Frequently Asked Questions

Every semester you wish to receive benefits. Please see our Certification page for the Certification Request Form.

You should submit your certification as soon as your schedule is finalized after you register. The MSSC will post when we will begin accepting certifications, which is on the first day of registration.

You need to notify the VA by calling 1-888-442-4551.

You can be one of FIVE chapters:

1. Chapter 35: You are the dependent of a Veteran who is 100% permanently disabled or deceased.
2. Chapter 33: You are a Veteran who qualifies for the Post 9/11 GI BILL® or the dependent of a Veteran who has qualified for Post 9/11 GI BILL® benefits and they have transferred their benefits to you.
3. Chapter 31: You are a Veteran who has a service-connected disability of at least 10% or more and has been accepted into the VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program.
4. Chapter 30: You were, or are, on active duty and have completed the initial obligation period of at least two years.
5. Chapter 1606: You are currently serving in the National Guard or the Reserves.

If you do not know whether or not you qualify for any of these chapters, go to vets.gov and complete the educational benefits application. There is a series of questions that will tell you whether or not you are eligible for any benefits.

Your chapter will determine the proof of eligibility you will need to provide to us. Though there are different forms to fill out for each chapter depending on your Veteran status, you may go to VA.gov and complete the education application. It will walk you through a series of questions to determine what educational benefits you are eligible to receive and tell you how to receive them.

This may only be done if you are eligible for Chapter 33.

Go to the MilConnect website and complete the Transfer of Educational Benefits (TEB) form. Print and keep for your records.

Once the TEB is completed, your dependent must go to vets.gov benefits. They will need to complete a 1990E Transfer of Entitlement (TOE) application form through VA.gov. Print and keep for your records.

Once both the TEB and TOE have been completed, bring copies of these to us to finish processing.

Other VA Educational Monthly Benefits Eligibility Policies and Considerations:

1. The Veterans Regional Office will not pay for the following:
   1. a course that does not pertain to the degree you are seeking
   2. on-line developmental courses
   3. a course already passed at an acceptable level at UA Little Rock or any other school–(Check with your advisor: a grade of “D” may be an acceptable grade for your degree requirement.)
2. UA Little Rock reports regularly to the Veterans Regional Office. If any of the following actions result in your having been paid more than what you are eligible for, you may have to repay the amount in excess of your eligibility:
   1. dropped class
   2. term withdrawal
   3. NC (no-credit) grade in a non-developmental course
   4. non-attendance grade (grade of F)
   5. an incomplete grade that is subsequently replaced with an NC (no-credit) grade
3. UA Little Rock also reports the following information to the Veterans Regional Office:
   1. academic probation
   2. suspension
   3. graduation
4. Undergraduate students who have 60 or more Overall Earned Hours must have a declared major by meeting with an advisor in the desired program.
5. Post-Baccalaureate and Graduate students must have a declared major by meeting with an advisor in the desired program.

The credit requirements to receive Chapter 33 BAH during the Summer Sessions are the same as in the Fall and Spring Semesters. You must meet the following requirement:

You must be enrolled in more Credit Hours than the requirement for the Enrollment Status of 1/2 Time.

Visit our full-time/part-time webpage that explains all of the variations in semester lengths and the Certification Requirements in more detail.

Once you register for classes, you will receive automated emails stating you need to pay your student account balance.

Once you have completed your Certification Request Form with the UA Little Rock Office of Military Student Success (must be accomplished every semester you wish to receive benefits), you will automatically be deferred.

Tuition and fee deferrals at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock are automatic for our military students as long as you have filled out the Certification Request Form (CRF) for that semester.

Note: If you are less than 100% under Chapter 33, you are responsible for the remaining balance of your tuition and fees. Example: You are 90%, tuition and fees are $1,000, and you are responsible for $100. The VA will pay 90%, which is $900.

All other chapters, with the exception of Chapter 31, will need to set up a payment plan by contacting Student Accounts BEFORE the drop date as published on the Bursar Website. This is because the VA pays you directly every month, so you are totally responsible for the payment of tuition and fees.

You must fill out the Certification Request Form with the UA Little Rock Military Student Success Center. This is required every semester.

No. You can submit your paperwork as soon as your schedule is finalized. Your submission is date stamped when it is received. We will process all certifications in the order that they were received.

Tuition and fees are submitted separately on/after the 100% drop date.

To calculate your monthly BAH:

• Refer to the VA Education Rate Tables
• Use UA LITTLE ROCK’s Zip Code 72204
• Apply E-5 pay grade (with dependents) 

When you filled out your application, there was a block for you to write in your bank information for direct deposit. You may also have elected to receive your benefits by mailed check.

Direct deposit is available for the Post-9/11 GI BILL®, Montgomery GI BILL®-Active Duty, Montgomery GI BILL®-Selected Reserve, and REAP*.

To enroll in Direct Deposit, please do one of the following:

• Login to WAVE (or create an account if you are a new user).
  • On the WAVE Main page, click on the link that says “Direct Deposit Enrollment Form.” This form can be submitted electronically, or you can print out a hard copy and mail it to our local Regional Processing Office (Address is listed below). Unfortunately, WAVE is not yet available for Post-9/11 GI BILL® recipients.
• Call the VA at 1-888 GI BILL 1 (1-888-442-4551)
• Complete a direct deposit form and mail it to our local Regional Processing Office
  Muskogee RPO
  P.O. Box 8888
  Muskogee, OK 74402-8888
• Login to eBenefits

If you initially set up your benefits to be sent by check, you may change to direct deposit through W.A.V.E (Web Automated Verification of Enrollment or by calling 1-877-838-2778).

Note: it can take up to 30 days for your direct deposit changes to become effective.

Please allow 4-6 weeks for the VA to process your claim once we have submitted your paperwork. Please allow 5-7 business days for our office to complete your paperwork (during peak times, please allow two weeks).

Note: We do not submit tuition and fees certifications for Chapter 33 students until the 100% drop date.

There are many reasons why you may not have received your benefits:

• You may not have applied for your benefits with Veteran Affairs. If you have not applied yet, you can apply via va.gov.
• You may have submitted a CRF with UA Little Rock Military Student Success Center before the start of the semester. If this is the case, you will need to visit our Certification Request Form page and submit the proper paperwork.
• You may not have submitted your paperwork early enough to be fully processed.
• If you have recently changed your direct deposit information or mailing address, it will take some time for Veteran Affairs to process the change. If you receive your benefits by check, the check may have been sent to your old address. If you receive your benefits by direct deposit, Veteran Affairs may have tried to make a deposit in your previous account.

You can change your direct deposit information by logging in to W.A.V.E or by calling 1-877-838-2778.

It can take up to 30 days for your direct deposit changes to become effective.

Yes, the only financial aid that will impact your VA educational benefit is those that are tuition and fees specific. That means anything that is supposed to pay for tuition and fees only. As an example, a student could utilize the UA System Employee or Spouse Tuition Waiver. Tuition is $1000, and fees are $500. The tuition waiver would be applied and there would be $600 left to pay for tuition and still $500 for fees. $1,100 would be submitted to the VA.

In order to certify here with the UA Little Rock School Certifying Official (SCO), you need to make sure the classes you are taking at the transient school will count as credit toward your degree at the UA Little Rock. You will need to contact your advisor to make sure the classes you are taking at the transient school will count towards your degree at UA Little Rock.

If you are taking general education courses, you may go to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education ACTS website to see what classes are equivalent at both schools.

You will need to contact the UA Little Rock School Certifying Official (SCO) in the Office of Military Student Success to get a “Parent Letter” to provide to the transient school’s SCO.

You will also need to provide the SCO at the school where you are taking your transient classes in order for them to submit that enrollment to the VA.

At the end of the semester, you will need to send/turn in your transcripts from the transient institution to UA Little Rock or you will not be able to receive credit for those classes.

The VA will pay for any course you take that falls under your degree program, including minors and certificate programs.