A. | Howard Community College is particularly concerned with the educational, vocational and personal advancement of those men and women who served in the armed forces. Ex-military personnel, active duty military, reserve duty military and dependents of disabled or deceased veterans are able to obtain assistance in applying for veterans’ benefits, educational and occupational counseling, job referral, tutorial services and academic advising. |
B. | A student planning to apply for benefits should contact the Office of Records and Registration as soon as the student has enrolled in the college or registered for classes. Student tuition and fees are paid up front by the student and not by the Veterans Administration; therefore, the student, and not the Veterans Administration, is held responsible for prompt payment of all college costs. The Veterans Administration (VA) forwards all payments via electronic funds transfer or check directly to the student. Veterans should plan finances to cover tuition and fees as well as a minimum of two months of estimated living expenses. Benefit payment can be expected within 12 weeks from the date your claim is forwarded from HCC to the VA Regional Office. The VA Regional Office requires that all students self certify attendance and enrollment on a monthly basis. |
C. | In accordance with VA regulations, all coursework certified for educational benefit payment must be required to complete an eligible degree or certificate of proficiency at Howard Community College as outlined in the college catalogue. VA educational benefits cannot be paid for coursework that is audited. |
D. | VA students enrolled in coursework required only for transfer to a four-year college must provide a letter on college letterhead from the transfer college to document the requirement. A copy of the four-year college catalogue cannot be accepted as documentation. |
E. | VA regulations require that all students receiving VA educational benefits meet the academic satisfactory progress standard as outlined in the college catalogue. |
F. | Students who receive the grade of “NA” or “W” may be subject to repaying funds received for the course to the Veterans Administration. Students who receive the grade of “F,” “NA,” or “W” and have documentation of mitigating circumstance should submit a detailed letter and documentation to substantiate the claim to the Office of Records and Registration at Howard Community College. Repeat course work for which an unsatisfactory grade was assigned (F, L, W and NA) may be eligible to be certified for educational benefit payment. Repeat coursework previously completed with a passing grade (A,B,C,D) is not eligible to be certified for educational benefit payment. The Adjudication Officer at the Veterans Administration will make all final determinations concerning payment approval. Appeal requests for payment denial should be directed to the Veterans Affairs regional office at 1-888-GIBILL-1. Howard Community College does not participate in the advance pay program. |
G. | Tutorial service is available to all eligible veterans who are enrolled at least halftime. Any veteran wishing to utilize a tutor may complete the VA tutorial application (VA Form 22-1990t) with the Office of Records and Registration after completion of the tutorial assistance. The tutor must verify the information reported by the applicant, and certify that individualized tutorial assistance was given to the applicant and that the tutor is not a close relative of the veteran. The supplementary assistance allowance will be paid at the rate of the monthly cost of tutorial assistance not to exceed the rate allowed by law per month. This assistance amount is not to exceed $1200. |
