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Dear GI Bill® Partner,
On June 1, 2022, COVID-19 legislation that permits your students to receive their Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) at the resident (in person) rate, while taking courses converted to online training due to COVID-19 will end.
As we are approaching the expiration of these provisions, it is important that the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) emphasize that your institution must return to the approved modality on or before June 2, 2022, or you risk your students no longer receiving GI Bill benefits for their training.
How will this impact GI Bill Students?
If your institution is normally approved for online learning, when enrolling for courses beginning on or after June 2, 2022, students will need to enroll in approved resident (in person) classes to continue receiving their MHA at the resident rate. Otherwise, they will receive the online rate, which is half the national average.
If your institution is normally approved only for resident training and is approved for online training solely due to the COVID-19 legislation, students will need to return to resident (in person) training after June 1, 2022, in order to continue receiving GI Bill benefits. Students who choose to continue training online after June 1, 2022, will lose their GI Bill benefits, beginning June 2, 2022.
Next Steps
If your institution is normally approved for online training, certify your student’s enrollment as you normally would. If your students are enrolled in courses that span June 1, 2022, they will continue to receive MHA but at the online rate, which often is less than the in-person rate.
If your institution is not normally approved for online training, you should be cautious when approving in-residence students who are attending online as a result of the COVID-19 provisions and have no intention of returning to the classroom for terms that span June 1, 2022. They risk being terminated from the program, and your institution risks losing any further VA education benefits payments.
Questions
If you have questions about your institution’s approved modality, please contact your State Approving Agency.
Respectfully,
Education Service
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