Category Archives: General

Information now online about the Pat Tillman Scholarship Initiative as well as the Department of Education’s scholarship database.

In the event of a federal shutdown, most VA services will still be available. However, it is important that you know how the GI Bill will be impacted. For the full list of what will be available and what will be suspended, click the title of this feed or more information.

On March 22, 2011 Vice President Biden issued a call to action to boost college graduation rates across the country. The Vice President released a new College Completion Tool Kit for states and Governors to draw ideas and options from.

We have put together a helpful guide that contains many factors that may assist you when choosing a school. Click the title of this feed to access the document.

All active duty servicemembers and their designated transferee spouses tuition payments will reflect the eligibility tier based on length of service for enrollments beginning on or after March 5, 2011

We are currently accepting Yellow Ribbon Program Agreements for the 2011 academic year. The form as well as related materials can be found by clicking the title of this feed.

We would like to make you aware that VA’s offices responsible for processing Education benefits payments have been closed several days during January due to inclement weather. We are working hard to get caught up including working mandatory overtime on Saturdays and Sundays. We expect to have the situation under control within the next week to ten days. We are very concerned about the strain this can cause if you have not yet received your February 1 check and we are working hard to get you paid.

Until your February 1 payment is received, we have created a letter you may wish to show creditors. Please click on the title of this feed to view the letter.

Severe winter weather across much of the nation has caused unexpected delays in processing payments for Spring 2011 enrollments. We are implementing many stopgap procedures to bring the workload down, including temporary staff reassignments, mandatory overtime, and tiger teams. Rest assured we are doing our best to get your benefits to you as soon as possible.

The Department of Veterans Affairs will start accepting Yellow Ribbon Program Agreements for the 2011 – 2012 academic year on February 23, 2011. The agreement and detailed instructions will be available on our website on that date. Program enrollment season will last until May 23, 2011.

Effective January 1, 2011, DoD adjusted most housing rates. VAs housing payments under the Post-9/11 GI Bill are based on the E-5 with dependents level for the zip code where you attend school. The DoD rates changed in January, so if your housing rate went up, you will see it in your February payment. Your payments will update to the 2011 rates automatically.
If your housing rate decreased for 2011, you will continue to receive the higher 2010 rate unless you change schools or have more than a 6-month break in school attendance.