STUDENT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES -- Veterans Benefits

All College degree and certificate programs are approved for training-eligible servicepersons, veterans, and dependents. Additional information is available from the Veterans Advisor on each campus.

If you are a veteran or a veteran's dependent, you may be eligible for educational benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. You should contact your campus Veterans Advisor each semester to complete the necessary forms to establish and maintain your eligibility for benefits. Full-time educational benefits are available to you if you are registering for and maintaining 12 or more credits in degree program courses. Three-quarter-time benefits are paid for 9 to 11 credits and half-time benefits are paid for 6 to 8 credits per semester. Active duty servicepersons and those registered for less than 6 credits are entitled to tuition reimbursement only. Certificate programs are measured differently for payment. Courses taken through the Extended Learning Institute (ELI) and accelerated courses are also measured differently. See a campus Veterans Advisor for details.

You may have earned credits at another college, vocational school, or technical school. Credits may have also been earned by taking CLEP, ABLE, DANTES, or USAFI exams. You must insure that an official transcript is sent to the Student Services Center during your first semester of enrollment. You must have your military training evaluated along with your transcripts from non-military schools. DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) originals or copy #4 should be copied by Student Services for evaluation and returned to you. Generally, repeating courses that have been previously passed will not be certified to the Department of Veterans Affairs for payment.

If you receive educational benefits, you must report your enrollment each semester to your Veterans Advisor. The information will then be certified and reported to the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office. Any changes to your enrollment must also be reported to the campus Veterans Advisor. Changes include: canceled classes, dropped classes, withdrawing from classes, adding classes, or any other type of change that may affect your eligibility to receive benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Excessive absences may result in the dismissal from the course and adjustment of benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Any change in status must be reported to the Department of Veterans Affairs as soon as possible, but no more than 30 days after the change has been officially completed at the College.

Satisfactory Progress Policy for Recipients of Veterans Benefits. To be eligible for veterans educational benefits, you must maintain satisfactory academic progress in accordance with Northern Virginia Community College standards. The following standards must be met:

1. You will be reported to the Department of Veterans Affairs as making unsatisfactory progress if your cumulative GPA falls below the required level based on the following schedule:

Regular Credits Attempted (Grades A, B, C, D, F)	Minimum Cumulative GPA Requirement
13-23 credits	1.50
24-47 credits	1.75
48 or more credits	2.00

This standard will be applied each term. However, if you do not achieve the above minimum cumulative GPA requirement, but you do achieve a GPA of at least a 2.00 for the term being evaluated, you may be certified for that term as making satisfactory progress.

2. When your academic record does not meet the above standards, you will be notified in writing by the veterans advisor that your next term will be "probationary." You will be required to meet with a counselor or faculty advisor to develop a written plan to indicate how you will successfully complete your educational objective and how you will satisfy the GPA requirement for satisfactory progress toward graduation. This plan will be kept on file in the Veterans Office.

3. If you do not meet the minimum cumulative GPA requirement or do not earn a minimum GPA of 2.00 for your probationary term, you will be reported to the Department of Veterans Affairs as making unsatisfactory progress. You may be certified on a retroactive basis for the following term if you receive a minimum GPA of 2.00 for that semester. When your cumulative GPA meets or exceeds the minimum requirement, educational benefits will be restored on a regular basis.

4. If you are subject to academic suspension, you must be reported to the Department of Veterans Affairs as making unsatisfactory progress. Benefits will not be resumed until you are making satisfactory progress.

5. Questions regarding this policy should be addressed to the campus veterans advisor.