General Things to Remember
- Please familiarize yourself with your VA Education chapter details and certification processes, which are highlighted below.
- It is highly important students are aware of all registration deadlines.
- The VA will not cover late fees.
- We are only able to certify classes that count towards your degree program or graduation.
- We are only able to certify UA Little Rock Core Requirements for non-matriculated Freshman/Sophomore students.
- Juniors and Seniors must have a degree program.
- Remedial/Development courses (below 1000 level) must be taken in the traditional classroom setting. The VA will not pay for these courses to be taken online.
- Prerequisites for required courses can be certified, but recommended courses are not certifiable.
- We can certify a repeated class if it is needed for your degree program or if a higher grade is needed for your degree program.
- We cannot certify a repeated class you want to retake to raise your GPA.
We encourage students to sign up for a VA.gov account, which will give them access to their benefit information, payment history, remaining eligibility information and other helpful features.
Full-time Versus Part-time
| Length of term | Undergraduate | Graduate/Law |
|---|---|---|
| 15-week term | 12 hours or more | 9 hours or more |
| 9-week term | 6 hours or more | 5 hours or more |
| 7-week term | 5 hours or more | 4 hours or more |
| 5-week term | 4 hours or more | 3 hours or more |
*CHAPTER 33 IMPORTANT NOTE: In order to be eligible to receive the full Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), students must take at least one in-person or hybrid class a semester.
*Subject to change :GI BILL®Comparison Tool
Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI BILL®
Click here to see eligibility.
Click here to see eligibility for the Edith Nourse Rogers Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) Scholarship.
- Tuition and fees for certified classes are paid directly to the school.
- The VA will pay for the percentage of tuition you are eligible for.
- Tuition and fee specific waivers or scholarships will be deducted from the total submitted to the VA.
- We DO NOT submit tuition and fees until after the 100% drop date.
- Any additional financial aid besides VA education benefits you are receiving will cover your tuition until we receive VA funds. Once we receive the VA payment, any extra funds will be refunded to you.
- The Books and Supplies stipend pays $41.67 per credit hour certified up to $1000 for books in an academic year (August – July).
- Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is paid to students based on rate of pursuit of certified classes with at least one in-person class each semester.
- Refer to the VA website for BAH payment rates. BAH will be prorated for students who are below full-time rate of pursuit or less than 100% eligible.
- For students taking solely online classes, BAH for 100% eligible, full-time rate of pursuit drops down to ½ the national average, therefore, $894.50* for 2020-2021 academic year.
- If you are half time or less, the VA will only pay tuition and fees. They will not provide any stipends.
- This is 6 credit hours or less for undergraduate students in a full term, and less than 4.5 credit hours for graduate students in a full term.
*Subject to change: GI BILL® Comparison Tool
Chapter 31 – Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E)
Click here to see eligibility.
Stay in contact with your VR&E Counselor before, throughout, and after the semester. They require a schedule prior to the beginning of the semester, and an unofficial transcript showing the most recent grades at the end of the semester.
- Your VR&E counselor submits an authorization form to our office, and we certify your approved enrollment to the VA.
- The VA will pay the tuition and fees directly.
- Your VR&E counselor submits an authorization form to our office, and we certify your approved enrollment to the VA.
- For books and supplies, your VR&E counselor submits an authorization form to the bookstore.
- We CANNOT see these authorization numbers, only the bookstore can. So you must get this authorization number from your counselors.
- For the housing and book stipend amounts, please speak with your VR&E Counselor.
Chapter 35 – Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance
Click here to see eligibility.
- The monthly stipend for certified classes will be paid to the student at the beginning of the month for the previous month. The student will be responsible for paying their tuition, fees and books.
Chapter 1606 – Montgomery GI Bill ® – Selected Reserve
Click here to see eligibility.
- The monthly stipend for certified classes will be paid to the student at the beginning of the month for the previous month. The student will be responsible for paying their tuition, fees and books.
- The student must verify their enrollment at the end of EVERY month by either:
- https://www.gibill.va.gov/wave/index.do or
- Call 1-877-VA-ECERT (1-877-823-2378)
Chapter 30 – Montgomery GI Bill ®– Active Duty
Click here to see eligibility.
- The monthly stipend for certified classes will be paid to the student at the beginning of the month for the previous month. The student will be responsible for paying their tuition, fees and books.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
