PowerPoint Presentation...SASFAA February 17-18, 2014 Atlanta RPO Update VETERANS BENEFITS...

2/10/2014

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Jerome Marshall, Assistant, Chief, Education Liaison Officer

SASFAA February 17-18, 2014 Atlanta RPO Update

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION

Regional Processing Offices

(Claims Processing Jurisdictions)

• ATLANTA (GA) - GA, NC, Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands

• BUFFALO (NY) – CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY,

PA, RI, VT, VA, Foreign Schools

• MUSKOGEE (OK) – AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, FL, HI, ID, LA,

MS, NM, NV, OK, OR, SC, TX, UT, WA, Philippines

• ST LOUIS (MO) – CO, IL, IN, IW, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO,

MT, NE, ND, OH, SD, TN, WI, WV, WY

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Liaison and Compliance

• Education Liaison Representatives (ELR) – Work with

State Approving Agencies and schools on approval

issues and provide certification training

• Education Compliance Survey Specialists (ECSS) –

Review school records, transcripts, etc to insure proper

certification for education benefits

(These individuals may be assigned to an RPO other

than the processing RPO)

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• The Post 9/11 GIBILL (CH 33)

• Montgomery GI BILL – Active Duty (CH 30)

• Montgomery G BILL – Selected Reserve (CH1606)

• Reserve Educational Assistance Program (CH 1607)

• Veterans Educational Assistance Program (CH 32)

• Survivors and Dependents Education Assistance

Program (CH 35)

EDUCATION BENEFITS


• LTS is processing approximately 50% of all supplemental claims

• LTS interfaces with other systems to schedule payments, generate letters and create over-payments

• VAONCE – populates enrollment information (enrollments/adjustments/amendments can be submitted on the same day)

• WEAMS – verifies approval information – school zip code

• VADIR - Compares DOD data, including TOE and kicker information

LTS AUTOMATION (Post 9/11 CH 33)


Recent LTS features

Scheduled Payments

Effective 8/1/2012 – school payments scheduled to release 14 days prior to start of term

Awards cannot be processed more than 6 months in advance

Automated Processing enabled for VAONCE users

Any remark other than “VBA standard remarks” in VAONCE will stop automated processing

VAONCe populates certification data in LTS even for claims that are not automated

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BARRIERS TO AUTOMATION (Claims routed to a VCE)

• New School

• Changes between credit hour/clock hours

• School submits non-standard remark or “Other” • Begin date more than 1 year in past

• IHL enrollment > 365 days

• Change of Address reported

• Entitlement Exhausted


CH 33 Tuition & Fees

Tuition and Fees – Public, Tax-supported IHLs

Effective August 1, 2011, payments were limited to:

• The net charges for tuition and fees for an in-state student at a

public university/college. This means VA will pay up to the full net

tuition and fees for all in-state public IHL students.

• Schools are to certify only the in-state portion of the tuition and fees

– even for out-of-state students

• Net charges exclude:

– Any waiver or reduction in tuition and fees

– Any scholarship or other federal, state, institutional or employer-based

aid or assistance (other than Title IV funds) that is provided directly to

the institution and specifically designated for the sole purpose of

defraying tuition and fees

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Reporting Tuition and Fees

• Net Tuition and Fees

• The amount of tuition and fees certified to VA by the school must be

reduced by the amount of any other payments made to the school

for the sole purpose of paying for tuition and fees (with the exception

of Title IV funds)

• Examples include, but are not limited to:

– ROTC Scholarship payments (designated for tuition and fees)

– Tuition Assistance (TA) from the Reserves and National Guard

– MYCAA

– Purple Heart Waiver

– Employer scholarship paid to the school specifically for T&F

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MANDATORY FEES

• Fees that can be included

– Student Services fees

– Technology Fees

– Lab Fees

– Mandatory Graduation Fees

– Health insurance premiums

• (if not waived).

• Fees that cannot be included

– Application Fees

– Books*

– Fees for food/lodging

– Penalty fees (late registration, late course changes, etc)

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Fees: The mandatory/required charges (other than tuition, room and board)

applied by the school for pursuit of an approved program of education.


Yellow Ribbon

• Pays for some/all Post 9/11 students’ unmet T&F charges

• Open Season for Yellow Ribbon agreements

– March 15, 2013 – May 15, 2013

– Not necessary to reapply – only modifications, withdrawals ,

or initial participation

• VA matches school’s contributions—up to half of the

unmet charges

• Student must be eligible at the 100% level, not on active

duty or TOE spouse of active duty, and not a Fry

Scholarship student

Identify the student as “YR” on the BIO page of VAONCE


Yellow Ribbon Uses

• Out-of-state charges at public schools

– Certify the in-state charges, the additional out-of-state charges,

and the school’s contribution towards YR (up to half of the unmet

charges)

• Charges above the annual cap at private schools – $18,077.50 in 2012

– YR can only be used once the reportable charges exceed the annual

cap

– YR students can be certified with $0 YR until they exceed the annual

cap

– Certify the entire reportable T&F amount and the school’s YR

contribution (up to half of the unmet charges for that term)

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Yellow Ribbon-Public Schools

• Total Reportable T&F = $2000

• In-State Charges = $1000

• Out-of-State Charges =$1000

• Maximum YR Contribution by School = $500


Yellow Ribbon-Private Schools

• Reportable T&F this Term= $9000

• Total Reportable T&F this Year= $18000 ($9000 already paid by VA)

• Unmet Charges this Academic Year = $500

• Maximum School YR Contribution this Term = $250


http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill

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• What is eBenefits? A portal for veterans, service members, and their families to research,

find, access, and manage their benefits and personal information

• What does it offer the students? My Dashboard: a personalized workspace that provides quick access to

eBenefits tools

Can apply for benefits

Download DD 214s

View your benefit status

- Check Post-9/11 GI Bill entitlement

- Check enrollment status

• How do students enroll? https://www.ebenefits.va.gov


PRINCIPLES OF EXCELLENCE

Executive Order 13607

• Educational institutions participating in the Principles of

Excellence program agree to the following guidelines: – Provide students with a personalized form covering the total cost of an

education program.

– Provide educational plans for all military and Veteran education

beneficiaries.

– End fraudulent and aggressive recruiting techniques and

misrepresentations.

– Accommodate Servicemembers and Reservists absent due to service

requirements.

– Designate a point of contact to provide academic and financial advice.

– Ensure accreditation of all new programs prior to enrolling students.

– Align institutional refund policies with those under Title IV, which

governs the administration of federal student financial aid programs.

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http://department-of-veterans-affairs.github.io/gi-bill-comparison-tool

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VA GI BILL FEEDBACK SYSTEM

• WHEN SHOULD YOU SUBMIT A COMPLAINT • You may submit a complaint if your school or employer is failing to follow the

Principles of Excellence. VA will review the following types of complaints.

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Recruiting/Marketing Practices Quality of Education

Accreditation Grade Policy

Financial Issues (e.g. Tuition/Fee

charges) Release of transcripts

Student Loans Transfer of Credits

Post-Graduation Job Opportunities Refund Issues

Change in Degree Plan/Requirements Other


VA WORK-STUDY

• Who is Eligible?

• Must be receiving benefits for training in a college

degree,vocational or professional program of study

• Must be training at ¾ time (75% Rate of Pursuit) or

greater

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http://department-of-veterans-affairs.github.io/gi-bill-comparison-tool/

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Veterans Retraining Assistance Program

• A part of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011:

• Provides seamless transition for the Servicemembers, expands education and training opportunities for Veterans, and provides tax credits for employers who hire Veterans with service-connected disabilities

• Purpose of Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP):

• Offers 12 months of training assistance to unemployed Veterans

• When Veterans complete the program, Department of Labor will offer employment assistance

U.S. Department of Labor


Veterans Retraining Assistance Program

Timeline

(HR 357 (2/5/14) proposing a two month extension to

VRAP for continued enrollments)


•www.benefits.va.gov/gibill

•Locate your ELR

•Download SCO Handbook

Ask a question (Right Now Web):

www.benefits.va.gov/gibill

National Education Call Center

•888-442-4551 – General Questions

•855-225-1159 - SCO dedicated

phone line

Debt Management Center

•[email protected] – SCO only

•[email protected] - students or

schools

•800-827-0648

•www.va.gov/debtman/

Resources


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Questions?

http://themilitarywallet.com/search-gi-bill-schools/

PowerPoint Presentation...SASFAA February 17-18, 2014 Atlanta RPO Update VETERANS BENEFITS...

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