Note: The address for Central Texas College for applying for all VA & Financial Aid benefits is our Main Campus address: Central Texas College, P.O. Box 1800, Killeen, Texas, 76540-1800

Quick Links to Topics

| Steps to Apply | Transcripts | Change Degree Plans | Parent Letter Request | Payment Rates | Retroactive Benefits | Grades and Incomplete Courses | Drops/Withdrawals/Non Attendance | Military TATU | VA Brochures on Benefits |

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Central Texas College Europe is providing this document for your reference and information. This information is of a general nature for clarification on receiving VA benefits. If you have a specific question not covered under these guidelines, please contact your local field representative, online mentor, or education center representative. Students are also encouraged to visit the VA website www.gibill.va.gov to learn about their benefits and other information.

If you are receiving Military Tuition Assistance from the Department of Defense, you may not be eligible for VA benefits if this covers 100% of the cost of the course. If less than 100% of the course is covered the student may be eligible for a CH 30 or CH 33 TATU (Tuition Assistance Top Up). The student would need a Military TA with Top Up recognized. For a TATU, the student follows the directions below to receive VA benefits.

Veterans:

1. Submit to the VA, VA Form 22-1990 Initial Application for Benefits.
2. Submit to the VA, VA Form 22-1995 and list the degree program and CTC on the form. Also for Students requesting Change of Program for degree changes or transfer students from other institutions.
3. Submit to CTC, A copy of the DD-214 form for Chapter 30 Active Duty veterans or Notice of Basic Eligibility (NOBE) for Chapter 1606 National Guard and Reserve Veterans.
4. Submit to CTC, A copy of the “Certificate of Eligibility” or “Letter of Eligibility” from the Department of Education.

Chapter 35 dependents:

1. Submit to the VA, VA Form 22-5490 Initial Application for Benefits.
2. Submit to the VA, VA Form 22-5495 Request for Change of Program for transfer students.
3. Submit to CTC, An original or copy of letter from the Veterans Administration indicating dependent's eligibility for educational assistance for Chapter 35 program.

All VA Students:

1. Submit to CTC, Student Degree Plan with a declared major.
2. b) Submit to CTC, Prior College transcripts, if applicable.

Non Degree Seeking or Transient Students:

1. Current CTC VA students taking courses at another institution for the purpose of transferring credit back to CTC
1. CTC will check to make sure the course is covered under the student’s degree plan for VA Benefits and complete a "Parent Letter" to be submitted to the visiting school.
2. Visiting VA students seeking a degree with another college but taking classes with CTC.
1. Submit to CTC, Parent Letter Request. Speak with the VA representative at your degree seeking university.

2. APPLYING – WHAT STEPS ARE REQUIRED FOR RECEIVING VA BENEFITS?

Step 1: Go online to the VA website, www.gibill.va.gov or www.vabenefits.vba.va.gov and fill out an Application for VA Education Benefits (22-1990 or 22-5490). Submit it online or print and mail a hardcopy. Keep a copy for your personal records.
Step 2: Receive a letter in the mail called a “Certificate of Eligibility.”
Step 3: Create a VA file with CTC.

New Students must submit:

1. Your CTC application for admission (http://www.ctcd.edu/forms/ctc_f19w.htm).
2. Form DD 214 (Honorable Discharge Certificate – Member Copy 4).
3. A degree plan (http://www.ctcd.edu/goarmyed/degree_maps_goarmyed.htm or http://www.ctcd.edu/degree_plans.html).
4. “Certificate of Eligibility” or “Letter of Eligibility”.
5. e) Transcripts from any previous education institutions if applicable. Unofficial transcripts can be submitted for the first two certifications.

Transfer students submit:

1. VA Form 22-1995 or 22-5495 (Request for Change of Program or Place of Training) Submit to the VA not CTC.
2. Your CTC application for admission (http://www.ctcd.edu/forms/ctc_f19w.htm),
3. A degree plan (http://www.ctcd.edu/goarmyed/degree_maps_goarmyed.htm or http://www.ctcd.edu/degree_plans.html )
4. “Certificate of Eligibility” from the Department of Education.
5. Transcripts from the previous Educational Institution(s).

Family Member using transferred benefits students submit:

1. The letter from their branch of service approving the transfer of benefits. (If applies)
2. VA Form 22-1990E, submit to the VA not CTC.
3. Your CTC application for admission (http://www.ctcd.edu/forms/ctc_f19w.htm),
4. A degree plan (http://www.ctcd.edu/goarmyed/degree_maps_goarmyed.htm or http://www.ctcd.edu/degree_plans.html )
5. “Certificate of Eligibility” from the Department of Education.
   Note: This benefit is not available to all service members. Contact your education center for details.

Step 4: Register and pay for classes.

1. Chapter 30, 32, 35, 1606, 1607 Self Pay
2. Chapter 31 VA Voc-Rehab students follow a slightly different procedure.Contact financial.aid@europe.ctcd.edu for details.
3. Chapter 33 VA 9/11 Students pay a percentage based off their eligibility letter.
4. Central Texas College no longer participates in the Advance Payment program
   
   Note: Make sure that the courses you wish to take are payable to your degree plan prior to actually enrolling in the classes. Veterans Affairs will aid you as much as possible, but students are ultimately responsible for the courses for which they register.

Step 5: Request certification (approval for payment) of your courses.

Note: You must advise the Office of Veteran Services each semester/term of courses in which you are enrolled. If you do not request certification your course will not be sent to the VA and you will not receive reimbursement or monthly stipends.

Each time that you register for courses, you must complete the CTC Veterans Enrollment Certificate and provide it to the Office of Veterans Services at the email, fax number, or address shown at the bottom of the form. Completed forms may be submitted electronically; saved, printed, faxed, sent as an email attachment; or mailed.

For CTC Veterans Enrollment Certificate (VEC) go to:
http://www.ctcd.edu/va_benefits/documents/veterans_enrollment_certificate.pdf

Send your Registration form and CTC Veterans Enrollment Certificate to
Email: financial.aid@europe.ctcd.edu and veterans.services@ctcd.edu
Fax: U.S. 254-526-1480 and Germany 0621-460-8880
Mail: U.S. - Central Texas College / ATTN: Veteran Services Office / Bldg 111, Rm 222 / PO Box 1800 / Killeen, TX 76540-1800
Mail: Germany - Central Texas College / ATTN: Business Office / CMR 418 / APO AE 09058.

Note: For Classroom courses with Central Texas College Europe please provide a copy of your CTC Veterans Enrollment Certificate to the local field representative office.

For Distance Learning and Microsoft courses please provide this form to the Online Mentors online.mentors@europe.ctcd.edu

Step 6: Self certify your enrollment monthly to the VA.

Veterans drawing benefits under Chapter 30, 32, 1606 or 1607 are required to send in monthly selfcertification of their attendance. CTC provides course certification but student certification can only come from the student. Directions on this process should come to you in the mail from the VA. If you do not receive them please contact the VA directly at 888-442-4551 OR 918-781-7880 OR muskrpo@vba.va.gov OR www.gibill.va.gov and click “Contact VA.”

The earliest this can be done is the last day of the month. Monthly verification can be done via one of the following three ways:

1. Telephone - Using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) 1-877-823-2378
2. Internet - WAVE (Web Automated Verification of Enrollment) https://www.gibill.va.gov/wave/
3. Mail – VA Form 22-8979, Student Verification of Enrollment, each month. You must use the form to verify your continued enrollment for the previous month.

Note: Failure to self-certify will cause your benefits to stop. You must do this every month or you will not get paid!

Chapter 35 Certification

Degree Programs-
If you’re in a degree program at a college or university, the school periodically verifies to VA your continued enrollment. You’ll receive payment after the first of each month for your training during the preceding month.

Step 7: Receive reimbursement from the VA. Processing takes 6-8 weeks. If you have questions, you may call our office at DSN: 382-5414 or CIVILIAN: 0621-460-8878 or email Financial.aid@europe.ctcd.edu, or hardcopy mail: Central Texas College / ATTN: Financial Aid Office / CMR 418 / APO AE 09058.

Federal law requires Veterans to submit OFFICIAL transcripts in sealed envelopes from all schools, colleges, training institutes, and technical schools attended to the Central Texas College Europe Records Office. This includes all training and education received before entering active duty, as well as any received during service and after discharge, even if VA benefits were not paid for attending the course or program. Military transcripts (AARTS, SMARTS or CCAF) are required and/or DD 295 or VMET or certificates of completion must also be submitted for military schools.

Note: The VA requires that all prior education be evaluated (where it fits or not) prior to the close of the first semester. If transcripts are not received VA certification after the close of the first semester will not be possible.

Military Transcripts

Information about military transcripts and how to request the transcripts is available from each branch of the military.
-Army (AARTS transcript): http://aarts.army.mil
-Navy & Marine Corps (SMART Transcript): https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/
-Air Force (CCAF Transcript): http://www.au.af.mil/au/ccaf/transcripts.asp
-Coast Guard (CGI Transcript): http://www.uscg.mil/hr/cgi/

Foreign schools - Students with foreign school transcripts will need to have the foreign transcripts evaluated by an academic credentials evaluation service, and will need an official evaluation. Example organizations that provide this service:

Note: Organizations provided as examples. Not affiliated with CTC.

Veterans and dependents are required to declare a two-year major as listed in the Central Texas College Catalog or a transfer major based on four-year schools articulation agreements.

VA students are allowed to change degree plans. Students changing degrees or colleges must submit VA Form 22-1995 to the VA.

a) If you are taking courses at another school (Parent Letter Request)
You should contact our Veterans Affairs office and provide the name and address of the visiting school, the course number(s), title(s), the number of credits, and the VA representative's contact information including their fax number. Students should request course approval from their academic advisor prior to requesting a parent letter. We will send your visiting school a parent letter informing them that we will accept the credits you are taking from their institution.

If you discontinue the class at the secondary school, you must notify the secondary school’s VA Certifying Official. The secondary school will then adjust the certified units. When grades have been posted for the secondary school term, you will provide the CTC Admissions & Records Office with an Official Academic Transcript reflecting the grade/s you earned for the term. Failure to provide official transcripts may jeopardize future requests for secondary school certification. Concurrent enrollment at another school may cause delays in monthly benefits. During peak periods, parent school certification requests could take approximately three to four weeks.

b) Guest Students
If you are attending Central Texas College Europe as a guest student and are requesting VA certification, your home institution must submit and send to the Veteran Services Office a parent institution letter stating that the courses you are taking at Central Texas College will satisfy the degree requirements at your home institution. In addition, students must complete the CTC Veterans Enrollment Certificate form each semester and submit this form to the Veteran Services Office to request VA certification. When grades have been posted in the term, you will request from CTC an Official Academic Transcript to be provided to your home institution’s Admissions & Records Office reflecting the grade/s you earned for the term.

Payment rates for the Montgomery GI Bill (CH30), REAP (CH 1607), Selected Reserve/National Guard (CH 1606), Survivor Benefits (CH 35), and Vocational Rehabilitation (CH 31) are based on the number of credit hours you are taking:

Post 9/11 (CH 33)

To receive the monthly stipends in the Post 9/11 GI Bill a student must be enrolled at least 51% of fulltime enrollment, and cannot be taking all online classes.

Effective August 1, 2011, BAH will be prorated by the student's rate of pursuit (rounded to the nearest tenth).

Effective October 1, 2011, BAH is payable to students (other than those on active duty) enrolled solely in distance learning. The housing allowance payable is equal to 1/2 the national average BAH for an E-5 with dependents. For 2012 this comes to $673.50 at the 100% eligibility tier.

Current active duty members receive housing as part of their income and an additional BAH will not be paid from chapter 33 benefits.

In an 8-week term:

In a 16-week semester:

Housing allowance: The housing allowance mirrors the DoDs BAH rate for E-5 with dependents using the zip code of the college/university. To compute your housing allowance use zip code of CTC in Killeen, Texas: 76540. Take the current rate of $1,017.00 times by your Chapter 33 9/11 percentage of benefits coverage. Example: Veteran with 90% benefit, $1,017.00 x by 90% = $915.30 100% rate of pursuit for monthly housing allowance. If not studying full-time then the formula is Example: Veteran with 90% benefit, $1,017.00 x by 90% benefit = $915.30 x by 60% rate of pursuit = $549.18 monthly housing allowance.

Textbook benefit: to compute your book stipend take # of credit hours enrolled (and approved towards the degree program) times by $41.67 times by your Chapter 33 9/11 percentage of benefits coverage. Example: Veteran with 90% benefit has six credit hours enrolled * 41.67 = $250.02. Now multiply $250.02 by 90% = $225.02 Textbook benefit. The textbook benefit is maxed at 24 credits or $1,000 per academic year.

Note: The housing allowance & textbook benefit are paid directly to the student a month in arrears.

RETROACTIVE PAYMENT: The VA may go back one year (365 days from receipt of the school’s certification) to award back-pay for eligible veterans. Contact the school’s VA Certifying Official if you think you may be eligible for some back pay. Courses must be proven to apply to the current degree program for certification to occur.

Retroactive benefits can be paid for enrollments up to one year before the date VA receives a student’s application. The date stamp put on the student’s application/registration determines the one year date.

Chapter 31 benefits may exceed one year. This may depend on the date the Veteran was entitled to benefits. These students should contact their VocRehab counselors and the VA. Students entitled to this benefit are encouraged to apply for Retroactive certification all the way back to when they would have qualified for the benefit.

Chapter 35 retroactive benefits may be handled differently and may exceed one year. This may depend on the date the Veteran was entitled to benefits. A student with this question should contact the VA. If this date isn’t known the CTC Veteran’s Office will attempt to certify the student and let the VA make the decision of retroactive payment.

7. Receiving Certificate of Eligibility by Fax

Before a student can use the VA as payment for benefits we need the actual Certificate of Eligibility. A student can ask the VA to fax it to her or himself at a fax number of their own convenience, to Europe’s Veteran Service’s Office @ +49 0621-460-8880, or to the Veteran’s Services Office in Killeen, Texas @ (254) 526-1480. The VA has been providing this service upon a student’s request.

Your VA benefits will not be affected* if you receive an “F” grade or an Incomplete, unless you received the grade due to non-attendance. You must notify the CTC VA Office if you stopped attending a class, even if you did not officially withdrawal.

*See Satisfactory Progress below

Repeating Classes

You may repeat courses for VA benefits in the following situations:

1. A grade of “W” or “FI” was previously received.
2. A grade of “F” was received and the class is listed in the catalog as a requirement for the major (which should also reflect your educational plan).
3. A grade of “F” was received and the class is a Basic General Educational Subject required for graduation.
4. If the grade does not meet minimum requirements for graduation for a specific program. Example: When a class is required for a major and must be passed with a certain grade level to progress to another required class; for example, Math 1325 has a prerequisite of Math 1314; the Math 1314 must be completed with a C or better grade to progress to Math 1325.

You will not be eligible for VA benefits for the classes that fall under the following situation:

1. A grade of “A,” “B,” "C," or “D” was received in a course.
2. It does not fall into the above 4 categories.

Satisfactory Progress

To be in accordance with VA regulations, a veteran or eligible must maintain satisfactory progress toward graduation requirements. This means that you must maintain a positive grade point average (GPA) of at least a 2.00 or a “C” average, and after attempting 12 units, you must have a completion rate of at least 50%. If you do not maintain this Satisfactory Progress requirement as defined in the current CTC catalog, you will be placed on academic probation for one semester. If the same pattern of unsatisfactory progress is repeated during the probation semester, your unsatisfactory progress will be reported to the Veterans Administration and the following will occur:

1. You may continue in classes but will not be entitled to receive VA educational benefits.
2. You must see your college academic counselor for an approved program indicating what course of action must be completed to maintain satisfactory progress toward graduation requirements.
3. After completion of the counseling session and upon review of your counselor’s suggested program AND satisfactory semester progress, VAO will then certify you for VA educational benefits.

If a veteran student drops a class, is Roster Dropped, Instructor Dropped or receives a “W” as a final grade, their enrollment will be changed and the VA may charge them for an overpayment. The VA does not pay for “W” or other non-punitive grades. If a student adds or drops a class, it is the students’ responsibility to notify the VA desk.

If you stop attending class, you are not entitled to benefits. If a student stops attending a class they must drop officially with the college and report the drop to the VA certifying official. This is a student responsibility. Federal law requires that students report any change in enrollment status, which might affect their VA education benefits to the school and the VA. Your signature on the VEC (Veteran’s Enrollment Certification form) shows acceptance of the responsibility to keep the VA certifying official informed of any change in student status.

When there is an overpayment, the VA will ask for repayment of the overpaid benefits. If you ignore the VA’s request, they can withhold future GI bill payments, disability payments, or depending upon the situation, they can take a student to court, charge interest, and they may take future tax return refunds, attach wages, put legal holds on property or deny home loans.

The VA certifying official monitors student enrollment on a biweekly basis via the computer and updated unit reports are sent to the VA. When adding or dropping classes, the student must report the drop or add directly to the VA certifying official.

To be eligible for the Top-up benefit, a student must be approved for Federal Tuition Assistance by a military department and be eligible for MGIB Active Duty benefits. The amount of the benefit can be equal to the difference between the total cost of a college course and the amount of Tuition Assistance that is paid by the military for the course. In no case can the amount paid by the military combined with the amount paid by VA be more than the total cost of the course. If a person receives the Top-up benefit, his or her regular MGIB benefits will be reduced. The amount of entitlement charged for Top-up payments is determined by dividing the amount of the payment by the claimant's fulltime monthly rate. Students who have not requested MGIB benefits before should submit a VA Form 22-1990 to establish eligibility. The TA approval form must be signed by the approving DOD officials. Some branches of service require the commanding officer’s signature; some require the education service officer’s signature. Have the education service officer sign item #20A of the form 22-1990.

1. Chapter 30 (Montgomery GI BILL – Active Duty)
   http://www.gibill.va.gov/documents/pamphlets/ch30_pamphlet.pdf
2. Chapter 31 (Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VetSuccess)
   http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/
3. Chapter 32 (VEAP AND SECTION 903)
   http://www.gibill.va.gov/documents/pamphlets/CH32_Pamphlet.pdf
4. Chapter 33 (The Post 9/11 Educational Assistance Act of 2008)
   http://www.gibill.va.gov/documents/pamphlets/ch33_pamphlet.pdf
5. Transferability of Chapter 33 (9/11 benefits)
   http://gibill.va.gov/documents/Post-911_Transferability.pdf
6. Post-9/11 GI Bill: Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship
   http://www.gibill.va.gov/documents/factsheets/fry_scholarship.pdf
7. Chapter 35 (Dependents Educational Assistance Program(DEA))
   http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/ch35/ch35_pamphlet.pdf
8. Chapter 1606 (THE MONTGOMERY GI BILL-SELECTED RESERVE)
   http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/ch1606/CH1606_Pamphlet.pdf
9. Chapter 1607 (Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP))
   http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/ch1607/ch1607_pamphlet.pdf
10. Montgomery GI Bill - Active Duty TATU (Tuition Assistance Top-up)
    http://www.gibill.va.gov/documents/pamphlets/tuition-assistance-top-up.pdf

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