic

year– Lump sum payment (each quarter, semester

or term attended) paid directly to the individual

• Prorated based on benefit level

• If the enrollment begins before 08/01/09, it is not reduced based on a partial enrollment period

• Active duty members are not eligible19

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College Fund Kickers

MGIB-AD and MGIB-SR kickers

• Individuals eligible for a kicker under another benefit may receive the kicker under the Post-9/11 GI Bill

• Monthly kicker amount will be prorated based on the individual’s rate of pursuit

• Payment issued in a lump sum directly to the student

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• Ch33 kickers

−Only payable if individual is entitled to a monthly housing allowance

−Payment will be issued directly to the student with the monthly housing allowance

• DoD has not yet begun offering ch33 kickers

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College Fund Kickers

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Application Procedures

• Use VA Form 22-1990, Application for Education Benefits, available on the GI BILL website

• A signature is not required in support of applications for education benefits or applications for a change of program or place of training

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Elections must include:– The effective date of the election, which must be

on or after August 1, 2009;

– The benefit the individual is relinquishing to receive ch33 benefits; and

– Acknowledgement that the election is irrevocable.

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• VA began accepting applications for Certificates of Eligibility beginning May 1, 2009

− Veterans and servicemembers enrolling for Fall 2009 − VA is currently accepting applications for TOE from

family members• Certificates of Eligibility

− Benefit level based on length of service, including Yellow Ribbon for individuals at the maximum benefit level

− 15-year eligibility date for individuals not on active duty

− Number of months of entitlement


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Relinquished benefit information

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• Entitlement and delimiting date

• Benefit level

• Active duty service period used to establish eligibility

• Yellow Ribbon, if benefit level is 100% and not on active duty


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Claimant is responsible for overpayment of tuition and fees and Yellow Ribbon Program payments sent to the school

You are responsible for ALL debts resulting from reductions orterminations of your enrollment even if the payment was submitted

directly to the school on your behalf.


Transfer of EntitlementTransfer of Entitlement

Department of Defense BenefitDepartment of Defense BenefitAdministered by VAAdministered by VA

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Only the following entities may authorize transfer of benefits—– Secretary of Defense (when the Coast Guard

is operating as a service of the Navy)– Secretaries of Army, Navy, or Air Force– Secretary of Homeland Security (for Coast

Guard)

PHS/NOAA members are not eligible to transfer benefits as only the Secretaries above may offer transfer of benefits

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To be approved to transfer member must—– Be in Armed Forces on 8/1/09, and– Have completed 6 years in the Armed Forces, and– Agree to serve 4 more years

DoD/DHS may prescribe rules to address situations when individuals cannot (by military rules or retirement) serve 4 more years after 8/1/09.– VA can’t make these decisions– If DoD does offer transfer of benefits to this group

of individuals, VA will post this information on the GI Bill website

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An individual approved to transfer may—

– Transfer up to 36 months of benefits (unless DoD/DHS restricts number of months an individual may transfer).

– Transfer to spouse, child, or children in any amount up to amount transferor has available or amount approved by DoD/DHS.

– Revoke or modify a transfer request for any unused benefits unless the transferor’s 15-year eligibility period is ended.

– Not transfer benefits to a new dependent once the transferor is no longer a member of Armed Forces.

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Spouses—– May use after transferor completes 6 years in Armed

Forces

– Paid at transferor’s rate - Cannot be paid housing allowance or books and supplies stipend if the transferor is on active duty when the spouse is receiving benefits

– Can, unless the transferor revokes transfer, continue to use benefits if divorced after the transfer

– Can use benefits up to transferor’s 15-year eligibility period expires unless transferor specifies an earlier ending date

– Under law, benefits are not marital property and are not subject to division in a divorce or other civil proceedings

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Children—– Must be transferred to an unmarried child who has not

reached the age of 18 or, if in school, before child is 23 years of age

– May use after transferor completes 10 years in Armed Forces

– To commence training, child must have–• attained age 18; or • completed requirements of secondary school diploma (or

equivalency certificate)

– Receives veteran rate, including housing allowance & book stipend, even if transferor is on active duty

– May use until age 26 – even if transferor’s 15-year eligibility period ended

– May continue to use benefits after marriage (unless transferor revokes)

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Servicemember should visit:http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2009/0409_gibill/

for information and application After the TOE request is approved, family member

should submit a VA Form 22-1990E through the GIBILL web-site

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IMPORTANT !!

– Transferor and individual using transferred entitlement are jointly liable for any overpayment of chapter 33 benefits

Overpayment of Benefits

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Overpayment of BenefitsOverpayment of Benefits

VA will determine the amount of an overpayment for an individual in receipt of chapter 33 benefits

An individual who does not complete one or more courses in the certified period of enrollment, and who does not substantiate mitigating circumstances for not completing such course(s), will be charged an overpayment equal to the amount of ALL educational assistance paid for such course(s) for that period of enrollment (except for the books and supplies stipend).

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The student is responsible for any overpayment incurred as a result of not completing courses.

In the event a student does not complete a course, schools should follow their established student refund policy.

Important: Tuition and Fees payments are paid to the school on behalf of the student; overpayments for Tuition and Fees will be charged to the student.

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School must make a refund (return payment) to VA—– When students never attend classes for a

certified period of enrollment.

Returned payments must include the student identification information as well as the intended quarter, semester, or term for which the payment was made.

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ReferencesReferences

GI Bill Website– www.gibill.va.gov

• Sign up for FAQ updates!• Sign up for RSS feeds to be notified of any change on

web page (orange block on page that says RSS)

GI Bill Call Center (VA staffed)– 1-888-GIBILL-1

Yellow Ribbon Mailbox– [email protected]

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VA Chapter 33

Education

undergraduate training

training outofstate

skill training

job training

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type of training

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