Certification Process

Students using Veteran Benefits should understand their responsibilities, which include:

• Submitting the Veterans Certification Request Form
• Understanding Course Applicability
• Notifying the School Certifying Official of any schedule changes
• Declaring a major once they reach junior standing (undergraduate students)

The online form must be filled out and submitted to the Veterans Certification Department each term benefits are requested. You will not receive benefits for the term until the form is submitted. The form can be completed immediately following registration.

Veterans Certification Request Form

Beginning with terms starting on or after December 17, 2021, students using their Post-9/11 GI Bill^® benefits and receiving a Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) and/or kicker payment are required to verify their enrollment at the end of each month to continue receiving their payments.

Students may verify their enrollment using the following three methods:

Text Message

• Opt in: Students with a U.S. mobile phone number can use text messages as a simple, quick option for verifying monthly enrollment. After your enrollment is reported by your school, you will receive the following opt-in text: “Post-9/11 GI Bill housing and kicker payments now require monthly enrollment verification. Would you like to submit yours via text? Please reply YES or NO.” Reply “YES” to opt in. The text message link will expire 14 days after receipt, so please respond within that time frame.
• Verify: After opting in, you can verify your enrollment every month simply by responding to the following text message from VA: “Did you remain enrolled in your courses in MON YYYY as certified? Please reply YES or NO. If you have dropped all your courses, you must reply NO.” Reply “YES” to verify enrollment for the previous month.

Email

• Students who do not Opt-In for text will be enrolled in email verification and sent an automated email on the last day of the month to verify their enrollment status.

Telephone

• If you are unable to verify via text or email, you can call the Education Call Center at 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551) to verify your enrollment. Note: ECC wait times may be high due to the number of students verifying enrollment each month.

To verify that the VA has your correct phone number and/or email on file, you can also contact the Education Call Center. For more information, visit the VA’s Enrollment Verification webpage.

To access Veteran Benefits while attending U-M, students must be enrolled in a degree program. Only courses that satisfy current degree requirements can be certified for VA purposes. Excessive free electives, for example, cannot be certified (documentation may be required from advising explaining what degree requirements courses fulfill).

Chapter 33 and 31 students must report all enrollment drops or increases to their academic load. A change in your registration and/or attendance may result in payment changes.

Chapter 35, 30, 1606 and 1607 students must report a drop in credit hours only when it results in a change in their enrollment status (e.g., a drop from full-time to part-time).

The Department of Veteran Affairs requires that students receiving benefits declare a major once they reach junior academic standing. A student cannot be certified beyond his or her sophomore year unless a major has been declared.

Effective January 2014, the University of Michigan offers in-state tuition to veterans, reservists and active duty service members. An application can be completed online at the bottom of the Residency webpage.

The University of Michigan will charge in-state tuition (regardless of formal state of residence) to any individual using educational assistance under:

• Chapter 30 (Montgomery GI Bill^® — Active Duty Program);
• Chapter 31 (Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment);
• Chapter 33 (Post-9/11 GI Bill^®) of Title 38, United States Code;
• Chapter 35 (Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance program);
• Chapter 1606 (Montgomery GI Bill^® — Select Reserve) of Title 10, United States Code; and/or
• The Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship

If an individual exhausts their benefits under Chapter 30, Chapter 33 of title 38 of United States Code and/or the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship, they may be eligible for an extension of in-state tuition eligibility if the following conditions are met:

• The individual has, within the prior 24-month period, used at least 12 months of the above benefits at the University of Michigan before the benefits were exhausted.
• The individual is in an undergraduate degree program and is making progress toward degree completion at the time the benefits are exhausted.

If approved, in-state tuition at the University of Michigan will be extended for either a) a period of up to 24 months, or b) until the individual attains their first undergraduate degree, whichever occurs first.  Students must be continually enrolled for the duration of the extension of in-state tuition eligibility; a lapse in enrollment may result in termination of the extension.

The Veterans Certification Department requires a completed application for the in-state extension.

Non-degree students and students enrolled in graduate, professional, or postgraduate programs who have exhausted their benefits under either Chapter 30 (Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty Program), Chapter 33 (Post-9/11 GI Bill) of title 38, United States Code, and/or the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship are NOT eligible for extension of in-state tuition eligibility under this policy.

Important note: If a student has not exhausted benefits and chooses not to access VA Benefits for a term, the in-state tuition rate does not apply.

The VA requires our school to report the actual beginning and ending dates of each course. Your VA monthly housing allowance may vary throughout the semester according to the start and end dates of your courses, as we are required to report non-standard length courses as separate terms. Enrolling in non-standard length courses may affect the rate of pursuit determined by the VA.

Students are responsible for notifying the VA and the Veterans Certification Department of intent to switch chapters for benefit coverage. A change from Chapter 33 to Chapter 31 cannot take place until the following semester if a payment under Chapter 33 has already been disbursed by the VA. Students should verify that necessary documentation is on file and request that their VR&E counselors communicate intent to switch chapters to the VA when applicable.

Students receiving VA Benefits must make satisfactory progress toward their degree.

Unsatisfactory Progress (Academic Suspensions) will be reported to the VA.

After reaching the minimum number of credits required for graduation, further coursework cannot be certified for benefits without documentation from the student’s school or college indicating that the remaining courses and credits are required for graduation.

Students receiving VA Benefits must receive punitive grades in their courses. If the student receives a non-punitive grade, they may be charged with an overpayment.

A punitive grade is a grade that is used in determining the student’s progress toward completion of graduation requirements and it is a factor in computing the student’s grade point average. Punitive grades include A, B, C, D, E, ED, and S.

A non-punitive grade is a grade that doesn't count as earned credit and isn't considered in progress standards for graduation. Students may be charged with an overpayment for courses in which a non-punitive grade is received. The following are examples of non-punitive grades: I, NR, W, VI, U, NC or F (when grading basis is pass/fail). Courses with a grading basis of NFC or NDC may not be certified for benefits.

Courses that are failed and courses with a final grade that does not meet minimum requirements for graduation will be approved and paid for. Courses that were successfully completed may not be certified for VA purposes if they are repeated.

Students are responsible for keeping addresses updated with the VA Regional Office. Failure to update your address with the VA will delay payment. The fastest way to change an address or direct deposit status is to call the VA at 800-827-1000. You can also complete the form online by clicking Manage Benefits on the VA website.

Tutorial assistance can be paid to students under chapters 30, 33, 35, 1606 and 1607. It helps pay for necessary tutoring and is supplemental to regular education benefits. The student must be in a post-secondary program training at a rate of ½ time or more, and must have a deficiency in a course that is part of his or her approved program. A letter from the instructor must be provided. The student must be enrolled in the course during the same semester in which tutoring is received for that course. Tutoring may not occur between semesters. The monthly rate may not exceed $100 and the maximum amount payable is $1,200. Students should contact the Veterans Certification Department for the necessary forms.

Students called to active duty during a term in which they are receiving VA Educational Benefits must notify the Veterans Certification Department and provide a copy of orders. The Veterans Certification Department will report the date of withdrawal from school to the VA Regional Office and indicate the reason as “Called to Active Duty”. For more information and a checklist to assist with the transition of your deployment, go to the Active Duty and Deployment page. To resume benefits upon return, students must complete a new Veterans Certification Request Form.

Courses that apply to degree programs may be taken at more than one school. The school that will grant the degree is the student’s “primary” school. All other schools are “secondary” schools. The VA may pay benefits for courses taken at secondary schools as long as they will transfer back to the primary school and apply towards the student’s degree program. A student must obtain a letter from their advisor listing the following and submit it to the Veterans Certification Department:

• Student’s name, name of guest institution and term of enrollment
• Course name, number and credit hours taken at guest institution
• Statement that the course(s) will transfer back at full value and apply towards the student’s degree program at U-M

An approval letter will then be sent to the secondary school requesting that they certify the student for the course(s) listed in the letter. Once the course or semester is over, the student must arrange to have a transcript from the secondary school sent to the appropriate admissions office here at the U-M. When the VA conducts a compliance survey, our records will be reviewed to see if the course was applied toward the student’s program. 

Students should contact the certification department at [email protected] to ensure the study abroad program is eligible for VA benefits prior to applying for the program.

Students receiving a Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) should be aware VA MHA payments are made at the beginning of each month to pay for the previous month of training. For example, the September payment will be sent to the student the first week of October.

Once certified, students receiving benefits under Chapters 31 and 33 will have a VA credit applied to their account for the tuition/fee amount our school expects to receive directly from the VA. This process enables the student to access any financial aid awards and avoid penalties due to delayed tuition and fee disbursement from the VA. When the actual payment from the VA is received, your account will be reconciled and you will be notified of any payment discrepancies.

Students using Chapter 31 or 33 benefits will have any tuition-related late fees waived provided they have paid any other student obligations by the established due dates.

Any housing-related charges must be paid by the established due dates. If you are unable to meet housing payment deadlines as specified by Student Financial Services and University Housing, please contact them directly for payment plan options. If plans are available, you generally have to enroll by a certain date. Please plan to contact these departments early if needed.

Q: I have my CoE, what happens next?

A: Understanding the Student Responsibilities: please review the policies and procedures and be sure you understand your student responsibilities.

Veterans Certification Request Form

Q: How do I submit my Veterans Certification Request Form?

A: You may fill out and submit the form online.

Q: What happens if I don’t submit my form?

A: We will not certify you for any term without the request form (it must be submitted for each term you would like to use your veteran benefits).

Q: When should I submit my form?

A: You can submit your form as early as once you have registered for classes. If you know your schedule will be changing, it is good to wait until you believe your schedule is set for the term. You may also submit your form once the term has started, understanding that it will still take the VA up to 30 days to process your certification, once the school has certified your coursework.

Q: What if I am unsure of my current amount of entitlement?

A: You can check your entitlement by contacting the VA at 1-888-442-4551.

Q: What if I only have a partial amount of entitlement left?

A: You do not need to have a full 4 months of entitlement for the term, the VA will allow us to certify you for the term, however, they may only pay a portion of the benefits, the VA can explain to you what would be covered based on your eligibility and entitlement.

Course Applicability

Q: How do I know what courses apply?

A: It’s important to understand your program’s requirements. Meet with your advisor regularly. You are also able to check your Degree Audit at any time (Student Business area of Wolverine Access, you can click on your “Academic Requirements” and download a pdf of your Degree plan). The audit may not be available for some graduate programs.

Q: What are “Excessive” Electives?

A: Many programs have a limited number of “elective” courses a student can take towards program completion. If your program rules indicate a limited number of general electives, anything beyond that number under “General Electives” in the Audit, would not be eligible for certification. (Example: B.S.E/Aerospace Engineering allows a student up to 9 credit hours of “General Electives”. A student whose major is Aerospace, would not be able to have more than 9 credit hours of general electives certified and covered by their VA benefits).

Q: What happens if I receive a non-punitive grade?

A: If the course was certified, we will need to report that a non-punitive grade was received. You may incur a debt from the VA.

Q: Are “Y” grades considered non-punitive?

A: A grade of “Y” is given to a course that extends more than 1 term. As long as the student is continuing, we are able to wait for completion of the course where grades will be entered and replacing the grade of “Y”. If the student is not continuing enrollment in future terms, we must treat this as though it were a grade of Incomplete and report this to the VA, you may incur a debt from the VA.

Repeating Courses

Q: What happens if my program requires I receive a higher grade in a course?

A: If your program requires a specific grade (example: a C- or higher in EECS 101 and you receive a “D” in the course), you may repeat the course to achieve the minimum grade requirement. However, if you received the minimum required grade but wish to retake the course for a higher grade, the VA would not allow that course to be certified.

Q: What if I fail the course multiple times?

A: As long as the course is a REQUIRED course for your program, you may repeat it until you meet the minimum passing requirement.

Tuition and Housing Payments

Q: When will I receive my Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA)?

A: Once certified, it takes approximately 30 days for the VA to process payment. However, the payments are made at the beginning of each month to pay for the previous month (example: September MHA would be paid in October). Payments are sent directly to the student.

Q: My MHA seems to be different each month why?

A: MHA is based on ACTUAL dates of enrollment. If the term begins on September 4, you would be paid beginning Sept. 4, you would not receive payment for Sept. 1 – 3. In addition, if classes end on May 2, you would only receive payments for May 1 and 2, not the rest of the month. This can cause payments to be slightly different from month to month.

Q: If I have 100% eligibility under Chapter 33, do I have to pay my tuition charges upfront?

A: No. Once certified, students receiving benefits under Chapters 31 and 33 will have a VA credit applied to their account for the tuition/fee amount our school expects to receive directly from the VA. This process enables the student to access any financial aid awards and avoid penalties due to delayed tuition and fee disbursement from the VA. When the actual payment from the VA is received, your account will be reconciled and you will be notified of any payment discrepancies. Students using Chapter 31 or 33 benefits will have any tuition-related late fees waived provided they have paid any other student obligations by the established due dates.

Q: Do I have to pay housing charges upfront?

A: Any housing-related charges must be paid by the established due dates. If you are unable to meet housing payment deadlines as specified by Student Financial Services and University Housing, please contact them directly for payment plan options. If plans are available, you generally have to enroll by a certain date. Please plan to contact these departments early if needed.

Enrollment Deposit

Q: Will the VA pay my enrollment deposit?

A: Students must pay the enrollment deposit up front. It can be refunded after the third week of classes if the VA credit has been added to the student account covering full tuition and fees (Chapter 31 and Chapter 33 only). Contact Student Financial Services at 734-764-7447 to request the refund.