No, any Veterans' benefits paid under any law administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should not be reported as income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Advance payment will pay you from the date the school term starts through the next month. Therefore, since VA back pays you by one month, you will not receive payment until the fourth month of the term.

For example: If you receive advance pay for the Fall semester, your check will come to the school in August. This check will pay you for the school days in August and the month of September. You will not receive payment again until November, for the month of October.

You will receive your book stipend as a separate direct deposit.  In most cases it will come after the semester has started.  We suggest that you pay for your books in advance and use this as a reimbursement.  It will go to the account that you have set up direct deposit through the VA’s website.

The book stipend will pay out according to how many credit hours you are enrolled in at a rate of $41.67 per credit hour.  This will be split over the academic year and will max out at $1000.

Yes. If your form has been submitted properly you will receive three separate emails.  One, an initial email from the VSO acknowledging receipt of your form.  Two, an email confirming the VSO has certified you (with your certification number included).  Three, an email confirmation from VA-Once with the number of credit hours you are enrolled in. 

If you have not received any of the first two, please log back into the Veterans Portal to see the current status of your certification.  The email from VA -Once should come after the second email from our office.

Complete and submit the Enrollment Form.

Have you submitted your benefits enrollment form on our website? 

If not, please proceed and complete that process and we will get you certified. 

If you have completed your form you can find your Cert ID in either the email you received from our office or you can get it by logging into the Veterans Portal and then call the VA at 1-888-442-4551 to get additional information.

As a reminder, MHA and stipends are paid after the fact (like a paycheck, you only get paid after you work, the same is true with these benefits; you only receive them following days in class).  For example, if the semester starts on January 20 and ends on May 13, payments should post February 1, March 1, April 1, May 1 and June 1.   The February 1 and June 1 payments will be prorated to reflect the fact that you were not in school for the entire month that you are receiving funds for.

Yes, the GI Bill® will pay for student health insurance for those who are 100% eligible (this is not the case with those using Chapter 31 benefits).  This is a great option for those students who are living on campus as well as those who are on campus regularly. On your enrollment form, it will ask if you have accepted or waived it.  This is where you will indicate if you want or do not want health insurace.  This will not affect any other health insurance.  Please understand that Tricare, Champ VA or VA health care is not accepted on campus.

Due to the increased volume of students using benefits, we cannot give an estimated time of when you will receive your payment after your certification is processed. It is imperative that you notify the Veteran Services Office about any changes that would affect your benefits.

Yes! It is a common misconception that students receiving educational benefits are not eligible for financial aid. This is simply not true. You are eligible to apply for financial aid as any other student would. Even if you receive additional VA Vocational Rehabilitation (Ch 31) assistance, you may be eligible for financial aid. Check out the Financial Aid website for more information about applying for aid.