Understanding the Treatment and Processing of Federal

Educational VA Benefits

University of LouisvilleAnn Kirwan, Bryan Trautwein & Ron’a Thomas

April 12th, 2007

University of Louisville

• 4 Year Public Institution• 5 Careers

– Undergraduate– Graduate– Medical– Dental– Law

• Enrollment: 21,848 (Fall 2006)• About 11,000 Receive Student Aid• About 350 Students Receiving VA

Benefits (2007 Aid Year) – 230 are Federal Student Aid

Applicants

Agenda• Federal VA Educational Benefits

Overview– Programs– Payment Rate Overview– Kickers

• Institutional Knowledge• Federal VA Benefits Processing at UofL• VA Benefits & Financial Aid

– Collecting VA Information– FAFSA/ISIR– UofL Financial Aid Processing– Impact on Federal Aid– Packaging and Awarding Examples

• Questions

Federal VA Benefits Overview

VA Benefit Programs

– Montgomery GI Bill—Active Duty 30

– Montgomery GI Bill—Selected Reserve 1606

– Dependents Educational Assistance 35

– Reserve Educational Assistance Program 1607

– Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment 31

– Others

VA Benefits Programs

• Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) - Active Duty (Chapter 30)– Initial active duty after 6/30/85– $1,200 pay reduction– 36 months of entitlement– Expires 10 years from date of

separation– Eligible for College Fund & $600

Buy –up

VA Benefits Programs• Montgomery GI Bill-Selected

Reserve (MGIB/SR) - (Chapter 1606)

– 6 year selected reserve/national guard obligation (Mid 1985 - present)

– Complete Initial Active Duty Training

– In good standing with unit– 36 months of entitlement– 14 years of entitlement from date

of eligibility or when reservist leaves selected reserve

VA Benefits Programs• Reserve Educational Assistance

Program (REAP-Chapter 1607)– Active Duty Requirement (Post

9/2001)– National Guard eligible if Section

502– Eligibility begins at 90 days– Eligibility ends when person

leaves selected reserves– Pay is based on number of

continuous days served on active duty

VA Benefits Programs• Vocational Rehabilitation

and Employment (Chapter 31)– Veterans with a service

connected disability– Vocational Rehabilitation

counseling required– 48 months of entitlement– VA pays tuition, books, supplies

& monthly stipend– Only pays for education if it is

necessary for employment goal

VA Benefits Programs• Veterans Education Assistance

Program (VEAP-Chapter 32)* – Entered service between 1/1/1977

and 6/30/1985– Contributed $25 to $2,700– Entitlement is 1-36 months

depending on number of monthly contributions

– Has 10 years from separation date to use benefits

– Monthly payments are based on amount of contributions

*No current students

VA Benefits Programs• Other VA Programs

– Educational Assistance Test Program (901)

– National Call To Service– Post Vietnam Era Educational

Assistance Program (VEAP)– Restored Entitlement Program

for Survivors

VA Benefits Overview

• General Payment Rules for VA Programs– Payments generally made to the

student– Payments generally made

monthly– Payments affected by

•The program•The student’s “training time”•Kickers, Buy-up’s, Dependents, &

active duty status

Payment Rates Eff. 10/1/2006Full Time ¾ Time ½ Time Less Than

½Less Than ¼

Ch. 30(Active 3+)(Active<3)

1075.00873.00

806.25654.75

537.50436.50

537.50436.50

268.75218.25

Ch. 1606 (Rsv&NG) 309.00 231.00 153.00 77.25 77.25

Ch. 160790 Days +1 Yr +2 Yrs +

430.00645.00860.00

322.50483.75645.00

215.00322.50430.00

215.00322.50430.00

107.50161.25215.00

Ch. 35 (Dep.) 860.00 645.00 429.00 429.00 215.00

-These rates will change on 10/1/2007

Full Time ¾ Time ½ Time

Ch. 310 Dependents1 Dep2 DepEach Add.

508.04630.19742.6154.14

381.73473.32555.2141.63

255.42316.47372.0027.78

Payment Rates Eff. 10/1/2006

-These rates will change on 10/1/2007

VA Benefits Kickers• Money paid in addition to the

$1,200 for MGIB Chapter 30– College Fund

• Qualifications established by military branches

• Part of the recruitment package• Based on critical occupation specialty• Payments are added on to MGIB monthly

benefits• Up to $200 a month

VA Benefits Kickers Continued

• $600 Contribution Buy-Up (Ch. 30)

• Service person contributes in increments of $20 up to $600 a month

• Contribution of $600 adds an additional $150 to the monthly full time MGIB payment

• Must submit Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) indicating monthly payments or receipt of $600 lump sum payment

• Chapter 1606 Kicker – Recruitment Incentive– Qualification is based on branch

of service and job specialty– Rate is $100, $200 or $350 a

month in addition to monthly MGIB/SR rate

– Must submit copy of kicker contract

VA Benefits Kickers Continued

Federal VA Benefits Processing

Institutional Knowledge

• FAFSA indicators– VA monthly amounts reported– Answer yes to veteran question

• Student’s contact VA Certifying Official – Registrar’s Office at UofL– Use of system tracking for staff and

processing purposes

• 3rd party payments– VA payments

• Interoffice communication– Registrar, Financial Aid & Student

Financials

Institutional Responsibility

• Regardless of the amounts included on a student’s FAFSA/ISIR, schools are responsible for the proper treatment of all VA benefits that they are aware of or should be aware of*

*FSA PowerPoint 2006 Working with Veterans Affairs to Help Students (Dan Klock & Bill Susling)

UofL VA Benefits Processing• First Time VA Applicants

– Chapter 30– Chapter 1606– Chapter 1607– Chapter 35– Chapter 31

• Transfer Student VA Benefits– Chapter 30, 1606, & 1607– Chapter 35

UofL VA Benefits Processing

• System identifier assigned by Registrar’s Office– Posted at time of application with VA

Official

• Financial Aid Office uses a query/reporting tool to identify potential VA students who:– Fail to report information on FAFSA– Receive 3rd party payments– Manually assign requests for proof of

VA Benefits

VA Benefits & Financial Aid

VA Benefits & Financial Aid

• VA related issues– Veteran Status Certification– Combat Pay– Educational VA Benefits– Non-educational VA Benefits– Conflicting Information– Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS)

VA tuition waivers

2007-08 FAFSA Veteran Questions• Step Two (Student), Q46, 47:

(potential Benefits issue)– If you receive veterans’ educational

benefits, for how many months from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, will you receive these benefits, and what amount will you receive per month? Do not include your spouse’s veterans education benefits.

• Step Three (Student), Q54 (Potential dependency/certification issue)– Are you currently serving on active duty

in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training?

• Step Three (Student), Q55: (potential dependency/certification issue)– Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed

Forces?

• Worksheet B (potential untaxed income/verification issues)– Housing, food and other living allowances paid to

members of the military, clergy and others (including cash payments and cash value of benefits).

– Veterans’ non-education benefits such as Disability, Death Pension, or DIC, and/or VA Educational Work-Study allowances.

– Tax filers only: report combat pay not included in AGI … Do not include combat pay if you are not a tax filer

2007-08 FAFSA Veteran Questions

Educational vs. Non-Educational

• VA educational benefits must be counted as an aid resource when determining federal student aid eligibility (does not impact the EFC)– VA Benefits Form requested

• Proof of benefit amount (UofL process)

• VA non-educational benefits count as untaxed income (does impact the EFC)– Untaxed income/Verification issue

UofL Processing: Forms• Proof of VA Educational Benefits

– Student must provide FAO with proof of federal VA program and monthly amount

• Proof of Veteran Status Certification – Student must provide FAO with proof of

qualifying veteran status and copy of discharge papers (DD214) or proof of active duty status

• A requirement is assigned based on ISIR comment code of 162, 173, or 180

• HERA Change – (GEN-06-05) – dependents who are currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training are now considered to be independent

Required UofL Documentation

• Type of educational benefits• Amount received per month• Duration of benefits• Expiration date if during the

current award period• Anticipated enrollment

information

VA Benefits UofL Resolution• If information on FAFSA was

reported in error– An ISIR correction is sent

• Not required but helps student for the next year

• If information on FAFSA was reported accurately and student provides supporting documentation– Award amount is entered on the

system

HEA Regulations

• HEA (section 428(a)(2)(C)) requires a school to exclude Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty (Chapter 30) veterans education benefits (and AmeriCorps education awards or post-service benefits) from EFA when determining eligibility for subsidized FFEL and Direct Loans

HEA Regulations

• When determining a student’s eligibility for campus-based funds, a school may exclude as EFA any portion of a subsidized FFEL or Direct Loan that is equal to or less than the amount of the student’s Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty benefits (and AmeriCorps education awards or post-service benefits)

Treatment of VA Educational Benefits (HEA)

• All Programs, except Chapter 30– Counted as an aid resource (EFA) by

recording as an Estimated VA award

• Chapter 30 – Montgomery GI Bill– Counted as an aid resource– Treated as an exception and not

considered EFA when determining eligibility for a Stafford Loan

GI Bill Packaging Example• Lana is an Independent Senior at

Smallville U. with a 0 EFC• Her COA is $23,000• She is receiving:

– $8,600 in Chapter 30 benefits– $4,050 in Pell Grant– $900 in CAP Grant– $4,000 in SMART Grant– $3,500 in a scholarship

• How much of a Subsidized Stafford Loan can she receive?

• How much Campus Based funds can she receive?

Without GI

COA $23,000

EFC 0

Need

Pell Grant

CAP Grant

SMART

Scholarship

Remaining Need

Can offer a $5,500 Stafford Loan

$10,55$10,5500

$3,500$3,500

$4,000$4,000$90$9000

$4,050$4,050

$23,00$23,0000

With GI & Loan

COA $23,000

EFC 0Need

Pell Grant

CAP Grant

SMART

Scholarship

GI Bill

Stafford Loan

Remaining Need

$23,00$23,0000$4,050$4,050

$90$9000$4,000$4,000

$3,500$3,500

$0$0$8,600$8,600

$1,950$1,950Can award $1,950 in Campus Based

Aid

Total Aid = $28,500

UofL Calculation of VA Amount• Prior to start of aid year in August,

assume FT monthly rate for 8 months– Depending on time of year, use the current

payment rates available (whatever is valid at point of calculation)

• After start of aid year, calculate rate on actual enrollment– Between August and December, use actual

enrollment for fall and assume FT enrollment for spring (if PT for fall, then PT rate for 4 months + FT rate for 4 months)

– Between January and May, use actual enrollment for fall and actual enrollment for spring

– Same philosophy for summer

VA Tips

• If dealing with an over award involving VA benefits, ALWAYS check to see if the VA amount can be adjusted prior to adjusting any other aid

• A student can receive VA Benefits without being a veteran, and can be a veteran without receiving benefits

Award Adjustment Scenario 1

Enrollment Months Amount CountFT Fall* 1 309.00 309.00½ Time Fall*

3 153.00 459.00

FT Spring 4 309.00 1236.00TOTAL 2,004.00

Scenario 1: Student reported receiving Chapter 1606. We entered an award based on FT enrollment for 8 months. We calculated $309 per month for 8 months equaling $2,472. The student attended 1 month of school, then dropped to 6 hours. The VA can be adjusted to reflect the reduced rate when dealing with an over award.

* For further reduction, you can use the old rate for the first month

Award Adjustment Scenario 2

Enrollment Months Amount CountFT Fall* 1 430.00 430.00½ Time Fall* 3 215.00 645.00FT Spring 1 430.00 430.003/4 Time Spr 3 322.50 967.50TOTAL 2,473.00

Scenario 2: Student reported receiving Chapter 1607. We entered an award based on FT enrollment for 8 months. We calculated $430 per month for 8 months equaling $3,440. The student attended 1 month of school in fall, then dropped to 6 hours. The student attended 1 month of school in spring, then dropped to 9 hours. The VA can be adjusted to reflect the reduced rate when dealing with an over award.

* For further reduction, you can use the old rate for the first month

Questions

Resources/Rate Information• Education Service Home Page

http://www.GIBill.va.gov– For information on basic monthly rates for Chapter 30,

1606, 1607, and 35• Veterans Benefits Administration Home Page

http://www.vba.va.gov – For information on Voc Rehab and Employment

monthly including for Chapter 31• Federal Student Aid Handbook

– Volume 3, Chapter 6, Packaging Aid• NASFAA PowerPoint (2005)

– Collaborating with the VA to Help Students• FSA PowerPoint (2006)

– Working with Veterans Affairs to Help Students• Presenters:

– Ann Kirwan abkirw01@gwise.louisville.edu– Bryan Trautwein bwtrau01@gwise.louisville.edu– Ron’a Thomas rlthom01@gwise.louisville.edu