GI Bill Update: Recommended SCO to Student Ratio

Veterans Benefits Administration sent this bulletin at 01/30/2020 03:32 PM EST

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VA issues recommendation on SCO to student ratio.

Greetings School Leadership,

After careful deliberation and consideration, VA is recommending a ratio of one full-time School Certifying Official (SCO) to every 200 GI Bill students at an educational institution.

The administration of GI Bill benefits requires a strong and collaborative relationship between educational institutions, their School Certifying Officials (SCOs), State Approving Agencies (SAAs), and VA to ensure that GI Bill benefits are delivered properly and timely to students.

In 2017, the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act (Colmery Act), established that all SCOs, employed by covered educational institutions offering courses of education approved for VA funding, must meet training requirements set forth by VA or the institution may be disapproved for funding. The law classified a SCO as an employee of an educational institution with primary responsibility for certifying Veteran enrollment at the educational institution.

The Colmery Act also prohibits an educational institution with 100 or more eligible students from using reporting fees for or merging with the amounts available for the general fund of the educational institution, and reiterated that any reporting fee paid to an educational institution shall be utilized by such institution solely for the making of VA education certifications required under the law, or for otherwise supporting programs for Veterans.

Over the last year, GI Bill leadership has met with SCOs, school leaders and other stakeholders to discuss how the GI Bill is administered and potential programmatic changes to improve the GI Bill student experience. A SCO to GI Bill student ratio has been a frequent topic during these conversations. Recognizing SCO workload and responsibilities, this recommended ratio is intended to help SCOs administer GI Bill benefits to students in an effective and timely manner.

The number of SCOs should be adjusted as appropriate by the educational institution to reflect additional SCO responsibilities beyond certifying GI Bill enrollments, including the administration of other Veteran education programs.

For specific questions related to this recommendation, please reach out to our Forever GI Bill inbox at forevergibill.vbavaco@va.gov.  

 

Respectfully,

Education Service