VETERAN OUTREACH OFFICE HANDBOOK

Transcription

1 VETERAN OUTREACH OFFICE HANDBOOK Odessa College Here to serve those who served! Odessa College 201 W. University Odessa, Texas Please keep this handbook in a safe place and refer to it often.

2 Revised October 2013

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Contact Informa on... 1 Admissions to OC Checklist... 2 Types of VA Educa onal Benefits... 3 Chapter 33 Informa on... 4 More Types of Financial Assistance... 5 Student Expecta ons... 6 Important Informa on... 7 Other Important Informa on... 8 VA Educa on Programs Monthly Rates... 9 Notes... 10

4 CONTACT INFORMATION I would to thank you for choosing Odessa College to pursue your educa on goals. It s a real honor to serve those who served. I hope to assist you with any ques ons that you may have. Fall/Spring Odessa College Veterans Outreach Office (aka VOO) 8:00 a.m. 5:30 p.m. Monday Thursday (lunch 1 2 p.m.) 8:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Friday Summer 7:30 a.m. 5:30 p.m. Monday Thursday (lunch 1 2 p.m.) Closed Friday Phone: (432) Fax: (432) [email protected] Skype: girangel09 Website: Facebook: Veterans Outreach Office/ To ensure I will be available to assist you, please make an appointment. Muskogee VA Regional Office (8:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Mon. Fri) Mailing Address: PO Box 888 Muskogee, OK Office of Disability Services At Odessa College we strive to assist students that have a documented disability. We comply with mandates set by Sec on 504 through the Office of Disability Services. Academic advising for class scheduling Arrange for academic accommoda ons and use of technology Arrange for sign language interpreters Provide informa on about community resources and agencies Assist in arranging for tutoring/study skills workshops Becky Rivera Weiss (432) Room 204N in the Student Union Building Page 1

5 ADMISSIONS TO OC CHECKLIST Apply for admissions at If you have ques ons, please call (432) Apply for GI Bill benefits using VA Form OR VA Form Request for Change of Program or Place of Training OR VA Form Dependents Request for Change of Program for Place of Training (transfer benefits from the old school to the new school) at (VONAPP) Submit the following documents to the OC Veterans Outreach Office: Cer ficate of Eligibility Le er (veteran & dependent). Mailed to you a er you applied for benefits. If you do not receive it a er 3 6 weeks, call the Muskogee Office and request it. VA Form DD 214 (veterans only) OR VA Form 2384 NOBE No ce of Basic Eligibility (If you are on the new GI Reservist Bill, please go to the Educa on Office at your reserve unity to obtain this form) Military Transcript (veterans only). Army, Marines, and Navy: h ps://jst.doded.mil/smart/ Community College of the Air Force: Mail a le er to CCAF reques ng a transcript which also will need to include your full name, last four of your SSN, your Date of Birth, and the address you wish your transcript to be sent to. OR Credin als, INC does overnight and regular delivery uising their service called TranscriptPLUS for a fee. This service can be found at h ps:// als inc.com/cgibin.dvcgitp.pgm?alumtro The address to the CCAF is: Community Colllege of the Air Force 100 South Turner Blvd Maxwell AFB, Gunter Annex AL OC Veteran Student Informa on Form (veteran & dependent). OC Veteran Agreement (veteran & dependent). Degree Plan (veteran & dependent). Must be signed by department chair. Contact informa on for department chairs is provided in the schedule book. General Studies degree plan can be made in the OC Veteran Outreach Office. To receive a degree from another ins tu on, no fy the OC Veteran Outreach Specialist. A parent ins tu on le er (PIL) is needed for every semester of enrollment from the other ins tu on (cer fying official) where the student will be seeking their degree from. Submit the following documents to the Admissions/Wrangler Express Office: Official Transcripts from all colleges/universi es the student a ended. Transcripts must be sent in by at least the end of the first semester of enrollment at Odessa College. Official transcripts from any college you have ever a ended made to the a en on of the Admissions Office. Proof of Bacterial Meningi s vaccine if you are under the age of 22 at the me when classes begin or provide an affidavit of exemp on from Immuniza ons for Bacterial Meningi es for Reasons of Conscience. If you believe you received the vaccine while enlisted, call (VA Records Management Center) to receive a copy of your medical record. Vaccine cannot be older than 5 years. Apply for financial aid at School code for Odessa College is If you have any ques ons, call (432) Take the TSI placement test. Veterans may use exemp on. See page 7 for more details. For tes ng mes call the Tes ng Center at (432) Page 2

6 TYPES OF VA EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS VA Educa onal Benefits Ch 30 Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB): Member of full me ac ve duty Armed Forces. Ch 31 Voca onal Rehabilita on & Employment Program: Member of Armed Forces who is receiving disability from VA at 30% or higher (see below). Ch 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill: Member of Armed Forces serving ac ve duty me post 9/11 or dependents of eligible service members. Ch 35 Dependents' Educa onal Assistance (DEA): Dependent of 100% disabled or deceased veteran. Ch 1606 Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB SR): Ac vely a member of Reserves or Na onal Guard. Ch 1607 Reserve Educa onal Assistance Program (REAP): Ac vely a member of Reserves or Na onal Guard with deployment. Chapter 30 & 33 It is possible to be eligible for more than one benefit. Be sure to research each benefit carefully before making a decision. Some mes decisions are irreversible. Some veterans are eligible for Chapter 30 and 33, a student may choose Chapter 30 for the en tlement of 36 months. Once it is exhausted the student may apply for Chapter 33 benefits and receive an addi onal 12 months of that benefit. If a student chooses Chapter 33 before exhaus ng Chapter 30, the student will only receive what me is le on Chapter 30 for Chapter 33 (no addi onal 12 months will be added). If you need more assistance on choosing the best benefit visit h p:// benefits_resources/benefit_comparison_tools.html Transfer of En tlement (ToE) or Transfer of Educa on Benefits (TEB) Eligibility of service members to transfer their benefits to their spouse or dependent must first be determined by the Department of Defense through the online applica on found at Following approval from DoD of the transfer being granted, dependents must fill out the modified VA Form 1990E. Informa on is available online at Chapter 31 Voca onal Rehabilita on & Employment Program Apply for Ch. 31 benefits at h ps:// If you have any ques ons about Voca onal Rehabilita on contact Melvin Rand at (325) or [email protected]. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs A n: Melvin Rand, Rehabilita on Counselor 400 Oak Street, Suite 103 Abilene, TX Page 3

7 CHAPTER 33 INFORMATION Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) Paid amount equals the Basic Allowance for Housing for an E 5 with dependents and the zip code of the school. BAH rates can be found at A monthly housing allowance is paid directly to the student at the beginning of each month for the previous month. Amount is prorated by the number of days a student is enrolled during the month. The housing allowance is paid if the student s rate of pursuit is more than 50%. VA calculates rate of pursuit by dividing the number of credits being pursued by the number of credit s considered to be full me by the school. The applicable BAH rate will be mul plied by the rate of pursuit rounded to the nearest mul ple of 9. Fall/Spring BAH Rate of Pursuit 7 credits = 60% 8 credits = 70% 9 credits = 80% 10 credits = 80% 11 credits = 90% 12 credits = 100% Ac ve duty personnel (including those on terminal leave) and their spouses u lizing transferred en tlement are not eligible for the housing allowance. Residen al Housing: At least one class is determined as face to face learning (in class or video). Distance Housing: All classes are distance learning (self paced, hybrid, or online). BAH can be paid to students who are enrolled solely in distance educa on. Payment is 1/2 the na onal average BAH for an E 5 with dependents. See the Educa on Programs Monthly Rate Table on page 10. Book S pend Students using Chapter 33 benefits are en tled to a book s pend. The rate is $41.67 per credit hour cer fied, up to 24 credits for the academic year (08/01/YY 07/31/YY). The maximum s pend is $1,000 per academic year. Book s pends will be not released more than 14 days prior to the beginning of that term. S pends are expected to be paid 3 5 business days a er being cer fied for direct deposit, 7 10 if you receive Treasury checks. Early registra on and applying for financial aid is highly recommended in order to receive benefits and guarantee the schedule that you wish to have. Especially for Chapter 33 benefits to receive your book s pend before classes begin. Overpayments If you are receiving a refund check from Odessa College, please check with the Veterans Outreach Office to determine where the money is coming from. Chapter 33 students should not be receiving addi onal monies from tui on and fees due to the VA overpaying Odessa College. If this happens and it is not reported to the OC Veterans Outreach Office as soon as possible, you may be liable to pay the VA. Page 4

8 MORE TYPES OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE OC Founda on Scholarships Students are encouraged to apply for Founda on scholarships. These scholarships are awarded to OC students only. For more informa on visit Hazlewood/Legacy Act Hazlewood and Legacy is available for Texas veterans and their dependents to be used for tui on and some fees. If you are wan ng to use your VA benefits in conjunc on with your VA benefits or would like more informa on about Hazlewood or Legacy, please contact the Student Financial Services Office at (432) or visit Please no fy the VOO before using this exemp on. Kickers Students who are paid under Ch.30 will be paid more if the student opted to contribute more than required in their enlistment contract. This might be referred to as the Army College Fund or the Navy Sea College Fund. Ch and 1607 are also eligible for kickers. Those who are paid under Ch.33 will receive their contribu ons with their BAH amount on the last month of their enrollment semester. VFW & American Legion Scholarships Both the VFW and the American Legion offer scholarships to veterans and their dependents. I highly encourage everyone to apply for these and join their organiza ons. Odessa VFW (432) Odessa American Legion (432) Advance Payment Chapter 30, 35, 1606, and VRAP students may choose to do advance payment who are at least half me. Advance payment is given to the student to assist with expenses for the beginning of the term (tui on/ fees, books, or supplies). Advance payments pays the student s monthly benefit for the first (prorated for the number of days a ended that month) and second month of the semester. Advance payment can be paid if there s more than 30 days between terms. Advance payment requests must be signed and submi ed to the Veterans Outreach Specialist 40 to 120 days before the first day of the term. Check will be sent to Odessa College, payable to the student. Student will be no fied once check is received and available for pickup. Fall Semester: AP covers par al month of August and September. October is paid in November. Spring Semester: AP covers par al month of January and February. March is paid in April Summer Term: AP may be the only check received for the term. Fry Scholarship Children of ac ve duty member of the Armed Forces who died in the line of duty on or a er September 11, 2001 may be eligible for this scholarship. Benefit is paid out like Chapter 33. Student may apply for this benefits on the ebenefits portal(vonapp). MyCAA Spouse Career Advancement Account MyCAA is a program designed by the Department of Defense to assist spouses in advancing their career skills. Training and educa on is covered up to $2,000 a year to earn a degree or creden als in in demand, portable fields that are needed across the country. MyCAA is renewable for a second year. For more informa on visit h ps://aiportal.acc.af.mil/mycaa. Page 5

9 STUDENT EXPECTATIONS Student Advisement In order for a student to know they are on track, I require a student to meet with me to register for classes. This is to verify the classes that a student wants to take match their degree plan on file. This mee ng also is to talk over any issues or concerns a student may have about their benefits or classes. Please schedule an appointment as early as possible during registra on. Register for classes at the me specified in the schedule book. It is the student s responsibility to no fy the OC Veterans Outreach Office that they registered for classes, otherwise benefits will not be awarded. A endance A endance is very important when it comes to being a successful student here at Odessa College. Be sure to read the a endance policy stated in your syllabus for each class. If there is not a policy, ask the instructor for more informa on. If you ever stop a ending, no fy the Veterans Outreach Office immediately! Veteran students who are receiving Chapters 30, 1606, 1607, or VRAP are required to report monthly a endance by phone or on the WAVES site. Failure to verify will cause your monthly benefits to stop. 8 Week Courses VA will only pay for the amount of me a student is currently taking a class. Eight week courses will be cer fied for the start and end dates of the course, not the beginning and end dates of a semester. Example: Fall start date is Aug. 22 and end date is Dec. 12. Student registers for GOVT 2305, ENGL 1301, and HIST nd 8 weeks. The cer fica on will be 6 credits for Aug. 22 Oct 17 and 9 credits for Oct 18 Dec. 12 (3 of which is the 8 week course). Grades & Proba on/suspension Veteran students who are placed on academic proba on/suspension (receiving below a 2.0 GPA) will be reported to the VA Muskogee Regional office. Failure to improve the GPA a er the suspension will result in si ng out for one semester. The VOO will closely monitor all students who are on proba on/ suspension. An F earned for a class a student must have a Proof of Course Comple on Form completed by an instructor and student then turned in to the Veteran Outreach Office within 30 days of receiving the form. Any benefits that you con nue to receive a er you stopped a ending may create a debt to the VA or to OC. Changes and Updates Failure to no fy the OC Veterans Outreach Office of changes of updates could result in delays in your benefits from the VA or a debt owed to the VA. Please no fy the Odessa College Veterans Outreach Office if the following changes have occurred: Adds/Drops/Complete Withdraws Cancelled Classes or Repeated Courses Degree Changes Address/Phone/ Changes 6 Drop Rule (S.B. 1232) First me freshman students who enrolled in classes during the fall 2007 academic term, or any term therea er, cannot drop more than a total of 6 courses in their en re undergraduate career. This total includes any course a transfer student has dropped at another 2 year or 4 year Texas public college or university. Excep ons are available, please see a current copy of the OC schedule or catalog. Page 6

10 IMPORTANT INFORMATION OC Student Veterans Organiza on (SVO) This organiza on is made of veterans, dependents, and other family and friends of military personnel. Everyone is invited to join. Ac vi es include: holiday par es, Veterans Day (Thank A Vet) event, parades, and trips. Fill out a membership form and return to the Veterans Outreach Office. Mee ngs are held every Friday, 12 1 p.m., Room 215 of the Student Union Building. VA Workstudy The VA allows students who receive Chapters 30, 31, 33, 35, 1606 and 1607 may work in the VOO. Student must be enrolled in school 3/4 me or greater and a GPA of 2.25 or higher. Du es include file VA folders, make copies, assist with veteran students, and make packets for veteran students. Great opportunity for those who would like to learn more about VA benefits. Experience working in an office environment. Very flexible schedule. Ineligible Classes and Fees Developmental courses taken without test scores on file or taken online PE courses (dependents, PHED 1100 for nursing, or courses for Physical Educa on major are exempt) Returned check fees Parking fees Late registra on fees or add/drop fees ($25 each) Out of state tui on & fees (students will pay the difference from out of district) Courses not listed on your degree plan (includes athle c team courses) Courses taken previously which you received a passing grade Tui on & Fees/Payment VA benefits are not awarded immediately. Therefore, payment for tui on and fees are due by the due date for the full amount or a payment plan must be arranged. Early registra on results in a smaller down payment for the payment plan. Failure to take care of tui on and fees up front may result in classes being voided out of the system and you will no longer be registered for classes. It is the student s responsibility to reregister for classes that they have been dropped from and set up a payment plan. The only excep on are students who receive 100% of Chapter 33 benefits or Chapter 31 students. Tui on and fees reported to the VA are those that have been deducted for the sole purpose of defraying tui on and fees paid directly to Odessa College (waivers, scholarships, aid, or assistance other than loans and funds provided under sec on 401(b) of the Higher Educa on Act of 1965). See page 5 for Advance Payment informa on. TSI Test Veterans may be exempted based on the Character of Status stated on the DD 214. The TSI test includes three sec ons that include Math, Reading, and Wri ng. A pre assessment must be done before taking the test. Students are given 5 hours to test (it doesn t take that long to finish it). The total cost of the test is $29. Be sure to take your photo ID and social security card with you to test. Scores are given to you immediately. Provide the VOO with a copy of these. Page 7

11 OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION Newsle ers Newsle ers are ed every month to all students using veteran educa on benefits at Odessa College to student addresses. These are very informa ve and contain dates and deadlines. Right Now The VA Post 9/11 GI Bill website has a FAQ site called Right Now to submit ques ons to the VA pertaining to your benefits. The is the best way to contact them and keep a paper trail of items submi ed. Phone calls to the Muskogee Regional Office can take longer to respond than by ing your ques on to the VA. Visit the GI Bill website at Click on Submit a Ques on on the right hand side. View past ques ons and answers or create an account to keep track of your ques ons. Change Direct Deposit or Address Direct deposit requests are usually processed within 3 workdays of the date they were received. Depending on the volume of requests, many are processed within 1 work day. 1. Visit the WAVE website at 2. Click on log in instruc ons at the top 3. Follow the instruc ons 4. Choose from the menu Direct Deposit Enrollment Form or Change of Address. Both procedures can be done online. Or call Wrangler Express For a er hours assistance (admissions, financial aid, registra on, turn in documents, etc.), visit the Wrangler Express located on the first floor of the Student Union Building. They are open late, during the weekend, and on holiday breaks. Visit for hours or call (432) Get your Wrangler Card (student ID) and parking permit from the Wrangler Express. If you have any ques ons, please call (432) *Please let them know you are/will be using benefits before receiving assistance at the Wrangler Express.* This handbook cannot provide all informa on pertaining to VA Educa on benefits and OC policies/procedures. Learn more at and (catalog and OC Student Handbook). Page 8

12 3+ years of service < 3 years of service VA EDUCATION PROGRAMS MONTHLY RATES Chapter 30-Montgomery GI Bill or VRAP (Veteran Retraining Assistance Program) Full-Time 3/4-Time 1/2-Time $1, $1, $ $1, $1, $ *Tuition and Fees ONLY. Payment cannot exceed the listed amount. < 1/2 Time* $ $ /4 Time or less* $ $ Chapter 33-Post 9/11 GI Bill Book/supplies stipened is $41.67 per credit certified, up to 24 credits for the academic year ($1,000). Residential MHA Rate: $1,086 Distance MHA Rate: $684 Both Monthly Housing Allowance Rates are determined by credit hours and % of benefit. At least 36 months or at least 30 continous days 100% At least 30 continuous days on active duty and must be discharged due to service-connected disability 100% At least 30 months, but less than 36 months 90% At least 24 months, but less than 30 months 80% At least 18 months, but less than 34 months 70% At least 12 months, but less than 18 months 60% At least 06 months, but less than 12 months 50% At least 90 days, but less than 06 months 40% Chapter 35 - Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) Full-Time $1, /4-Time 1/2-Time < 1/2 time* $ $ $ *Tuition and Fees ONLY. Payment cannot exceed the listed amount. 1/4 Time or less* $ Full-Time $ Chapter Montgomery GI Bill 3/4-Time $ /2-Time $ < 1/2 Time* $90.50 Chapter Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) Service Full-Time 3/4-Time 1/2-Time < 1/2 Time 1/4 Time or less 90+days $ $ $ $ $ year + $ $ $ $ $ years + $1, $ $ $ $ *Tuition and Fees ONLY. Payment cannot exceed the listed amount. Revised: October 1, 2013 Page 9

13 NOTES Page 10