VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION June 2016 VA ONCE

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION 1 VA ONCE is that you? It’s me!

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION What’s on the agenda? Pre-certification or 2-Step Certification Pros/Cons Un-terminate a certification Mitigating Circumstances and the 6-hour Credit Exclusion Non-Standard Terms Effective Dates 2

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION 3 2-Step Certifications

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Why use the 2-step certification? VA encouraged schools to submit $0 T&F when the claim volume was high – Paid B&S stipend prior to term beginning – Established the housing allowance to be released Pros – Your workload – Your institution does not charge the student until after the drop/add period – Student receives award letter and award prior to the term beginning Cons – Your workload – Problem students – It doesn’t work for your institution 4

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION 2-Step Certification It is NOT a VA requirement – Reporting requirements require schools to report within 30 days from the beginning of the term Automation has changed the game – Still high volume Fall/Spring certifications but overall timeliness has improved Do what works best for your institution Column text or image here 5

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION 6 Un-Terminate

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Un-Terminate Un-terminate is used when enrollment has been terminated and new information is received and the certification needs to be adjusted – NO PAPER 1999/1999b should be used Examples: – Graduation reported and student received a late scholarship – A student withdrew with punitive grades reported, student appealed and grades changed to non-punitive – Clerical error needs to be corrected on a terminated certification 7

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Complete a new certification as you originally had submitted – Add a standard remark to the new cert by clicking on the ‘Modify Remarks List’ – Pop-Up Box appears, from the ‘VBA Standard Remarks’ drop down list, choose the standard remark “Correcting Previously Terminated Enrollment. Notice of Change in Student Status(S) To Follow” – Click ‘Save’ Submit this enrollment Wait 1 day!! You can now make any necessary adjustments to the term as necessary – Please remark the adjusted cert as you see fit 8 How do we un-terminate?

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION How do we un-terminate? 9

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION 10 Mitigating Circumstances

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Mitigating Circumstances What are Mitigating Circumstances? Defined as circumstances beyond the student’s control which prevent the student from continuing in school or cause the student to reduce credits When are Mitigating Circumstances an issue? When a student terminates or reduces after the drop period and a non-punitive grade is assigned Acceptable mitigating circumstances must be provided in order to pay benefits for the period of attendance. If they are not provided, or not accepted, any benefits paid from the beginning date of the term will be considered an overpayment, and a debt may be established 11

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Mitigating Circumstances Who is responsible for submitting Mitigating Circumstances? The student. If you know Mitigating Circumstances exist at time of reduction/termination, you may inform VA of the Mitigating Circumstances through VA ONCE** **DOCUMENTATION OF THE CIRCUMSTANCE PROVIDED BY THE STUDENT MUST BE RETAINED IN THE STUDENT’S INSTITUTIONAL FILE What are acceptable documents to support Mitigating Circumstances? A statement from the student or school explaining the situation, does NOT have to be formal ( , handwritten note, active duty orders) If you don’t have documentation of the student’s circumstance when you report the reduction/termination, or you are unsure if it would be considered a circumstance beyond the student’s control, leave the Mitigating Circumstance box blank. The VA will ask the student to provide evidence and adjust the record according 12

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Example of MITC Step 1 – Select the student – Double-click on the student, or highlight the student, then select ‘Access’ from the ‘Student’ menu at the top of the screen. Step 2 – Click on the ‘Certs’ tab Step 3 – Adjust effected term – Select the term to adjust by clicking on the arrow to expand the virtual record and then highlighting the term – Click on the ‘Cert’ menu – Select ‘Adjust’. The bottom portion of the screen will open to ‘Edit Adjustment 13

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Example of MITC Step 4 – Adjust the applicable fields – Res, Dist, R/D, Clock, T&F, Training Time or Full-Time equivalent (grad training), Yellow Ribbon – Select the reason for adjustment from the drop down – Select the most applicable Mitigating Circumstances from the drop down – Enter the LDA/EFF date 14

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Example of MITC Mitigating Circumstances Field – This field will only appear if you select Reduction (Non College), Reduction After Drop Period – Non-Punitive Grades Assigned, or Student Completed Term But Non-Punitive Grades Assigned For One or More Courses – ONLY PROVIDE MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES IF THE STUDENT PROVIDED MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES BY THE TIME YOU MUST REPORT THE CHANGE – You may enter a reason not provided in the drop down list as a free text remark 15

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION How does this effect the school/Veteran? School – During a compliance survey, the school may be asked to provide evidence of the mitigating circumstance the school reported on the 1999b from student, note in recordkeeping software (Banner/PeopleSoft), copy of orders Nothing official or formal is required (doctor note, obituary, statement from outside party) Student – VA only pays for punitive grades UNLESS mitigating circumstances are provided – Rather than taking the student’s reduced credit back to the first day of the term, VA will pay through the last day of attendance Reduces potential overpayment (PRO) Still uses entitlement (CON) 16

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION 6-Credit Hour Exclusion 17 VA automatically grants mitigating circumstances for up to 6 credits the first time a student reduces or terminates and mitigating circumstances must be considered. This automatic grant is called the 6-Credit Hour Exclusion. The exclusion is a one-time grant made the first time mitigating circumstances must be considered for the student. Up to 6 credits can be excluded if the student has been awarded benefits for the credit. The 6- Credit Hour Exclusion cannot be granted if the student completes the term and receives non-punitive grades.

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION How does this effect the school/Veteran? School – If the student is a Post-9/11 recipient, and reduces more than 6 credits, if you do not provide a “placeholder” on the adjusted certification, a VCE will contact you to obtain a 6-credit hour exclusion “placeholder” The placeholder is the cost of 6 credits + the credits after the reduction – Student reduces from 12 to 4 credits (8 credits) – VA will need the charges for 10 credits (6 credits forgiven + 4 remaining) – If the student is receiving any other benefit, or reduces less than 6 credits, and receives the 6-hour credit exclusion, the school is not affected Student – If the student reduces less than 6 credits, VA automatically applies the 6-hour credit exclusion and pays through the last day of attendance – If the student reduces more than 6 credits, VA pays through the last day of attendance for 6 credits, and asks for mitigating circumstances if the student reduced more than 6 credits 18

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Non-standard terms 19

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Standard v. Non-Standard What’s a Standard Term? Academic years are divided into enrollment periods. VA defines those enrollment periods: Ordinary School Year: Generally a period of 2 semesters or 3 quarters which is not less than 30 nor more than 39 weeks in total length. Term: Any regularly established division of the ordinary school year under which the school operates. Quarter: A division of the ordinary school year from 10 to 13 weeks long. Semester: A division of the ordinary school year from 15 to 19 weeks long. Summer term: The whole of the period of instruction at a school which takes place between ordinary school years. A summer term may be divided into several summer sessions. Summer session: Any division of a summer term. 20

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Standard v. Non-Standard What’s a Non-Standard term? Anything that falls outside of the last slide definitions and/or does not adhere to an institution’s academic calendar Example 1: A university’s standard semester is 16 weeks, but they also schedule 8 week courses. The 16 week term is the standard term and the 8 week courses are non-standard terms Example 1: A school offers accelerated courses of 6 weeks. This does not fit into a quarter or semester definition and is a non-standard term, even though it is the intuitional “standard” term 21

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION What to certify? Standard terms Report the official begin date of the academic term or the date all students were required to report in advance of the start of the term (if not more than 14 days prior to the beginning of classes) as well as the official ending date of the term – Courses beginning after the calendar week, or 7 calendar days, from the start of the academic term, report the actual date the course began – Courses ending outside the calendar week from the start of the academic term, report the actual date the course ended Non-Standard terms Report the actual beginning and ending dates, and credit for the session or course separately from the standard semester or quarter ALWAYS CERTIFY ACTUAL CREDIT FOR ENROLLMENT PERIODS. If you certify a non- standard term, VA will convert the actual credit to credit equivalents to determine the rate of pursuit 22

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Calendar Week 23 Term Start Class 1 Start Class 2 Start Class 3 Start

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION 24 Effective Dates

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Effective Dates What is necessary for accurate effective dates? Communication between institutional departments Communication from the Veteran Establish effective reports in your institutional recordkeeping software 25

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Effective Dates VA ONCE asks for the LDA/EFF Date (Last Date of Attendance/Effective Date) What are the correct effective dates to be reported? If a student officially withdraws, the date the student withdrew is the effective date If a student is administratively withdrawn or stops attending without officially withdrawing, the actual last date of attendance must be determined and reported If a student completes the term with all “F” and/or non-punitive grades, then determine and report the actual last date of attendance for each course and, if required, terminate the student for unsatisfactory progress Use one of the following methods to determine the last actual date of attendance: (1) attendance records, (2) grading reports, (3) last date on which examination or other papers filed, or (4) last day of activity in the instructor's records Note: A signed statement from the student as to the last day of his or her attendance may not be used as the sole means of verifying attendance. 26

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION What about VA ONCE? Be careful when reducing/terminating to make sure the LDA/EFF Date is accurate Termination option ‘Reason for Adjustment’ which automatically populate a LDA/EFF Date – End of Term or Course – Graduation – Unsatisfactory Attendance, Conduct, or Progress – Withdraw Before Beginning of Term – Preregistered But Never Attended 27

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION What about VA ONCE? Be careful when reducing/terminating to make sure the LDA/EFF Date is accurate Adjust option ‘Reason for Adjustment’ which automatically populate a LDA/EFF Date – Increase on First Day of Term – Preregistered But Reduced Prior to First Day of Term – Reduction on First Day of Term – Student Completed Term But Non- Punitive Grades Assigned For One or More Courses 28

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION What about VA ONCE? !CAUTION! If you first choose a ‘Reason for Adjustment’ which automatically populates a LDA/EFF Date, then change it, the prepopulated LDA/EFF Date will remain in the LDA/EFF Date Box in VA ONCE 29

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION What about VA ONCE? 30

VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION Questions? 31