Frequently Asked Questions

An Enrollment Certification request form should be submitted before the start of each semester that you plan on using benefits. This is your way of alerting our office that you want to use VA benefits.  It is really important that you do this as soon as you are registered so you do not experience payment delays.  You will be notified when you can submit your enrollment certification form prior to the start of each semester.  Once received, the School Certifying Official will ensure that all courses meet degree requirements for your chosen program of study and then submit your enrollment information to VA.  You will receive a system generated email notification when your certification has been submitted, including any subsequent amendments.  This certification initiates the payment process with VA.

I am a new student. What do I need to do to establish my VA benefits at SSU?

In order to establish your VA benefits at SSU, you will need to complete the Enrollment Certification form.  Once received, the School Certifying Official will certify your courses.  Your Certificate of Eligibility and a copy of your schedule are required as supporting documentation. The School Certifying Official can walk you through the required documentation you will need to provide for Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E).

The VA calculates the amount of monetary entitlement based on the amount of credits taken during a standard semester, defined by the VA as 15–18 weeks in length.

Standard semester calculation (15–18 weeks):

Undergraduate
1-3 credits per semester is ¼ time or less
4-5 credits per semester is less than half-time
6-8 credits per semester is half-time
9-11 credits per semester is ¾ time
12 credits per semester is full-time

Graduate
9 credits per semester is full-time

Summer (non-standard term)

               FOR VA PURPOSES ONLY 

If you drop or withdraw from courses, you must notify the School Certifying Official. The law prohibits payment of veterans’ benefits for a course from which a student withdraws.

PLEASE NOTE: For students using Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill® education benefits, failing to notify the School Certifying Official of a course withdrawal could cause a recoupment of your monthly housing allowance (MHA)

An amendment means that you changed the number of credits that you are enrolled in and that change was reported to the VA or your tuition and fees were reported. It is a part of the process every semester.

Yes, all VA education beneficiaries, including Survivor’s and Dependent’s Educational Assistance recipients, must verify their enrollment on the last day of each month to receive their monthly payments.  So, each semester you will be required to submit the SSU Enrollment Certification packet to have your schedule certified.  Then at the end of each month you will verify your enrollment, using one of the verification methods.  VA will release your monthly payments when completed.

How do I verify my enrollment?

Students now have the option to verify enrollment via text message, email, phone, or online. VA strongly recommends using text or email, but if these options are unavailable to you, you may call the Education Call Center (ECC) at 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551) to verify enrollment. Please be advised that calling the ECC may result in long wait times.

What happens if I don’t verify my enrollment?

If you fail to submit enrollment verification for two consecutive months, your MHA/kicker payments will be held until you verify your enrollment. For example, if your term starts on January 1, 2026 and you fail to verify your enrollment for January and February, your March 2026 payments will be placed on hold.

Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill®

• Covers 100% of your in-state tuition and mandatory fees if you qualify for the maximum benefit level.
• Monthly Housing Allowance – If you attend at least one in-person class, you receive a monthly housing stipend based on the Department of Defense’s Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents, tied to your school’s zip code. If you attend classes exclusively online, you are eligible for a reduced stipend equal to half of the national average.  You are responsible for paying housing/meal plan costs upfront.
• Books and Supply Stipend – You receive an annual stipend of up to $1,000 paid proportionally based on your enrollment percentage and credit hours, to assist with course materials.

Chapter 31 VR&E

• Covers 100% of your in-state tuition and mandatory fees.
• Monthly Housing Allowance – Equivalent to the Post 9/11 GI Bill® rate.   If you attend at least one in-person class, you receive a monthly housing stipend based on the Department of Defense’s Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents, tied to your school’s zip code. If you attend classes exclusively online, you are eligible for a reduced stipend equal to half of the national average.  You are responsible for paying housing/meal plan costs upfront.
• Books and Supply Stipend – It covers the full cost of required books, supplies, equipment, and even specialized tools needed for your training program or specific field.

Chapter 30 MGIB-AD

• A monthly stipend directly to the service member to offset education and training expenses.  It does not pay schools directly for tuition.

Rates effective 1 October 2025

• Full-time enrollment: $2,518.00 for each full month
• 3/4-time enrollment: $1,888.50 for each full month
• 1/2-time enrollment: $1,259.00 for each full month

CH 1606 MGIB-SR

• A monthly stipend directly to the service member to offset education and training expenses.  It does not pay schools directly for tuition.

Rates effective 1 October 2025

• Full-time enrollment: $493.00 for each full month
• 3/4-time enrollment: $369.00 for each full month
• 1/2-time enrollment: $246.00 for each full month
• Less than 1/2-time enrollment: $123.25 for each full month

CH 35 Dependent Education Assistance

• Monthly tax-free stipend to help eligible spouses and children of veterans cover the coast of education and training.  It does not pay schools directly for tuition.

Rates effective 1 October 2025

• Full-time enrollment: $1,574.00 for each full month
• 3/4-time enrollment: $1,244.00 for each full month
• 1/2-time enrollment: $912.00 for each full month

Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill® education students will receive their MHA payment on or about the 1st of the month following enrollment verification.  For example, on October 1st you’ll get a check for the month of September. Payments are prorated, meaning checks will be less during months we aren’t in school from beginning to end (August, December, January and May).

Chapter 1606 MGI Bill-SR, Chapter 30 MGI Bill-AD, and Chapter 35 DEA education students will receive their stipends 5-7 days following enrollment verification.

Chapter 31 VR&E please contact your VR&E counselor directly for any concerns.

If you are receiving CH 1606, CH 30, CH 33 or CH 35 benefits, please contact the VA directly through their Education Benefits hotline for assistance: 1-888-442-4551. If you are receiving CH 31 benefits, please contact your VR&E counselor directly for payment questions or concerns.  You can also contact the School Certifying Official.

You can view this information if you have an eBenefits account. You can also call the VA Education Benefits hotline at 1-888-442-4551 to receive an update on the status of your remaining eligibility.

Have you properly established your benefits at SSU?

Have you submitted an Enrollment Certification Request to the School Certifying Official, thereby notifying VA of your intentions to use your benefit?

Has enough time passed since the School Certifying Official certified your enrollment? You will receive an email from the VA system when your claim is submitted. Two to eight weeks into the semester is the typical time-frame. Longer processing times occur at the beginning of semesters because of increased workloads.

If you are a dependent, has your sponsor formerly transferred the benefit to you (Post 9/11 GI Bill®)?

Have you applied for the benefit (i.e. filled out a form 22-1990 or 22-5490, this applies to everyone, including dependents) and received a Certificate of Eligibility from the VA?

For Chapters 1606, 30, 33, and 35: have you completed your monthly verification?

For Chapter 31 Veterans Readiness and Employment, please contact your VR&E Counselor with all payment questions.

For STEM Scholarship Recipients, have you verified your enrollment for the previous month using email or the STEMText App?

It depends. On June 11, 2020, Federal Circuit Court overturned VA rules regarding end-of-term benefit extensions in Carr vs Wilkie. In accordance with the Carr decision, VA will begin paying more benefits because we will now extend end-of-term benefits beyond 48 months. This ruling only applies to cases which have not been finally decided by VA; therefore, it will only apply to cases currently on appeal with the Board of Veterans Appeals or still appealable to VA (those decided within one year of date of decision: June 11, 2020).

Prior to Carr, VA viewed the 48-month rule as a hard stop and would never extend end-of-term benefits beyond 48 months. The court ruled that VA’s interpretation is incorrect and instead, VA should apply the 48-month rule to limit the initial award which will determine when benefits are exhausted and the point at which we should then apply the end-of-term extension (i.e., an end-of-term extension should not be stopped at the 48th month).

Example: Student has used 26 months under CH 1606. He or she now applies for CH 33 benefits. Entitlement to CH 33 benefits is generally limited to 36 months of entitlement. However, application of the 48-month rule limits the award to 22 months of CH 33 benefits. Therefore:

26 months of CH 1606 benefits used

36 months of CH 33 benefits entitled

48-26 = 22 months of CH 33 will be awarded

If the student then uses 21 months of CH 33 benefits (leaving only one month of entitlement remaining), and then starts a 4-month standard semester program, VA will pay benefits for the entire 4 months extending benefits by 3 months beyond the student’s actual award. This student will ultimately receive a combined total of 51 months of VA educational assistance.

For quarter or semester based program, VA will extend benefits to the end of the term. This means if a student has at least one day of benefits to start the academic term but does not have enough days of benefits to pay for the entire term, VA will nonetheless pay benefits for the entire term. Benefits can also be extended under the same statute for non-quarter or semester based programs but the rules for calculating the length of the extension are slightly different. For these non-standard term program, benefits can only be extended to the end of the term if the student has enough benefits to make it to at least the halfway point in the period. However, end-of-term benefits can only be extended for a maximum of 12 weeks. If the student does not have enough benefits to make it to the halfway point, then benefits cannot be extended. Benefits will stop on the day the student exhaust his or her remaining entitlement.

If you are a dependent, there is no exceeding the 36th month of the Post 9/11 GI Bill®, and payments will stop mid semester if your eligibility is exhausted. Similarly, Chapter 35 Dependent Education Assistance students may not exceed the 45-month limit of their benefit, except under rare circumstances which must be approved by the VA. A dependent student may combine his or her Post 9/11 GI Bill® and their CH 35 benefit. This could yield a maximum of 81 months of combined eligibility (up to 36 from the GI Bill® and 45 from CH 35 DEA).

No. Only classes that will fulfill a degree requirement for your chosen program of study, minor, dual degree, or dual major, can be reported to the VA for the purpose of determining your rate of pursuit.

Rounding Out will be phased out for terms beginning on or after August 1, 2021. Rounding out refers to when A VA student could round out a schedule with non-required courses to bring his/her course load up to a full-time schedule in his/her last term only. Previously this process allowed students to continue to receive benefits at the full-time rate in their last term of enrollment, even though fewer credits are required to complete the program.

The HOPE Scholarship (including Zell Miller) does not negatively affect CH 30, CH 35, and CH 1606 VA educational benefits.  Use of HOPE and military Tuition Assistance (TA) or Post-9/11 GI Bill® (CH 33) can never result in a refund of either benefit.  See below for special information about how HOPE works with TA or CH 33.

HOPE and CH 33
For Post 9/11 benefits: HOPE, TA, or any other scholarship that specifically pays tuition will apply towards the tuition/fee charges prior to VA benefits being applied. The VA benefits will then pay any remaining balance for applicable tuition and fees based on the percentage on the Certificate of Eligibility.  Please be aware that neither HOPE nor Post 9/11 GI Bill® can be applied to housing or meal plan costs.

EXAMPLE:
Fall Semester eligible tuition and fees $3700
HOPE Scholarship (applied first)        -$2540
Billed to the VA                                      $1160

HOPE and TA
HOPE, National Guard Service Cancellable Loan, or any other scholarship that specifically pays tuition will negate the need for TA. If you are HOPE eligible and wish to use TA, notify the Office of the Registrar to coordinate with Financial Aid to ensure HOPE is only applied for the classes in which TA is not being used.

The VA will not pay for students to study abroad unless it is explicitly required for the degree program (which is rare). SSU instructional costs may be covered depending on your VA education benefit. The VA does not cover fees associated with foreign study, unless it is mandatory for your degree program. The VA will not pay any costs related to travel or third party charges (for example: travel insurance, study abroad application fees, etc.).

Yes, you can use your entitlement for approved college degree programs, non-college degree programs (certificates or vocational training), flight training, apprenticeships, licensing/certification tests, national tests, and entrepreneurship training.

Through the STEM Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship, Post-9/11 GI Bill® students who have exhausted or are about to exhaust their entitlement may be eligible for nine months (up to $30,000) of additional benefits. Review this approved degree list for a complete list of eligible STEM fields. Priority for the Rogers STEM Scholarship will be given to individuals who are entitled to 100% of Post-9/11 GI Bill® Benefits and who require the most credit hours.

You may be eligible if you are a Veteran or Fry Scholar currently enrolled in a STEM undergraduate degree program and:

Your current STEM undergraduate degree program requires at least 120 semester (or 180 quarter) credit hours for completion.

You have completed at least 60 semester (or 90 quarter) credit hours toward your degree.

You have or will soon (within 180 days of application) exhaust your Post-9/11 GI Bill® entitlement

Apply on VA.gov/education. Scholarships are awarded on a quarterly basis in January, March, July and October.

No. The Post 9/11 GI Bill® will only pay the costs associated with in-state enrollment. Please contact the School Certifying Official for more information to ensure you are charged the correct tuition rates. You can also visit the Residency Waivers and Classification page for a list of waivers.

https://savannahstate.edu/registrar/forms/residency-waivers/

Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E), or Chapter 31, helps veterans with service-connected disabilities (typically 10% or higher) prepare for, find, and maintain suitable careers or achieve independence in daily living.  The program offers five tracks, including long-term education, training, and self-employment. Eligible veterans may receive counseling, training, tuition, and a monthly subsistence allowance.

Eligibility: Generally requires a VA disability rating of at least 10% and an “employment handicap” (a service-connected disability that limits your ability to work). Veterans have 12 years from their separation date to use this benefit, though extensions are available.

• The Process:
  1. 1. Apply: Submit VA Form 28-1900.
     2. Evaluation: Meet with a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC) to assess skills, aptitudes, and interests.
     3. Planning: Develop a personalized rehabilitation plan.
     4. Implementation: Follow one of the five tracks to employment.

• Benefits & Services:
  • Tuition & Supplies: Covers tuition, books, and required fees for training programs.  Your VR&E counselor will submit an authorization/purchase order for funding. 
  • Subsistence Allowance: A monthly stipend paid while in training, similar to GI Bill BAH rates.
  • Job Assistance: Resume development, interview training, and job search services.
  • Independent Living: Services for veterans severely disabled and unable to work

Students who are registered for, or progressing through their final credits towards degree completion may submit the Request for Graduation form. Learn more about graduation. Please note that the graduation fee is only covered under Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill® or Chapter 31 Veteran Readiness and Employment benefits. All students under any other chapter are responsible for ensuring the appropriate fees are paid.

Although the graduation fee is covered for students using Chapter 31 and 33 benefits, it is highly recommended that students pay the graduation fee at the time of application to avoid potential delays with processing. Students will be reimbursed after the University receives the graduation fees from the VA.  Students are responsible for any late fees associated with applying or graduation.

When a student using VA education benefits graduates, we are required to report that to the VA as a Termination with Graduation as the reason. It is a way in which Congress and the VA track how benefits are being used to degree completion.