Department of Veterans Affairs Regulations & Seminole State Policies

Educational Assistance recipients effective August 1, 2021, must verify their enrollment status each month to continue receiving their monthly housing allowance (BAH/MHA) and/or kicker payments. Students are asked to verify their enrollment status relative to what we have reported on your behalf.

This is not attendance verification.

Students can verify their enrollment status in one of two ways:

Text Messaging – Students who choose VA’s “Opt-In” feature will receive a text message each month prompting them to verify their enrollment status.

Telephone – Students may call the Education Call Center (ECC) at 888-442-4551 to verify their enrollment status.

• If a student fails to verify for two consecutive months, VA will withhold future MHA payments until they call the Educational Call Center (ECC) to verify.

Isakson & Roe: Section 1019 requires that schools and training programs be financially responsible, instead of the student, for benefits paid directly to an educational institution pursuant to the Post-9/11 GI Bill ® for tuition and fees or the Yellow Ribbon program, under the Post -9/11 GI Bill ®. (Authority 38 U.S.C 3685(b)) Effective January 5, 2021.

• If there is a change of enrollment which resulted in an over payment of tuition and fees, we will receive notification from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• You will also receive notification from VA indicating the tuition and fee debt amount to be collected.
• The VA will not collect the tuition and fee debt from you.
• The VA will collect this amount from your school.
• In turn, we will require you to pay any outstanding balance for tuition and fees. The debt will be managed by our office.
• If you have questions about how to repay this debt, please call VA Debt Management Center toll-free at 1-800-827-0648.

Enrollment Penalties: Title 38 US Code 3679 subsection (e)

In accordance with Title 38 US Code 3679 subsection (e), Seminole State College of Florida adopts the following additional provisions for any students using U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Chapter 33 (Post 9/11 G.I. Bill®) or Chapter 31 (Veteran Readiness & Employment-VR&E) benefits, while payment to the institution is pending from the VA. 

Seminole State will not:

• Prevent the student’s enrollment.

• Assess a late penalty fee.

• Require students secure alternative or additional funding. 

• Deny their access to any resources (access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities) available to other students who have satisfied their tuition and fee bills to the institution. 

However, to qualify for this provision, such students may be required to:

• Provide Post- 9/11 GI Bill ® (CH33) Certificate of Eligibility (or its equivalent) or for Chapter 31, VA VR&E’s purchase order provided in Tungsten by the first day of class.

Note: Post- 9/11 GI Bill ® (CH33) students can get the equivalent of a Chapter 33 Certificate of Eligibility by logging into va.gov and requesting a Statement of Benefits. 

Chapter 31 students must get with their VA VR&E case-manager in order to have a Purchase Order provided to the school and bookstore. 

• Complete a Certification Request Form (CRF).

• Provide additional information needed to properly certify the enrollment as described in other institutional policies

Isakson & Roe: Section 1019 requires that schools and training programs be financially responsible, instead of the student, for benefits paid directly to an educational institution pursuant to the Post-9/11 GI Bill ® for tuition and fees or the Yellow Ribbon program, under the Post -9/11 GI Bill ®. (Authority 38 U.S.C 3685(b)) Effective January 5, 2021.

• If there is a change of enrollment which resulted in an over payment of tuition and fees, we will receive notification from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• You will also receive notification from VA indicating the tuition and fee debt amount to be collected.
• The VA will not collect the tuition and fee debt from you.
• The VA will collect this amount from your school.
• In turn, we will require you to pay any outstanding balance for tuition and fees. The debt will be managed by our office.
• If you have questions about how to repay this debt, please call VA Debt Management Center toll-free at 1-800-827-0648.

For Post 9/11 GI Bill® (Chapter 33) students and VA Vocational Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31-VR&E) students, our tuition policy complies with 38 USC 3679(e) which means Post 9/11 and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment students will not be charged or otherwise penalized due to a delay in VA tuition and fee payments.

Seminole State is fully compliant with all requirements for administering, disbursing, managing and refunding Title IV and Tuition Assistance (TA) funding.

Military TA is a benefit paid to eligible members of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard. Military TA is awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When a student withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of TA funds originally awarded. To comply with the U.S. Department of Defense policy, Seminole State returns any unearned TA funds on a proportional basis through at least 60% portion of the period for which the funds were provided. If a service member stops attending due to a military service obligation, Seminole State will work with the affected service member to identify solutions that will not result in a student debt for the returned portion.

When a student earning TA benefits withdraws from classes, a student’s official withdrawal date is defined as the last date of attendance and is the basis to calculate earned percentage of TA. A student’s official withdrawal date is determined by using the last date of attendance reported by the class instructor and is documented and submitted to the Office of the Registrar.  Once the last date of attendance is determined, Seminole State recalculates the student’s TA eligibility based on the following formula:

(Number of days completed) / (Total days of course (start to end date)) = Percent of TA earned

If a service member stops attending due to a military service obligation, Seminole State will work with the affected service member to identify solutions that will not result in a student debt for the returned portion.  

Return of Unearned Federal Military Tuition Assistance Funds (Note: The educational institution’s week of instruction is counted as 7 days) 

Schedule for returning unearned TA: 

 6-Week Course: withdrawal submitted (42 Days)

• Before or during week 1=100% return 
• During week 2=75% return 
• During week 3= 50% return 
• During week 4= 40% return (60% of course is completed week 4)
• During weeks 5-6= 0% return 

12-Week Course: withdrawal submitted (86 Days)

• Before or during week 1-2=100% return
• During weeks 3-4=75% return
• During weeks 5-6=50% return 
• During week 7=40% return (60% of course is completed week 7.2) 
• During weeks 8-12=0% return

 16-Week Course: withdrawal submitted (110 Days)

• Before or during weeks 1–2 = 100% return
• During weeks 3–4 = 75% return
• During weeks 5–8 = 50% return
• During weeks 9–10 = 40% return (60% of course is completed weeks 9-10)
• During weeks 11–16 = 0% return

The return policy is spelled out on the College website: https://www.seminolestate.edu/financial-aid/guidelines/withdrawing 

A Certificate of Eligibility (COE) is a letter you receive from the VA stating what educational benefit you are eligible to receive.

How do I apply?

You can apply online right now. Just answer a few questions, and the VA will help you get started with the education benefits form that's right for you. Select the drop down menu "Apply for education benefits" and answer the questions as they pertain to you. The VA will then take provide the appropriate application for the benefit you are eligible to receive.

Once you receive your COE, we need a copy to be turned into Seminole State College's Office of Veteran Student Services You may either drop by in-person, located in the Student Services Building (second floor, Student Life Suite) on the Sanford/Lake Mary Campus or email it to vabenefits@seminolestate.edu.

Veterans, service members, and dependents are not subject to high pressure recruitment tactics at Seminole State College. No employee at Seminole State College receives commission, bonuses, or incentives for securing enrollments for any students, particularly veterans or service members. 

If you feel pressured to enroll, such as multiple unsolicited contacts (3 or more), including contacts by phone, email, or in-person, or engage in same-day recruitment and registration for the purpose of securing your enrollments or if you, please contact the Seminole County Veterans Service Office (407.665.2300) or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (888.442.4551).

Students using Veteran Affairs educational benefits will adhere to the college's Standards of Academic Progress policy.