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Every student who is newly activating any type of military educational benefit at Cal Poly should schedule an appointment with us for a benefits overview. If the student is a dependent, parents and students are invited to join in the Zoom conference. It is our goal to support our veterans and their families by answering their questions, addressing their concerns, advocating, and providing resources. 

VA Programs include:

• any GI Bill
• CH 35 - Dependents Educational Assistance
• VR&E
• Edith Nourse Rogers Scholarship
• Fry Scholarship

NOT VA - Cal Vet College Fee Waiver & Tuition Assistance

 

Eligible for a VA benefit? Apply at va.gov. Once approved, they will send you a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) in the mail in 4-6 weeks. 

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The VA requires that all Chapter 33 certifications be submitted in a two-step process. Approximately 4-6 weeks prior to the start of each term, our team begins submitting the first step of this certification process. We are only able to submit certification for those students who have requested certification of their classes in the Veterans Benefit Module of their student portal. After the add/drop period has ended, the team will complete the second step of the certification process and report the tuition and fees owed for the term. 

The first step of this process allows any housing or book stipends you may be eligible for to begin to be issued by the VA no earlier than 10 days prior to the start of each term. We also work with Student Accounts to place a deferral credit on your account for the amount we expect the VA to pay. The second step will prompt the VA to issue the payment for tuition and fees to Cal Poly on your behalf.

You can expect to receive automatic notifications when we submit enrollment certifications to the VA. If a notification states that a certification was submitted without tuition and fees included, please note that this is part of that two-step process and it will be modified as soon as we are able to do so.

All students using the Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill® who receive a Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) and/or kicker payments are now required to verify their enrollment via text each month in order to continue receiving their payments from the VA. See the information on monthly verifications below. 

  

 

The Veterans Benefit module is available in your CP Portal Student Center. Use it every quarter, as soon as you register for classes, to let us know that you want to use your VA benefits. Only VA benefits are requested through this module. Cal Vet College Fee Waivers are uploaded elsewhere on this website using a secure form each academic year, click on the tab above for more information. 

A VA Certificate of Eligibility (COE) made out to the student - not the veteran transferring benefits -  is the only document that needs to be uploaded to the Veterans Benefit Module. It must be submitted prior to or during your first request for certification. To get a COE from the VA, apply at va.gov. A new COE is required when a student changes schools. 

 

NEW, INCOMING STUDENTS FOR 2023-24:

Can turn in documents after July 1st. Do not turn in your COE until:

1. The student has scheduled a New Student Orientation with the CMCS Coordinator. This orientation is different than SLO Days and is an individualized meeting to review their benefits and payments expected. 
2. The student has watched the Using Your VA Benefits Video. 
3. The student has reviewed the Incoming Military-Connected Student page. 
4. After the student has registered for classes, they will need to REQUEST CERTIFICATION for their classes every quarter. Do this immediately after registration. Make changes to the request within 7 days if classes are dropped, added or changed. 

 

 

Students using Post 9/11 GI Bill™ benefits must also verify their enrollment directly to the VA after each month of attendance. This requirement is fulfilled directly through the VA. 

This requirement can be fulfilled monthly by calling the VA at 888-442-4551 and choosing option "1" . Sign up for text message verification by speaking to a representative at the same number during the VA's regular business hours. To reach a representative, do not choose an option. 

• If you fail to submit enrollment verification for two months, your Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) payments will be held by the VA. 
• If you sign up for text message verifications, you will receive a text message reminder monthly that says, "Did you remain enrolled in your courses in (MONTH/YEAR) as certified? Please reply yes or no. If you have dropped all your courses, reply no". You must respond to this text within 6 days.
• International students can call the VA at 001-918-781-5678

More information can be found here: Enrollment Verification FAQs.pdf

 

 

When requesting your veteran benefits, please keep in mind we can now certify repeat courses only if: 

• You received a grade with zero grade points on the first attempt, i.e., a grade of F, W, WU, or NC OR 
• A higher grade is required for degree completion.

 

You may be eligible for a monthly housing rate. The Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) is generally the same as the military Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents. This rate is variable and dependent on factors such as the location of your school, your rate of pursuit, and whether you enrolled in the program prior to 1/8/18.

To calculate your housing rate:
     1. Visit the GI Bill Comparison Tool,
     2. Search for California Polytechnic State University 
     3. Refine your search based on attendance, i.e., online classes only, and your benefit, and
     4. “View details”. You are able to adjust the refinements to see how changes can impact your MHA rate.

 

If you were awarded Post-9/11 GI Bill™ education benefits, your GI Bill Statement of Benefits will show you how much of your benefits you’ve used and how much you have left to use for your education or training. These education benefits can help cover some or all of the costs for school or training. You’ll be able to view this benefit statement only if you were awarded education benefits.

 

If you receive disability compensation, pension, or education benefits from VA, you can update your direct deposit information in your VA.gov profile. You’ll need your bank’s routing number and account number to make the updates.

Note: You’ll need to sign in to VA.gov to update your direct deposit information. Once signed in, you’ll have to verify your identity and set up 2-factor authentication only if you haven’t done this already.

Please sign in to change your direct deposit information online

Try signing in with your DS Logon, My HealtheVet, or ID.me account. HERE

If you have questions, please call us at 800-827-1000. We’re here Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET. Or go to your nearest VA regional office.

How else can I update my VA payment information?

To update your direct deposit information or the address on your paper checks, you can:

• Call us at 800-827-1000 (TTY: 711), or
• Call us at 918-781-7550 (for international direct deposit updates), or
• Go to your nearest VA regional office and change this information in person

Note: If you don’t have access to the internet or a phone, you can update your direct deposit information with Standard Form 1199a (PDF).

VA Rate of Pursuit and Training Time

Rate of Pursuit:

Post 9/11 GI Bill, Fry Scholarship, and STEM Scholarship: VA calculates rate of pursuit. Rate of pursuit is enrolled units divided by 12, rounded to the nearest tenth. Example: 9 units / 12 = .75, then rounded to the nearest tenth, for an 80% rate of pursuit. To receive MHA payments, students must have a rate of pursuit greater than 50%. Please contact Center for Military-Connected Students regarding summer terms.

Training Time:

Chapters 30, 31, 35, and 1606
Term	Full-Time	3/4 Time	1/2 Time	Less than 1/2 time
10-13 Weeks	12+ units	9-11 units	6-8 units	4-5 units
8-Weeks	8+ units	6-7 units	4-5 units	3
5-Weeks	5+ units	4 units	3 units	2