Students are encouraged to use the VA's ask a question feature for answers directly from the VA.
Public Law 115-407, Sections 103 and 104.
It is LCC policy that we will not impose any penalty, including the assessment of late fees, the denial of access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities, or the requirement that an individual borrow additional funds because of the individual's inability to meet his or her financial obligations to the institution due to the delayed disbursement funding from VA under chapter 31 or 33.
LCC may require additional payment or impose a fee for the amount that is the difference between the amount of your financial obligation and the amount of the VA education benefit disbursement. For example, expenses not reimbursed by the VA such as bookstore charges, citation fees, or other course charges that cannot be certified to or paid by the VA.
Program of Study
Students using VA educational benefits must be enrolled in an approved degree or certificate program and only courses applicable toward the degree or certificate and their prerequisites can be certified for VA payment.
Academic Standards
Students using VA educational benefits will be required to follow all Lane's GPA requirements in accordance with the Academic Standards outlined in this catalog. Each student applying for VA educational benefits will receive a copy of the Standards of Academic Progress for Using VA Benefits at the time of initial certification. These standards apply to all eligible persons using educational benefits administered by the VA.
Grades
The VA pays for all the following grades: "A", "B", "C", "D", "F", and "P". Grades not covered for VA payment are "NC", "NP", and "Audit" (U).
If you receive an Incomplete ("I" ) grade, and the "I" grade is not converted to a letter grade within one year from the last day of the term it was received in, your VA payment will be retroactively reduced back to the first day of the term it was received. You may not re-register for a course you received an "I" grade in for payment (unless a full year has gone by and the VA has already reduced your benefit payment). You must complete an "I" grade on your own.
Unsatisfactory Progress
The VA is notified if a student is not meeting satisfactory academic progress standards.
Schedule Changes, Drops and Adds Within Drop Period
All schedule changes need to be reported to the VA School Certifying Official when your registration is changed. LCC allows you to drop classes before the end of week 1 and receive a full refund. You can drop your courses this week or earlier and the college will give you a refund. VA benefits will be reduced or eliminated depending on your certification. Communicate with the VA School Certifying Official if you change your schedule.
After Drop Period
The VA allows you to withdraw up to 6-credits lifetime with no penalty after the 1st week of the term. Benefits are paid for the dropped course up until the date it is dropped. Outside of this lifetime
6-credit exclusion, unless mitigating circumstances are submitted by you and accepted by the VA, any reduction in credit load will result in a reduction of your benefits and you may be responsible for paying the VA for the cost of the course (CH 33 students). Students are advised to contact the VA directly before dropping a course to ask specific questions of how their benefits will be impacted.
Supplemental Information
- All students must request certification every term by submitting a VA term planner. No VA certification will occur unless a term planner is submitted. Students should submit planners at least 6 weeks before the start of the term.
- Term planners are a guide for the School Certifying Official (SCO) to ensure classes are required and apply toward the degree/certificate being pursued. Academic advisors are not SCOs and SCOs are not VA employees.
- Students cannot be VA certified for classes previously passed unless the catalog requires it for program completion.
- Prior to a student's first VA certification of enrollment, students must submit official transcripts to LCC for every school they previously received credit from. If all transcripts from prior schools have not been received, the student will not be VA certified until those transcripts arrive.
- Students will be paid for only those specific courses required in their declared major and any prerequisites. The VA does not permit payment for courses for the sole purpose of reaching full-time housing benefits. Every class certified for VA benefits must be required for the degree/certificate being pursued at LCC.
- If a passing grade was not received in a program's required course, it can be repeated again for VA payment.
- In order for a student to be certified to take remedial courses for major requirements in english, math and writing (below 100 level), testing results from the Testing Support Services must indicate they are necessary. These specific classes, if required, must be taken in class. These classes cannot be taken online, as hybrid or independent study for VA credit.
- For VA purposes, courses with a method of instruction labeled online or telecourse are considered online courses.
- Students using Ch 33 benefits (or possibly CH 31 students receiving CH 33 benefits) must take at least 1 course identified in school records as a standard classroom course to receive the full housing stipend for the number of credits they are taking. Students taking all online, telecourse, or independent study, courses may be paid 50% of their housing stipend by the VA. Ch 33 students need to take 7+ credits of required courses to receive the housing stipend.
- Please note, this is not an all-inclusive list of every VA education benefit rule. It is likely there may be other VA rules the college has to follow that isn't listed on this page. Please ask the School Certifying Official about anything not already listed.
Credit Load/Payment
For payment purposes, during a standard 11-week term, 12 credits are considered full-time. Benefits for credit loads below 12 will depend on the veteran's education benefit chapter and the number of credits certified. If a student registers for less than half-time, the VA will only pay tuition/fee reimbursement for that term. For non-standard terms such as summer, the VA pays benefits based on the actual class dates and credit load during each term part certified. The VA does not pay benefits when class in not in session and 12 credits during a non-standard summer term is not necessarily the same as a standard Fall - Spring term. Speak with the School Certifying Official for details of summer term enrollment and how your housing benefits may be impacted.