W9124J20R0015 Atch 8 ACES Counselor Support SOP 8 May 20.pdf

W9124J20R0015 – Attachment 8

Counseling Support

Standard Operating Procedures

HQ IMCOM, G1

Army Continuing Education System (ACES)

July 2020 http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjCus_l2KDPAhWMNiYKHRnLA1IQjRwIBw&url=http://www.flickriver.com/photos/tags/crests/interesting/&psig=AFQjCNHdwmN3Epc8gGKiuCOr91Jh0fYMEg&ust=1474555326897839 http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiYz8W_2aDPAhUJRCYKHeyyA5EQjRwIBw&url=http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2203M-to-2-Firms-for-Army-Continuing-Education-System-Support-05842/&psig=AFQjCNGynGx8hUwN0eo9hu0yi7rwxrwxKg&ust=1474555515436802

Table of Contents

Army Education Pledge

WELCOME!

TA Policy

GoArmyEd Overview

GoArmyEd Procedures

Memorandum for Promotion Points

Responsibilities:

Soldier’s

Counselor’s

VA Information

Institutional Training Benefits

Post 9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33)

Post 9/11 Tuition/Fees:

Housing allowance:

Book Stipend:

Transfer Education Benefits (TEB)

References

Army Education Pledge

All customers who require counseling services have the right to receive clear guidance on the programs and services offered through the Education Center and their relationship to individual military and civilian career goals.

This guidance should include some, and may include all, of the following:

FOR NEWLY IN-PROCESSING SOLDIERS OR NEW COLLEGE STUDENTS, THE ARMY COUNSELOR SHALL, ON A CUSTOMIZED AS NEEDED BASIS:

Assist with setting realistic education goals for military and personal career choices

Administer and describe interest and ability surveys and interpret results using tools to help explore career and degree options

Discuss ASVAB/AFCT, and in particular the General Technical (GT) score, and how it relates to readiness and retention

Assist with enrollment in Basic Skills or other self-development options

Explain the differences between college degree mills, regional and national accreditation

Discuss the various credit hour systems and course delivery options

Provide guidance on how to obtain transcripts of previous college classes taken and discuss transferability

Assist with college and degree selection and explain how to obtain a degree plan from a school

Determine if a college requires a college admissions or placement test and if so, assist with scheduling these tests

Describe how military service training & experience may translate to college credit based on American Council on Education-recommended college credit and enabled by the Joint Services Transcript (JST)

Discuss credit-by-exam options and free Army eLearning (also called SkillSoft) courses, means of earning additional college credit, and assistance with scheduling

Describe Army Tuition Assistance (TA) policy, individual responsibilities with regard to TA, and how to request

TA through GoArmyEd

Explain the use of GI Bill benefits, both in and out of service

Discuss eligibility and how to apply for various scholarship and grant programs, to include Federal Financial Aid programs and applications

Provide information on the Student Loan Repayment Program and information on Army College Fund (as applicable).

Assist with registration for an eBenefits.gov account

FOR OTHER SOLDIERS, ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS, THE ARMY COUNSELOR SHALL:

Assist with current educational issues and concerns, and provide guidance on the next course of action

Provide guidance concerning programs and services through the Multi-Use Learning Facility/Army Learning

Center

Discuss commissioning options, as applicable

WELCOME!

As Counselor Support, you will work with sensitive material to include Soldiers’ personally identifiable information (PII) and student records. This information is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Therefore, you must meet the required clearance level, be fully qualified, and have training prior to the start of work.

You may be required to brief Soldiers regarding tuition assistance, VA benefits and other educational matters as approved by the ESO at locations other than your education center.

TA Policy

Army Tuition Assistance (TA) is governed by US Law and policy is explained in AR 621-5 and through

GoArmyEd Reference and Policy Documents. TA is available to all active duty Soldiers, Soldiers in

AGR status, pursuant to US Title 10 and US Title 32 and all Reserve National Guard Component and personnel in an active drilling status who are coded as ‘satisfactory participant’.

TA is authorized on a course-by-course basis only for courses that are part of a Soldier’s education goal. Tuition Assistance is used to provide financial assistance to active duty Army personnel for off-duty education programs, in support of a Soldiers’ professional and personal self-development goals.

TA is directly related to retaining quality Soldiers, enhancing their career progression, increasing the combat readiness of the Army, and ultimately returning Soldiers to civilian careers.

Listed below are a few important facts regarding Army TA:

Post-secondary schools must be either regionally or nationally accredited.

TA requests must be completed prior to the start date of the course.

First time students/users must see an education counselor prior to enrollment.

Soldiers agree to and authenticate signature approval annually on the Statement of Understanding (SOU) and on a quarterly basis prior to course enrollment. The TA SOU is presented at scheduled intervals on GoArmyEd for Soldier authentication.

Soldiers are not eligible for TA if assigned to the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) or if they are flagged IAW AR600-8-2 Suspension of Favorable Personnel Actions. Soldiers must be approved by an Army Education Counselor regarding academic preparedness, which may require one of the following:

GT Score greater than or equal to 100, or Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) scores greater than or equal to 10.0 in Applied Math & Reading or, Prior college with a grade point average (GPA) greater than or equal to a 2.0

All TA must be requested online at: www.goarmyed.com. The Army will pay tuition costs and approved fees for Active Duty/Reserve/Guard Soldiers up to a maximum tuition rate of $250 per semester hour (SH) or $166 per quarter hour.

Tuition Assistance (TA) may be used at colleges, universities and trade schools which are regionally or nationally accredited by agencies recognized by the US Dept of Education.

http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/

TA is authorized for one credential on each of the following levels, but only in an upward sequence.

Associate ►Baccalaureate ►Master’s or first Professional Degree

Tuition Assistance is IAW AR 621-5 and GoArmyEd policy

GoArmyEd Overview

GoArmyEd is the virtual gateway for Soldiers to request Tuition Assistance (TA) online, anytime, for classroom and distance-learning courses.

GoArmyEd is a one-stop website that allows Soldiers, Army Education Counselors, and schools to conduct business for all educational needs in a seamless Soldier-centric environment.

See ACES Field Guide for training in GoArmyEd procedures http://www.goarmyed.com/ http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/

GoArmyEd Procedures

The following GoArmyEd Customer Service Principles are provided as guidelines for Army Education Personnel service providers to follow when creating and tracking GoArmyEd notes and CRM cases.

1. Consistent - Provide consistent service and follow standard operating procedures. Each case is documented so the customer receives the same level of service.

2. Correct - All service providers will have access to training resources at the end of this document. Those resources will be used to correctly identify a customer's issues, assign the correct case category and subcategory, and either completely resolve or escalate the case. If you do not know the answer to a question, add notes to indicate that the case is being escalated, and inform the customer so he or she can track the status of the case.

3. Complete - All case documentation is complete with pertinent information allowing the customer and other service providers to completely understand the facts of a case and what was done or still needs to be done to resolve the case.

4. Customer-Oriented - All written case actions are customer-focused instead of internally oriented (even though other service providers may also be an intended audience for the messages). All case documentation, action notes, and resolutions are addressed to the customer and provide information the customer needs to understand the status and/or outcome of the case. Customers include Soldiers, Counselors, Education Service Specialists, Schools, Program Mentors, HRC and IMCOM ACES, and IBM. Be certain your comments and notes are professional in nature and always present the student’s issues without judgment.

5. Collaborative - All tier levels support each other and encourage a collaborative environment focused on consistent and customer-oriented service.

Memorandum for Promotion Points

Promotion points are authorized for civilian education received from U.S. Department of Education recognized nationally or regionally accredited institutions. Local education centers will provide an assessment of the total number of non-duplicated post-secondary credit hours, for submission to the unit S1. The total number of credits an accredited institution grants towards a degree will be the basis for granting promotion points and is determined by the Soldier’s unit

Per AR 600-8-19 dated 18 Dec 15, “Soldiers currently enrolled in a college or university are required to provide a single transcript from their current college and/or university consolidating all past civilian education. Soldiers that have multiple transcripts who are not currently enrolled in a college and/or university may take these transcripts and grade slips to the local education center for assistance.

The local education center will provide only an assessment of the total number of non-duplicated postsecondary credits for submission to the unit as the source document to update eMILPO and/or personnel records with the total number of credit hours. Continuing education units are not authorized promotion points”. Due to the sensitive nature of how civilian education credits can impact a soldier’s promotion opportunities, each education center shall follow AR 600-8-19.

Responsibilities:

Soldier’s

Provide Soldier’s rank, name, e-mail, and phone contact. Soldier must provide all source transcripts where credits originated, including those accepted by another institution. Transcripts should be originals.

Counselor’s

Review the documents and see that they meet the requirements for acceptable documents (refer to

AR 600-8-19).

Verify the schools are accredited through the “Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education” or the Higher Education Director or through listings at the Department of Education Accreditation website: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/

Keep in mind that some institutions may have been previously accredited but no longer have accreditation. Cross-check the dates of attendance on student transcripts with the dates of accreditation through older publications if needed.

Total up the number of non-duplicating semester hours. Convert quarter hours and/or clock hours into semester hours if necessary. Any bulk credit awarded for JST must be itemized in order to be included in the total number of non-duplicated credits and that the counselor must create the corresponding memo and have it reviewed by the ESO for accuracy before providing to the Soldier.

Foreign transcripts must be evaluated by a member of the National Association of Credentialing Evaluation Services, Inc. (NACES) or a postsecondary institution, as required by AR 600-8-19. A listing of the NACES members can be found at the Defense Activity for Non-traditional Education (DANTES) website.

Scan a copy of the promotion point memo and place in the Soldier’s eFile. Also, be sure to annotate a note in GoArmyEd.

VA Information

The VA is ALWAYS the final authority on benefit eligibility and application for a Soldier’s GI Bill.

http://benefits.va.gov/gibill/

If the Soldier is eligible for education benefits, advise him/her on which benefits they may receive (MGIB/Post 911/VEAP, etc.)

Enter notes into GoArmyEd, providing ETS date and SPD code; be very specific ETS counseling Memo and obtain Soldier’s signature Scan documents into Soldier’s e-file (orders (redacted of SSN), counseling memo, etc.)

Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) (Chapter 30)

A Servicemember is eligible to receive 36 months of educational benefits if he or she came on active duty on or after 1 July 1985.

http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/

To qualify for benefits, they contribute $1200 over the first year of their enlistment.

Receive an honorable discharge Be on active duty for 2 years before using benefits.

There is a $600 Buy Up (which increases the benefit total by $5400 – this equates to an increase of approximately $150 per month)

Soldiers may also have additional benefits through the Army College Fund (ACF), also known as the “Kicker”, (note this benefit has separate eligibility requirements). See the HRC ACES website for information on ACF.

MGIB benefits are paid directly to the Soldier or Veteran, who in turn pays the school for all tuition rates and fees.

Institutional Training Benefits

A Soldier receives a monthly benefit based on the number of hours he or she attends school

Benefit amounts vary based on student’s attendance status--full time, three-quarter time, half time, etc. It is important to have the Soldier refer to the VA website for current rates.

http://www.gibill.va.gov

Post 9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33)

The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides financial support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service after September 10, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days. A Soldier must have received an honorable discharge. The housing allowance is not paid to Soldiers using their benefit while on Active duty.

Post 9/11 Tuition/Fees:

Tuition and fees are paid directly to the school. Monthly benefits will pay all of the public in-state tuition or up to the national maximum per academic year for private or foreign schools.

An exception to this exists for students enrolled in private schools in AZ, MI, NH, NY, PA, SC or TX.

In these cases the VA will pay the lower of the actual tuition and fees or the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition and fees http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/resources/benefits_resources/rates/ch33/Ch33rates080111.asp#TUIT

ION

Housing allowance:

A Veteran may receive a housing allowance at the E-5 BAH w/dependent rate; however, the rate is determined by the zip code of the school, and the individual’s attendance status of more than half-time. (Active Duty not eligible for housing allowance). Veterans taking online only courses are only eligible to receive half of the housing allowance rate for the school’s zip code.

http://www.gibill.va.gov/ http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/resources/benefits_resources/rates/ch33/Ch33rates080111.asp#TUITION http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/resources/benefits_resources/rates/ch33/Ch33rates080111.asp#TUITION

Book Stipend:

A Soldier may receive a book stipend of up to $1000 per school year.

Transfer Education Benefits (TEB)

Who is Eligible? To be eligible to transfer Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits a Soldier must meet these requirements:

1. Be eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill.

2. Have at least 6 years of military service when the request to transfer benefits is submitted (all military service counts towards the six year requirement except time in the Individual Ready Reserves) and be a member of the Armed Forces at the time the transfer is executed (Armed Forces does not include the Individual Ready Reserve).

3. Not have an adverse action flag.

4. Have four years retainability on record.

Transfer Guidelines:

Months transferred by the Soldier cannot exceed 36 months or the remaining unused months as determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA).

Spouse and/or children must be enrolled in DEERS while Soldier is on Active Duty/Selective Reserves to be eligible to receive benefits (consider transferring at least 1 month to each Family Member).

Veterans can revoke or modify the transfer at any time but cannot designate new dependents to receive entitlement or amend the effective date of the initial transfer to an earlier date. You must elect to transfer benefits to dependents BEFORE leaving Active Duty or the Selective Reserves.

Transferring to Spouses:

May use the benefit after Soldier completes 6 years in the Military service.

Benefits are paid at the Soldier’s rate.

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is NOT paid to Spouses while the Solider is on Active Duty/Selected Reserves; these benefits are only paid to the Spouse when the Soldier becomes a Veteran.

Not eligible for Yellow Ribbon while the Soldier is on Active Duty.

Book stipend is paid to Spouses.

The Spouse has 15 years to use the benefit after the Soldier leaves Active Duty, unless the Soldier specified an earlier date.

Benefits are not marital property in a divorce.

Transferring to Children:

May use the benefit after Soldier has completed 10 years in the Military service.

Child must be unmarried at time of transfer and under the age of 21. If the child is in school, transfer must be done before the age of 23.

Child may use benefits after marriage but transfer must be done prior to the marriage.

Child must be at least 18 or completed high school or GED to start using the benefit.

Child may not use the benefit after age 26.

Child receives the Veteran’s rate for tuition, book stipend and BAH (based on BAH eligibility rules).

For additional information proceed to the websites provided below:

http://www.gibill.va.gov https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/ http://www.gibill.va.gov/ https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/

Eligibility to Transfer Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits to Family Members

Important Action Required: Servicemembers (SM) who transfer benefits incur an additional service obligation in accordance with the following rules.

Rule Years of Military Service When Request is Submitted

Additional Service Obligation

1 At least six years but less than 10 years

Four years from the date the request was submitted.

2 10 or more years Four years; or up to Retention Control Point; or Mandatory Retirement date from the date the request was submitted, whichever is less.

Dependents may be responsible for repayment of benefits if Soldier does not fulfill additional service obligations or if SM revokes benefits.

ALWAYS check with your certifying official prior to transferring benefits to ensure you understand all requirements. The primary certifying official for Active Duty Enlisted Servicemembers is Army Human Resources Command.

Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) at: http://milconnect.dmdc.mil.

Yellow Ribbon Program

Actual tuition and fees may exceed the Post 9/11 amounts if a Soldier or Family Member is attending a private or public school as a nonresident student.

Institutions of higher learning may elect to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program to make additional funds available for the education program without an additional charge to the Soldier’s GI Bill entitlement.

Institutions voluntarily entering into a Yellow Ribbon Agreement with the VA choose the amount of tuition and fees they will contribute. The VA will match the amount and issue payment directly to the institution.

For additional information proceed to the following websites:

http://www.gibill.va.gov http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/yellow_ribbon.asp

Active duty Servicemembers and spouses of active duty Servicemembers are not eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program.

http://milconnect.dmdc.mil/ http://www.gibill.va.gov/ http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/yellow_ribbon.asp

References

Local Education Services Officer (ESO) or designated authority

AR 621-5 Army Continuing Education System

DODI 1322.25 Voluntary Education Programs

ACES Field Guide; March 2019

GoArmyEd ACES Resources Section

-Army Education Counselor Communications link contains various documents concerning implementation of GoArmyEd and AR 621-5.

-Training link contains various Power Point presentations on many processes in GoArmyEd to include Step-by-Step instruction sheets called SBSIs. You can select those SBSIs for Soldiers and those for Counselors and/or schools. These documents are regularly updated to reflect new GoArmyEd processing procedures.

VA Information http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/

SharePoint VA mandatory Out-processing https://army.deps.mil/army/cmds/imcom_HQ/G1/ACES/SiteAssets/tc.aspx http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/ https://army.deps.mil/army/cmds/imcom_HQ/G1/ACES/SiteAssets/tc.aspx