Veterans Benefits

The VA certifying official provides assistance in obtaining VA education benefits to veterans and other eligible persons. VA education benefits are authorized to veterans and qualified dependents under specific chapters of Title 38, U.S. Code. Each chapter has specific eligibility requirements. The Allen College VA certifying official cannot determine your eligibility for VA education benefits. Your eligibility can only be determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (http://www.gibill.va.gov/).

In compliance with Section 103 of the Veterans Benefits and Transition Act of 2018, Allen College will not impose the following penalties to covered individuals* due to the delayed disbursement of funding from the Department of Veteran Affairs:

• preventing nor delaying the student's enrollment,

• the assessment of late fees,

• the denial of access to any resources available to other students who have satisfied their tuition and fees bills to the institution, including but not limited to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities,

• or require the student to secure alternative or additional funding

To qualify for this provision, such students are required to:

• Produce a Certificate of Eligibility**;

• Provide additional information needed to properly certify the enrollment as required by the Primary School Certifying Official.

This provision ends on the earlier of the following dates:

• The date on which payment from the VA is made to the institution

• 90 days after the date the institution certified tuition and fees following the receipt of the Certificate of Eligibility

The restriction on penalties would not apply in cases where the student owes additional payment to the school beyond the amount of the tuition and fee payment from VA to the school. VA would have to make payments to schools no later than 60 days after receiving the tuition and fee certification from the school, and they would have to report semiannually to Congress any cases in which VA fails to make such payments within 60 days of certification.

*Covered individual is defined as any individual who is entitled to educational assistance under Chapter 31, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, or Chapter 33, Post 9/11 G.I. Bill®

**Certificate of Eligibility is defined as a Certificate of Eligibility, a Statement of Benefits, or a VAF 28-1905

Applying for Veterans Benefits

First Time VA Benefits

If you have never used VA education benefits to attend college, you will need to:

1. Apply for your benefits online at http://www.gibill.va.gov/.

• Select the link under VA Benefits and Health Care/Education Benefits/How to apply for benefits.

• Submit all requested documents to the VA as directed.

• Make a copy of the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) or award letter and forward to the VA Certifying Official at Allen College.

2. Apply for admissions to Allen College online at www.allencollege.edu (application).

Approved Programs

All programs at Allen College are approved for benefits with the exception of BSN-DNP. Certain guidelines put in place by the VA prevent the BSN-DNP program from being approved at this time.

Transferring

If you have used VA education benefits at another college or while on active duty, you do not need to re-apply for your VA benefits. You will need to do the following:

• Complete VA Form 22-1995. Change of Program/Place of Training. You can request this from the following U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs webpage at: www.va.gov/vaforms/form_detail.asp?FormNo=22-1995.

VA Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits

• Contact a VA Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor by contacting the Iowa Workforce Development Office in Waterloo at 319-235-2123 or 515-362-7365 in Des Moines.

VA Contact Information

• GI Bill Website - Questions and answers, rates of pay, WAVE, Yellow Ribbon Program and other links http://www.gibill.va.gov

• VA Regional Office, St. Louis 888-442-4551
  

• Enrollment Verification: You can verify your enrollment via text message or by calling the Education Call Center (ECC) 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551). The ECC can also help you opt into text verification. VA strongly recommends verifying enrollment via text.

• Direct Deposit 877-838-2778

• Veteran Affairs Commission, Black Hawk County 319-291-2512

• Iowa Military Education Coordinating Committee

Training

• Allen College provides sufficient training for VA certifying officials and the Financial Aid Director on an ongoing basis to ensure veterans or active military members and other eligible persons have access to VA benefits.

Allen College Yellow Ribbon Program Participation

To apply for the Yellow Ribbon Program, go to https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/yellow_ribbon/yellow_ribbon_info_schools.asp