|
About our Office Our office serves as a liaison in certifying veterans, dependents, reservists/guardsmen, and disabled veterans for Veterans educational benefits. Your Responsibilities
| Note: | It is your responsibility as a student to be aware of and to fulfill all requirements for receipt of your Veterans benefits. | If you are using VA Educational Benefits Assistance (GI Bill Benefits) at the University of Memphis, you should contact the Office of Veteran's Services and submit all appropriate paperwork (see Using Your VA Benefits and Our Services below for more details). You must notify our office of the following: - Drops
- Adds
- Withdrawals
- Canceled courses
- Degree and Major changes
- Non-attendance (excessive)
- Repeated courses
| Certification Reminders | | 1 | Register with the Office of Veterans Services every semester by completing a U of M Request for Certification form. | | 2 | Report credit allowed for prior training in cooperation with your advisor by completing a "Request for Evaluation of Prior Credit" form. This and other forms are available from the Office of Veterans Services. | | 3 | Inform the Office of Veterans Services of any changes in major or degree pursued, address, marital status, or number of dependents claimed. | | 4 | After registering, report to the Office of Veterans Services immediately all changes in class schedules including adds, drops, section changes, canceled courses, and withdrawals. | Restrictions on Benefits To continue receiving veterans educational benefits, the VA requires that you: - attend class regularly
- make satisfactory academic progress
- adhere to a specific degree program
What about repeated courses?
The VA will not pay for repeated courses if the grade already earned is acceptable for graduation requirements and major objectives at this University, or if the courses are elective courses in excess of those needed to meet graduation requirements. This restriction includes transfer credit. Using Your VA Benefits and Our Services Our office participates in a variety of VA sponsored services, including: | VA Educational Programs | | Chapter 30 | Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty
This program provides educational benefits for individuals who entered military service after June 30, 1985. Your basic pay will be reduced $100.00 a month for the first 12 months of your service unless you specifically elect not to participate in this program. The money is nonrefundable. | | Chapter 31 | Vocational Rehabilitation-Disabled Veterans
To participate in this program you must have a military-related disability or disabilities that the VA has rated as at least 20 percent compensable. | | Chapter 32 | Post-Vietnam Veterans Educational Assistance Program
This is a voluntary matching-contribution program. You are eligible to participate in it if you entered service after December 31, 1976. | | Chapter 35 | Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance Program
If you are the son, daughter, or spouse of a totally disabled veteran, you are eligible for the educational assistance program. | | Chapter 1606 | Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve
You are eligible for this assistance program if you are a member of the Selected Reserve, including the National Guard, and if you enlisted, reenlisted, or extended your enlistment for 6 years or more in the Selected Reserve after June 30, 1985. | | Section 901 | Educational Assistance Test Program
Section 901 was created by the Department of Defense Authorization Act of 1981 (Public Law 96-324) to encourage enlistment and re-enlistment in the Armed Forces. Benefits are available to individuals who entered into Active Duty after September 30, 1980 and before October 1, 1981 (or before October 1, 1982 if entry was under a delayed enlistment contract signed between September 30, 1980 and October 1, 1981). | | Note: | The following sections contain links to both U of M and VA forms and instructions that you will need. These forms and instructions are in Adobe's "pdf" file format; you will need Adobe's free Acrobat Reader installed on your system in order to view and print them. You can view U of M forms with version 5.05 and lower versions of Acrobat Reader; however, you can view VA's forms only with versions 5.05, 4.05, and 3.01. If you have version 5.0 installed on your system, you must upgrade to version 5.05 in order to use the VA forms. The VA provides a link to the version 5.05 download page on its Educational Forms site. | Current Students Enrollment certifications are sent to the appropriate VA Regional Office upon receipt of the Veterans Data Sheet. (For Returning and Transfer students, these certifications are transmitted electronically; for New Students, they are mailed). You are required to submit this form to the Office of Veterans Services each semester. You will be certified on a term-by-term basis. Pre-certification will be done only when a request for Advance Pay is made. Returning Students Complete the following form and submit it to the Office of Veterans Services: Transfer Students Complete the applicable forms and submit them to the Office of Veterans Services: New Students If you plan to use VA educational assistance while attending the U of M, contact or visit the Office of Veterans Services to request a packet of information and forms. Be sure to identify the VA educational program in which you are interested. The VA application must be received in the Office of Veterans Services after you have registered for courses unless you are applying for Advance Payment. Complete the appropriate "VA Application for Benefits" form and submit it to the Office of Veterans Services after you have registered for courses, unless you are applying for Advance Payment: Also, furnish the following items as applicable and needed: - a VA copy of your DD 214 (Certificate Of Release Or Discharge From Active Duty).
- a VA copy of your DD 2384 (Notice Of Basic Eligibility) or other armed forces separation papers.
- a copy of your Delayed Enlistment Contract.
- copies of your children's birth certificates.
- a copy of a divorce decree if either you or your spouse were previously married.
- your VA file number, if you have previously used your VA benefits.
- a transcript from any college or university previously attended.
- a KICKER contract.
Continuing Students Complete this form and submit it to the Office of Veterans Services: U of M Request for Certification form (pdf) New Students on Active Duty Complete these forms and submit them to the Office of Veterans Services: Chapter 30 and Chapter 1606 Students If you are participating in either the Chapter 30 program (Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty) or the Chapter 1606 program (Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve), the VA requires that you certify your enrollment once a month. You may do this in either of two ways: Advance Payment Advance payment is available for eligible veterans and dependents who plan to enroll on at least a half-time basis. We accept applications as early as 120 days before the term begins but no later than 45 days before the beginning of classes. Advance pay checks include an allowance for the month (or a fraction thereof) in which the course begins as well as the allowance for the following month. Advance pay checks are mailed to us for delivery to you after we have certified you. Initial applicants who do not apply for advance pay may expect their checks to be mailed to their homes within six to eight weeks after being certified by the Office of Veterans Services. Complete these forms and submit them to the Office of Veterans Affairs: Vocational Rehabilitation Submit these documents to the Office of Veterans Services: Work Study Be sure to familiarize yourself the VA's Work Study Guidelines. Then, complete and submit a VA Application for Work Study Allowance. Tuition Deferment All VA Educational Benefits recipients are eligible for Tuition Deferment. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the State of Tennessee's tuition deferment guidelines: - Visit the Nexis/Lexis home page.
- Select "Tennessee" as your jurisdiction (under "Legal Resources).
- Enter "49-7-104" in the Search field and click on "Go." This should retrieve Tennessee Code Annotated 49-7-194, "Deferred payments by students receiving assistance."
Tutorial Services Tutorial assistance to defray the cost of needed tutoring is available to eligible persons under Chapters 30, 32, 35, and 1606. For those under Chapter 31, payment is charged directly to the VA. The tutoring allowance is a supplement to your monthly educational assistance check and is paid without any entitlement. Links of Interest VA / US Government Tennessee
|
