Students must apply to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to use their education benefit. To learn more about VA Benefits, visit our GI Bill® Benefits page. The VA will process the student's application within 30-60 days. Once the application has been approved or denied, the student will receive a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) via mail. After receiving a COE, students will request to use their VA Benefits at UMSL by completing a request for certification, see steps below.
After applying for VA benefits and receiving your Certificate of Eligibility (COE), please submit the following forms to the UMSL Vet Center to use VA benefits at UMSL:
Complete the Request for Certification
A Request for Certification lets the VA Certifying Official know your intentions for using or not using GI Bill® benefits for a specific term. GI Bill® recipients discharged from service prior to January 1st, 2013 can stop and start receiving their benefits for up to 15 years (based on the last date of separation for you or your sponsor). The 15 year limitation does not apply to those who discharged on or after January 1st, 2013; all those who discharged on or after that date have no limit. Therefore, we require documentation of your request in order to process your VA certifications.
A Request must be completed each semester you are enrolled and intend to use benefits. Do not complete a Request for Certification for terms when you are electing to not utilize benefits. Once a Request has been submitted, a "Veterans Enrollment Verification (VEV)" must be submitted by your academic advisor.
We highly recommended that you submit your Request at the time you register for your upcoming classes to ensure the VA pays your benefits in a timely manner. We suggest scheduling an appointment with your advisor in advance of the registration period and notifying them you will need a VEV submitted for that term.
The VA stipulates that students can only be certified for courses that count towards your overall degree program requirements. This includes any degree program at any level (i.e. bachelor's, master's, doctorate, etc.) as long as it's officially declared by the student (including minors and certificate programs).
You must submit a new Request for Certification each semester that you are enrolled and intend on using benefits. The VA Certifying Official will NOT process your request for benefits without it.
The Request for Certification does not need to be completed for terms that you elect to not utilize benefits.
No, but in order to add or drop a class you will have to contact the Veteran Center in order to remove the hold on your account. Please remember that adding and dropping class may affect your benefits. It is important to contact us before making any changes so we can help advise you on the possible financial implications.
After your classes are certified with the VA, the school certifying official places a hold on your account to prevent you from making changes to your schedule that could result in a debt to the VA or UMSL. If you are considering dropping one or more courses, please contact our office to discuss the financial implications to make the drop.
NO. The hold is put on your account only after the current term has been certified with the VA. It will not affect registration for future semesters or your ability to graduate from UMSL.
To be full-time, you must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours for undergraduate students and 9 credit hours for graduate students. Summer full-time status depends on the number of weeks the courses are in session. Contact our office for assistance with your summer schedule. If you are a full-time student using Post 9/11 GI Bill®, your housing stipend will be paid at the E5 with dependents rate (currently $1,494/month) while you are attending classes.
YES! In order to receive your stipend at the full-time rate, you must be enrolled in all 12 or more credit hours (or 9 credit hours for graduate students) in the same term (excluding summer). For example, if you are taking 3 credit hours during the Winter Intersession (first 2 weeks of January), UMSL counts these credit hours towards your overall enrollment for the entire spring semester. However, the VA treats these terms separately and requires the student to enroll in 3 credit hours during Winter Intersession & 12 credit hours (at a minimum) for the regular spring semester in order to maintain full-time status.
YES. If you are enrolled in ALL online courses, the VA will only pay BAH at half the national average (currently $894.50/month) for online only students. Students must take 1 class on campus in order to receive the full housing stipend. If your classes are listed as online, but you feel as though this is incorrect please contact the UMSL Veteran Center at (314) 516-5705.
This depends on a few factors and the true cost can be difficult to determine because the VA prorates tuition for the number of days you actually attended the course. If your enrollment status changes, you most likely will receive a debt for tuition, housing, and the book stipend associated with those credit hours. However, if you have mitigating circumstances, the VA may not issue a debt for the whole amount. Please contact us at (314) 516-5705 to discuss your specific circumstances.
