Veterans Support Services can help you apply for your GI Bill®, but we cannot tell you which one you are eligible for. You can review the different GI Bill® programs and their eligibility requirements on the VA’s website. You can call the VA Education Call Center at 1-888-442-4551 for help determining your benefit program.

You can apply for your VA Education Benefits online at va.gov. If you have previously used your benefits at another institution, you will need to use this site to update your place of training. The VA will not process certifications submitted by VU if you have not notified them of your change in schools. Once your application is approved, the VA will send you a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). You will need to provide a copy of your COE to Veterans Support Services so that we can submit your enrollment to the VA.

Once you’ve applied for benefits, the VA will process your claim and send you a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) outlining the benefits available to you. VSS will need a copy of your COE. Once you have registered for classes, you will need to submit a VA Student Benefit Agreement, the Permission to Release Information form, and a Request for Certification form so that VSS can certify your enrollment to the VA. The forms are available on our website at the bottom of the Enrollment Information page.

GI Bill® applications are usually processed within 30 days.

Yes, you can view a Getting Started at VU checklist on our website.

All changes in enrollment must be reported to VSS immediately. This includes adds, drops, withdrawals, and changes of program. Delayed reporting of changes could result in an overpayment from the VA and potentially a debt letter for the student.

Dropping a course can potentially have a negative financial impact on you. If you drop a course after the 100% refund date, you may have to pay out of pocket for all tuition and fee charges associated with that course. If the drop affects your rate of pursuit, you may receive a debt letter from the VA which requires you to pay back a portion of the housing allowance you’ve received.

The VA will still pay for a course if you complete the course, but earn an F. Failing grades do not have to be reported to the VA. Incomplete grades also do not have to be reported to the VA and will not affect your VA Education Benefits until you do not complete the course. If your Incomplete is changed to a WF because you did not complete the requirements in the given time frame, the class will be reported to the VA as a withdraw which could have a negative financial impact.

It is incredibly important that you finish your coursework even if you earn an F. If you do not attend your course through the Final Exam, your F can be changed to a WF after the term is over if you last date of attendance for the class is outside of the appropriate window. F grades that are changed to WF’s will be reported to the VA as a withdraw which could have a negative financial impact.

When a student is dropped from a class for non-attendance, it is considered a withdraw from that course, and VSS is required to amend your certification. Being withdrawn for non-attendance can potentially cause you to have to pay for the tuition and fees associated with that course out of pocket. You could also have to return a portion of your housing allowance if the withdraw causes your enrollment status to change.

For example, if you were enrolled in 12 credit hours, but got dropped from 1 course for non-attendance, your rate of pursuit has changed from full-time to ¾-time which reduces the amount of housing you are eligible to receive. The VA may require you pay back that difference all the way back to the first day of the term.

If you are a military student who is activated or reactivated during the semester, you should contact Veterans Support Services at veterans@vinu.edu. You will need to complete a withdrawal form and submit a copy of your active duty orders.

You can visit our Getting Started at VU page on our website to see exactly what steps you need to compete in order to use your VA Education Benefits at VU.

For your first semester at VU, you will need to submit the following forms so that Veterans Support Services can certify your enrollment to the VA:

1. Certificate of Eligibility (or Statement of Benefits from va.gov)
2. Request for Certification Form
3. VA Student Benefit Agreement Form
4. Permission to Release Student Information Form

Each semester after your first, you only need to submit the Request for Certification Form in order to be certified.

The forms are available on our website at the bottom of the Enrollment Information page.

You can email your documents to VSS at veterans@vinu.edu.

Your enrollment certification will be submitted to the VA no later than 30 days after the start of the term or 30 days after the receipt of your paperwork, whichever is later. VSS generally begins submitting certifications 30 days prior to the start of the term. Early submission = early certification.

We initially submit only credit hours to the VA to initiate your Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA). Once the add/drop dates pass, we audit the charges on your account and submit your tuition and fees to the VA.

If you are taking classes of multiple lengths, your tuition and fees will be reported for each term separately depending on that term’s add/drop period.

Yes, you will need to submit the Request for Certification Form in order to be certified. The form is available on our website at the bottom of the Enrollment Information page.

No, you don’t need to reapply for your benefits each semester. You just need to complete a Request for Certification Form once you register for a new semester so your classes can be certified and your benefit payments processed. The form is available on our website at the bottom of the Enrollment Information page.

Chapter 33: Chapter 33 students are now required to verify their enrollment status monthly to continue receiving their BAH payments. You will verify your enrollment via text (see instructions here) or by contacting the Education Call Center at 1-888-442-4551. If you fail to verify your enrollment for two consecutive months your BAH payments will be placed on hold. You will then have to take additional steps to verify your enrollment and have the payments resumed.

Chapters 30, 1606, and 1607: You may verify your enrollment by phone at 1-877-823-2378 or online using WAVE. You may verify anytime beginning the last day of the month. If you do not verify, a payment will not be issued.

The GI Bill® will cover up to 100% of all mandatory tuition and fees (your eligibility percentage can be found on your COE). Mandatory fees are added to a student's bill by VU and they are not fees a student chooses to add. Mandatory fees may include: the student activity fee, technology and capital improvement fees, and career & tech fees among others.

The GI Bill® will NOT pay VU for many things including: parking fees, parking permits, bookstore supply charges, housing room and board fees, etc. This is not an exhaustive list, rather it is meant to list some of the more common charges that are not covered.

Tuition and fees are reported the VA after the add/drop period for that term. The VA typically pays tuition and fees to VU within about two weeks of submitting the certification.

The VA will typically deposit the book & supply stipend within a couple of weeks after they have processed your certification. The book stipend is paid by the VA at $41.67 per credit hour, up to $1,000.00 per academic year.

If you are using the Post 9/11 GI Bill®, you can use your books & supplies stipend to pay for your books. You can also utilize Federal Financial Aid or pay out of pocket. If you do not have FA or the ability to pay out of pocket while you wait on your books & supplies stipend, you may be eligible for a book loan through the Dean of Students office. You can contact the Dean of Students office at 812-888-4241 or deanofstudents@vinu.edu to learn more about the eligibility requirements and the application process.

Post 9/11 benefits pay a Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) which is based on the BAH rate for E5 with dependents for the zip code of where you take the majority of your courses and your enrollment status (rate of pursuit). The current housing benefit amount for full-time students at the Vincennes Campus is $1,149/month, at the Jasper Campus is $1,176/month, and the Aviation Technology Center is $1,506/month.

GI Bill® housing allowances and stipend payments are paid after the fact. If you start school on August 10 – the earliest you could be paid under the best of circumstances is September 1. If your payment is pushed back to the following month due to processing delays, you will be back paid for everything you are entitled to.

You can change your VA direct deposition information for disability compensation, pension benefits, or education benefits online here.

The VA will pay the in-state tuition rate and required fees directly to the school. Out of state students are responsible for the difference between what the VA will pay and what the school charges. Students who are entitled to their Post 9/11 GI Bill® may be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon program which can be used to offset these costs.

Yes, you can use both financial aid and your GI Bill® at the same time.

Potentially. While student loans and Pell Grants are not impacted by the Post 9/11 GI Bill®, many state financial aid awards are tuition specific so they can cause your GI Bill® tuition amount to be reduced.

You can call the VA Education Call Center at1-888-442-4551. If you have the Post 9/11 GI Bill® you can view a Statement of Benefits at va.gov.

For veteran students using their own Post 9/11 GI Bill®, you can view and print a Statement of Benefits at va.gov. For students using a transferred Post 9/11 GI Bill® or veteran students using Chapters 30 or 1606, you can call the VA Education Center at 1-888-442-4551 to request an updated COE.

Yellow Ribbon is a provision of the Post 9/11 GI Bill® that allows out of state students to receive additional funding above the in-state cap. The GI Bill® will cover the in-state portion of a student's tuition and Yellow Ribbon will provide up to $2000 more per semester. Because this award is only for out of state students, veterans attending classes on campus do not need to apply; they are eligible to be billed as in-state students. You can read more about the program on the VA’s website here.

Yellow Ribbon: VU pays up to $1,000 a semester and the VA matches this amount for a total of up to $2,000 a semester or up to $4,000 per academic year.

• Must be billed as an out of state student
• Student must be 100% eligible for the GI Bill®
• We will not retroactively award Yellow Ribbon

Students who attend classes greater than 1/2 time receive a Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA). The MHA is based on the DoD's Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents. The MHA is paid based on the number of days the student was enrolled for the previous month. For students enrolled full time for an entire month the MHA payment will be disbursed directly to the student at the beginning of the following month. Students who are enrolled less than full-time, but more than half-time will receive MHA payments that are pro-rated based on their rate of pursuit.

If you attend only online classes at VU, you will receive a MHA payment which equal to half the national average.

*For a 16-week term, 7 hours is the minimum enrollment needed to receive MHA payments.

Yes, in order to receive your monthly stipend payments, you will have to verify your enrollment. You may verify your enrollment by phone at 1-877-823-2378 or online using WAVE. You may verify anytime beginning the last day of the month.

Chapter 33 students are now required to verify their enrollment status monthly to continue receiving their BAH payments. You will verify your enrollment via text (see instructions here) or by contacting the Education Call Center at 1-888-442-4551. If you fail to verify your enrollment for two consecutive months your BAH payments will be placed on hold. You will then have to take additional steps to verify your enrollment and have the payments resumed.

Potentially, but only under a very specific circumstance. You cannot pursue two separate degrees at two separate institutions during the same term. However, you can take classes as a guest student at another institution as long as the courses you’re taking will transfer back and meet degree requirements at your primary institution. Your primary institution will have to send a Parent Letter to the secondary institution in order for a certification to be submitted.