Please visit the Department of Veterans Affairs NCD Webinar Series webpage to view complete questions and answers from the session.
Prior Credit
THE FOLLOWING ARE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM THE NCD WEBINAR ON PRIOR CREDIT
Question 1: Why do we have to evaluate credit, if the student tells us that their prior training isn’t at all related to our program and we know we won’t be able to grant the student any prior credit?
Answer: One of the criteria for approval of any school for Veterans’ training is that it reviews and grant prior credit as appropriate for the VA student’s program. Title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 21.4253 and 21.4254 requires every approved school to have and enforce a policy regarding transfer courses, credits, and previous experience. Schools must evaluate prior credit, grant credit as appropriate, notify the student of the evaluation, and shorten the program certified accordingly.
Question 2: How about if we accept transferable credits, but the student wants to retake the class.
Answer: If in accordance with your school’s approved prior credit policy, the student’s successfully completed course transfers in, you may not certify to VA the student’s enrollment for that course.
Question 3: If a student's job is paying the fee for the program, and the student wants to get housing payments from the VA do they have to request their prior credits?
Answer: Yes.
TUITION AND FEES & ENTITLEMENT CHARGE
THE FOLLOWING ARE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM THE NCD WEBINAR ON
TUITION AND FEES & ENTITLEMENT CHARGE
Question 1: Why aren't books certifiable if required for everyone?
Answer: If the books are required to be purchased from the school by every student without exception and if the following conditions are met, a book fee may be certified to VA.
Before a fee can be certified to VA, it must meet ALL the requirements stated below:
- Be listed in the school’s approved catalog as a fee;
- Be listed on the student invoice/payment ledger as a fee;
- Be listed in the enrollment agreement/contract between the student and school as a fee;
- Not be considered a preadmission or penalty fee; and
- Be mandatory or otherwise required of all students, without exception.
Please contact your Education Liaison Representative (ELR), if you’re unsure if your book fee meets all these requirements.
Question 2: How does a student get paid for books & supplies?
Answer: VA pays the books and supplies stipend as a lump sum equivalent of up to $83 per month and is prorated by eligibility level. The enrollment certification triggers this stipend, and, when allowed, the stipend is paid directly to the student without any additional action on the part of the school or the student.
Program Length
THE FOLLOWING ARE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM THE NCD WEBINAR ON PROGRAM LENGTH
Question 1: With hour variances, how should it be reported IF the student is either ill or on active duty and their absences fall OUTSIDE of the attendance requirements?
Answer: It is incorrect to certify a scheduled weekly clock hour variance for the purpose of reporting absences due to illness or being called to active duty – they are separate issues and reported differently.
Attendance must be monitored and the policy enforced. In order for schools to know if students are in violation of a policy, detailed records must be monitored. It is not enough to just have the policy available in the student’s file during a compliance survey visit. Schools must take appropriate action (i.e., terminate the enrollment certified to VA for any student who is in violation of the policy).
It is incorrect to certify a scheduled weekly clock hour for the purpose of reporting absences due to illness or being called to active duty – they are separate issues and reported differently.
Attendance must be monitored, and the policy enforced. For schools to know if students are in violation of a policy, they (schools) must monitor and maintain detailed records. It is not enough to just have the policy available in the student’s file during a compliance survey visit. Schools must take appropriate action (i.e., terminate the enrollment certified to VA for any student who is in violation of the policy).
Using Enrollment Manager, SCOs will Amend the enrollment, check Termination, select Unsatisfactory attendance, progress, or conduct from the Amendment Reason drop-down list, enter the last date the student was actually physically in attendance in class prior to violating the school’s approved attendance policy in the Amendment Effective Date field.
If called to active duty, the SCO will report a withdrawal or interruption in training. If a student terminates or interrupts a non-college degree program that is not offered on a term, quarter, or semester basis (the program may be offered on a block or unit basis), the school will need to report the amendment reason as Withdrawal or interruption (Non-College Degree programs not on a term basis).
Question 2: Are we to include T&F each time there is an amendment to the enrollment? Could doing this create an overpayment to the school (since the initial and all subsequent amendments show T&F)? Should T&F just be included in the initial enrollment?
Answer: When an amendment using Enrollment Manager, the original tuition and fees amount is displayed. This amount can be edited if there is a change; otherwise, leave the original tuition and fees amount alone.
Question 3: If a student is called to active duty, how would we report this to the VA in enrollment manager? We typically would put the student on a leave of absence on the school’s side, etc.
Answer: If called to active duty, the SCO will report a withdrawal or interruption in training. If a student terminates or interrupts a non-college degree program that is not offered on a term, quarter, or semester basis (the program may be offered on a block or unit basis), the school will need to report the amendment reason as Withdrawal or interruption (Non-College Degree programs not on a term basis).
Please visit the Department of Veterans Affairs NCD Webinar Series webpage to view complete questions and answers from the session.
