ATTACHMENT_D_-_Post_9-11_IG.pdf

Department of Veterans Affairs

Office of Transition, Employment, and Economic Impact

(OTEEI)

Post 9/11 GI Bill Module Instructor Guide

January 2016 v.1

Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits Module Slides/Notes

Post 9/11 GI Bill Module

S1 (2 minutes) Good morning/afternoon, and welcome to the Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits Module. I would like to start by thanking you for your service!

My name is ___________and I am a consultant to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

I am here to brief you on Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits, also referred to as Chapter 33 Benefits .

My role is to help you and make sure that you learn what you need to know about Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits. I want you to feel comfortable with the information provided in today’s briefing and encourage you to ask questions. Because some of your questions might be personal in nature, my colleagues and I offer individual assistance sessions where we can discuss your specific concerns.

S1

S2

Here are the objectives for this session:

Discuss Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits.

Briefly discuss other educational programs.

Complete a Demonstration of the GI Bill Comparison Tool.

Complete a Transfer of Entitlement walkthrough using milConnect.

S2

S3

Note: This slide is animated; bullets will appear separately after each “click.”

Let’s review our ground rules for today’s briefing:

Respect other participants, including their opinions and values.

Throughout the briefing, you may ask questions; however, please hold questions relating to personal circumstances for individual assistance sessions.

Use computers/cell phones/mobile devices/only as directed

Note: Be sure to define the “parking lot” to participants.

Utilize the “Parking Lot” to place questions. Use post-it notes to write your questions down, which I will address at specified points during the briefing.

S3

S4

Let’s discuss Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits.

S4

S5 The Post 9/11 GI Bill covers the following types of education / training assistance:

Correspondence training

Cooperative training

Entrepreneurship training

Flight training

Independent and distance learning

Institutions of higher learning undergraduate and graduate degrees

Study abroad programs

Licensing and certification reimbursement

Vocational/technical training, non-college degree programs

National testing reimbursement

On-the-job training

Tuition Assistance top-up

Tutorial assistance

S6

Note: This slide is animated; bullets will appear separately after each “click.” Click to bring up the box, click again to put the bullets in the table.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill®, also referred to as Chapter 33, is an education benefit program for individuals who served on active duty after September 10, 2001, and received an honorable discharge. The benefits that students receive under the Post- 9/11 GI Bill® include tuition and fees, a monthly housing allowance, and an annual stipend for books and supplies.

Eligibility requirements for the post 9/11 GI Bill® vary based on length of service, however, listed below are some basic requirements for eligibility to Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits

S5

S6

A minimum length of service of 90 days, and

An honorable discharge

Active Duty and Veteran

For those who served on Active Duty, the Post-9/11 GI Bill® provides financial support for education to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate, or total, active duty service after September 10, 2001 with an honorable discharge, or to individuals honorably discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days of service.

Servicemembers and Veterans may receive education benefits for up to 36 months.

Generally, Veterans have 15 years from the date of last separation from active duty to use the benefit.

Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits cover tuition and fees at in-state public schools for Servicemembers, Veterans, and/or beneficiaries. Benefits are paid directly to the school on the student’s behalf. For those attending private or foreign schools, tuition and fees are capped at the national maximum rate, which is $20,235.02 per academic year, as of August 2014.

As of December 2015, per Section 702 of the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 (“Choice Act”), programs of education at public colleges and universities may not be approved for Post-9/11 GI Bill® and Montgomery GI Bill® benefits if they do not charge all recently released Veterans and their family-members in-state tuition and fees. If your school does not participate in this program by January 1, 2016, the VA will not approve your GI Bill benefit.

Yellow Ribbon Program

If you plan to attend a private school or a public school as a nonresident student, you may be interested in the Yellow Ribbon Program. Institutions can choose to enter into an agreement with VA to share tuition and fee costs that exceed the in-state tuition charges at a public institution or the fee cap of $21,084.89 at private institutions. The VA matches each additional dollar that an institution contributes, up to the total cost of tuition and fees. Only Veterans entitled to the 100 percent rate may receive this funding. Active duty Servicemembers and their spouses are not eligible for this program. Child transferees of active duty Servicemembers may be eligible if the Servicemember is qualified at the 100% rate. Check out the link on the GI Bill® website to see which schools participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Books and Supplies Stipend

The stipend for books and supplies gives you up to $1,000 per academic year, paid proportionately based on enrollment (fulltime, part time, etc...). If you are enrolled in a non-college-degree, apprenticeship, or on-the-job training program, the benefit pays $83 per month up to $1,000 per year. Once the school verifies your enrollment, VA will process the payment and send it to you directly.

Monthly Housing Allowance

The Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) is equivalent to the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents based on the school’s ZIP code. For those attending classes at a greater than half-time rate, the benefit is paid proportionately based on enrollment and is sent directly to the student.

Distance learners get half of the national BAH average, which is currently $754.50.

S7

To be eligible for 100 percent of the Post 9/11 GI Bill benefit, an individual must have served an aggregate of 36 months of active duty service with an honorable discharge, or have been honorably discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days of continuous service. For those who served fewer than 36 months, the percentage of benefit ranges from 40 percent to 90 percent.

For example, an individual with five months of qualifying service could receive 40 percent of the tuition benefit, 40 percent of the monthly housing allowance, and 40 percent of the books and supplies stipend.

See chart below for illustration of who the benefits work for a Servicemember with less than 36 months of aggregate service:

90% — 30 total months*

80% — 24 total months*

70% — 18 total months**

60% — 12 total months**

50% — 6 total months**

40% — 5 total months**

*Includes entry level and skill training

** Excludes entry level and skill training

S8

S7

National Guard and Reserve

For those who have served in the National Guard and Reserve, effective October 1, 2011, VA began paying benefits to members of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard based on qualifying service under Title 32. Payments may be made retroactively for enrolling at an approved educational institution for attendance on or after August 1, 2009. The following service may be qualifying:

• Full-time service in the National Guard for the purpose of organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing, or training

• Activations in support of a national emergency under Section 502(f) of Title 32.

If individuals affected by these changes were already using the Post-9/11 GI Bill® previously, they will be paid for any additional benefits they would have been entitled to because of a higher benefit level.

S8

S9 Now let’s discuss the Transfer of Entitlement benefit.

Transfer of Entitlement Benefit (TOE) The Transfer of Entitlement benefit serves as a retention program for the Department of Defense (DoD), where Servicemembers may be able to transfer unused educational benefits to dependents.

Eligibility for TOE is as follows:

Has at least six years of service in the Military Services (active duty or Selected Reserve), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps, or Public Health Service on the date of approval, AND

Agrees to serve four additional years from the date of election

OR,

Has at least 10 years of service in the Military Services (active duty or Selected Reserve), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps, or Public Health Service on the date of approval, is precluded by either

S9 standard policy (Service or DoD) or statute from committing to four additional years, AND

Agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute

S10 Now let’s discuss family member eligibility to Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits.

Family Members’ Eligibility:

Service members may transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits to: (1) the Service member's spouse, (2) one or more of the Service member's children, or (3) any combination of the spouse and children. Children must be enrolled in DEERS to receive transferred benefits.

Your spouse can continue to use the benefit while you remain in the service. Active duty Service members and their spouses can continue to use the benefit up to 15 years after the Service members are last released (discharged or retired) from active duty.

Selected Reserve Service members and their spouses can continue to use their benefits up to 15 years after the Service members are released from their last active duty period of at least 90 consecutive days.

Once approved, your spouse can start to use the benefit immediately, provided that you have met the six years of Service requirement.

Once approved, children can start to use their education benefits after the transfer Begin Date (or date benefits were transferred), provided that you have met, or have been excused from, the requirement to serve a minimum of 10 years in the Armed Forces (active duty or Selected Reserve).

They can continue to use their benefits after you leave the service as long as they meet the age eligibility requirements.

S10

Children must also meet the age requirement of 18 before using the benefit or have attained a secondary school diploma (or equivalency certificate). Children age 18 through 20 are eligible to receive transferred benefits, as are children who are 21 or 22 if full-time student status is established.

The new TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) Program does not extend the age by which the benefit must be transferred.

Children who are 21 and 22 and whom attending school are less than full-time or are enrolled in on-the-job training, apprenticeships or non-college-degree programs may still be eligible to receive transferred benefits even though the TEB application may reflect that they are ineligible. In these cases, check with your TEB service representative.

Children may not use the benefit if they are 26 or older.

S11

Application for Transferred Entitlement

Each family member must first apply to VA for a certificate of eligibility before they can use their transferred benefits.

After receiving the request data and VA Form 22-1990E, VA will be able to process your family members’ requests to use their benefits. The application for the certificate of eligibility (VA Form 22-1990E) can be found on VA’s VONAPP website:

http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp).

A paper form is available at http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-22-1990e- ARE.pdf. You can call 1-888-GIBILL1 (1-888-442-4551) for VA education benefits information.

After receiving their certificates of eligibility from VA, your family members must

S11 http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-22-1990e-ARE.pdf http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-22-1990e-ARE.pdf provide the certificates to the school.

If your family members do not receive their certificates of eligibility from VA before they enroll in school, they should ask the school’s veterans certifying official to send VA an enrollment certification for the academic term.

S12 Tuition funds will be sent directly from VA to the school.

Children are eligible for the monthly living stipend and/or the books and supplies stipend while you are on active duty.

Your spouse is eligible for the books and supplies stipend, but not the monthly living stipend, while you are on active duty because both you and your spouse are already receiving the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH).

If you are not currently serving on active duty, then both your spouse and your children are eligible for the monthly living stipend and/or the books and supplies stipend.

S12

S13 John David Fry Scholarship Fry Scholarship—this is an addendum to the Post-9/11 GI Bill®. The Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship is for children and spouses of active duty SMs who died in the line of duty after September 10, 2001.

S13

Eligibility

Individuals are eligible for up to 36 months of educational benefits under the Post- 9/11 GI Bill®. Beneficiaries are not eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Children are eligible as of their 18th birthday (unless they have already graduated high school). A child may be married or over 23 and still be eligible, although their eligibility ends on their 33rd birthday. Generally, spouses must use their benefits within 15 years from the SM’s date of death or upon remarriage if this occurs during the 15 year period.

If you are eligible for both Fry Scholarship and DEA (Dependents Educational Assistance), you will be required to make an irrevocable election between the two programs when you apply. Dependents are not eligible to receive both DEA and the Fry Scholarship based on the same event (like a Servicemember dying in the line of duty) unless he or she is a child whose parent died prior to August 1, 2011. A child of a parent who died prior to August 1, 2011 may still be eligible for both benefits but he/she may only use one program at a time and combined benefits are capped at a total of 81 months of full-time training. In this situation the two benefit programs cannot be used concurrently.

To apply, obtain and complete VA Form 22-5490, Dependents Application for VA Education Benefits. Send it to the VA regional office with jurisdiction over the state where you will advance your education and training.

S14 Now let’s discuss other educational programs.

S14

S15

Note: This slide is animated; bullets will appear separately after each “click.” Click to bring up the box, click again to put the bullets in the table.

Other Educational Programs The Montgomery GI Bill®—Active Duty (MGIB-AD), or Chapter 30, is a benefit that provides up to 36 months of educational benefits to eligible Veterans with a high school diploma and an honorable discharge. Generally, benefits are payable for 10 years following release from active duty. These benefits are paid directly to the student. If used on active duty, payment is limited to the reimbursement of tuition and fees. Check the GI Bill® website for activation specifics.

The Montgomery GI Bill®—Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR), or Chapter 1606, is for Selected Reserve SMs who meet certain requirements, including a six-year commitment. This benefit requires a high school diploma or certificate, and eligibility is determined by the Reserve component. Normally, eligibility ends on the day you leave Selected Reserve unless you were mobilized.

Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP), or Chapter 1607, is a DoD education benefit program. Under this program certain Reservists who were activated for at least 90 days after September 10, 2001, may be eligible for education benefits based on length of service.

If you are eligible for MGIB-AD, MGIB-SR, or REAP, you must elect to give up eligibility under the program for which you are eligible in order to receive benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill®. This is an irrevocable election. Having multiple periods of service results in the potential entitlement to an additional 12 months. However, you may not receive more than a total of 48 months education under two or more programs.

To apply for any of these VA education benefits, submit the VA Form 22-1990, Application for VA education benefits, online at www.ebenefits.va.gov.

S15 http://www.ebenefits.va.gov/

S16 Education and Career Counseling Program

VA’s Education and Career Counseling program, or Chapter 36, offers a wide range of free personalized educational and career counseling services and support to SMs, Veterans, and dependents to include:

Guidance on the effective use of your VA education benefits from professionally trained Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment counselors.

Information about other resources to help you achieve your education and career goals.

Assistance with understanding the best career options for you based on your interests and aptitudes.

Assistance with understanding your academic strengths and weaknesses.

Transitioning Servicemembers within six months of discharge from active duty, Veterans within one year following discharge from active duty, Servicemembers/Veterans currently eligible for a VA education benefit, and current VA education beneficiaries are all able to take advantage of this great program.

To apply, complete VA Form 28-8832, Education/Vocational Counseling Application, which can be found on ebenefits.va.gov and mail it to your nearest VA Regional Office.

S16

S17 Principles of Excellence Program

The Principles of Excellence were announced on April 27, 2012 by President Obama in Executive Order 13607, to ensure that student Veterans, Servicemembers, and family members have information, support, and protections while using Federal education benefits.

Within the Principles of Excellence Program, GI Bill Comparison Tool and GI Bill Feedback System were developed to provide more information to students and increase oversight of programs offered by educational institutions.

S17

GI Bill Feedback System

The GI Bill Feedback System is a centralized online reporting system that allows Veterans, Servicemembers, and eligible dependents to report negative experiences with educational institutions. VA serves as the intermediary to resolve complaints between the student and school. Submitted complaints may be reviewed by state and Federal law enforcement agencies including the Department of Justice. Students may submit feedback on their educational institution by visiting benefits.va.gov/gibill/feedback.asp.

GI Bill Comparison Tool

The GI Bill Comparison tool provides:

Access CareerScope, which is an aptitude and interest assessment to help SMs and Veterans focus on success when transitioning.

The ability to choose the right school, which allows SMs and Veterans to compare VA-approved institutions and review other information to choose the educational program that works best for them.

Key information about college affordability and value so beneficiaries can make the most of their benefits.

Access to apply for your GI Bill® benefits.

On the GI Bill® homepage, you can find the GI Bill Comparison Tool by opening the “School Decision Resources” page.

Note: Perform GI Bill® Comparison Tool Demo

Click on link below and fill in sample information.

https://department-of-veterans-affairs.github.io/gi-bill-comparison-tool/ https://department-of-veterans-affairs.github.io/gi-bill-comparison-tool/

Note: Demonstrate how to transfer benefits using milconnect.

Directions:

Use your Common Access Card (CAC), DoD Self-Service Logon (DS Logon), or DFAS Account (myPay) to sign in to the milConnect portal application:

http://milconnect.dmdc.mil

On the milConnect home page, select Education → Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) from the menu bar.

When the TEB portlet page displays, your family members are listed in the table under the List of Family Members section.

Note: If a family member is not eligible for DEERS benefits, and thus is not eligible to receive transferred benefits, the word “ineligible” will display in the Relation column to the right of your relationship to that family member.

To transfer benefit months to a family member, do the following:

Locate the name of the appropriate family member in the table.

From the Months drop-down list, select the number of months (0 to 36) to transfer.

As an option, enter an End Date in YYYY-MM-DD format.

Repeat this process for each family member.

Once transfer months have been assigned to your family members, you must submit your transfer request for approval by doing the following:

Select the “Post-9/11 GI Bill® Chapter 33” radio button in the Select the educational program from which to transfer benefits section.

Select all the boxes in the Transferability of Education Benefits

Acknowledgements section to indicate that you have read and understand each statement.

Click the Submit Request button.

If the submission is successful, a Confirmation message displays.

After you have submitted your transfer request, the Sponsor information section at the top of the TEB page updates to show that the status is now http://milconnect.dmdc.mil/

Submitted. The status date is blank and will remain blank until a service representative approves, rejects, or sets your request to a pending status.

To track the status of your request, you will need to return to the TEB page to check the "Status" in the Sponsor information section. Once your transfer request is approved, the status will be updated to Request Approved, and the approval status date will be set to the date that the service representative approved the request.

Once your transfer request is approved, your request data is sent to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

S35 Additional Resources Pertaining to Post-9/11 Transfer of Entitlement milConnect

VA Transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill to Spouse and Dependents

Department of Defense Instruction 1341.13, Post 9/11 GI Bill

S18 Note: This slide is animated; bullets will appear separately after each “click.”

Education Review Questions:

What is the additional service requirement to transfer benefits?

Four years

How many years of service until children can use transferred entitlement?

Ten years

Which form would you use as a Veteran to apply for GI Bill® benefits?

VA Form 22-1990

What tools are available to select which GI Bill® benefit to use?

Education and Career Counseling, CH 36; GI Bill® Comparison Tool

S18 https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/faces/faqs?_afrLoop=4641359647050617&_afrWindowMode=0&ct=fTr&_adf.ctrl-state=1gad5aceh_62 http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_transfer.asp http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAAahUKEwiL3IbO6oPHAhWCdj4KHebUDAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dtic.mil%2Fwhs%2Fdirectives%2Fcorres%2Fpdf%2F134113p.pdf&ei=qpu6VYvfC4Lt-QHmqbMI&usg=AFQjCNEsKvw_bBO5s2btP1bROn-UWgoSFw&sig2=Eud79SAr54LtahOo1CvzdQ&bvm=bv.99028883,d.dmo

S19 Note: This slide is animated; green check marks will appear separately after each “click.”

Today we:

Discussed Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits.

Briefly discussed other educational programs.

Completed a Demonstration of the GI Bill Comparison Tool.

Completed a Transfer of Entitlement walkthrough using milConnect.

S20 This concludes the Post 9/11 GI Bill Module.

Thank you for your time and service.

S19

S20