Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) Service would like to clarify that the procedures regarding certification for VR&E participants have been updated in the VR&E SCO Handbook as of November 2021. 

The update is as follows:

SCO Certification

After retrieving the electronic authorization, the SCO must use VA-ONCE to certify the Veteran’s CH31 enrollment. VA-ONCE allows training facilities to electronically certify attendance, which includes the number and type of hours, beginning and ending dates, and changes in enrollment.

The SCO should report the first scheduled date of classes, for any standard term, quarter or semester in which the student is enrolled. If the course begins within seven calendar days, then the SCO should certify the course using the first day of the term. If the standard term is taken concurrently with a nonstandard term, the two must be certified separately. In addition, the SCO must use the facility code or sub-facility code as indicated in the authorization when certifying training time.

The SCO should certify enrollment in VA-ONCE prior to the drop-add period. The SCO should identify whether the training is measured by semester, quarter hours or clock hours, and if it is in-residence or distance learning hours. Once the SCO certifies enrollment, the VRC will subsequently process the Veteran’s subsistence allowance.

Note: Public Law 116-315, Section 1010 does not apply to Chapter 31 certifications.

Special COVID-19 protections are set to expire on June 1, 2022. Please remind your students about this expiration date and how this legislation may impact their GI Bill® education benefits. After June 1, 2022, students will no longer be able to receive MHA payments at the resident rate for courses that were converted to online due to COVID-19. If students choose to continue training online after June 1, 2022, their monthly housing allowance will reduce to half the national average. If your institution is not normally approved for online learning, students will need to return to in person training to continue receiving GI Bill benefits. To prevent students from owing a tuition debt to the school, please encourage them to plan accordingly and visit the COVID-19 FAQs webpage. For more information about how this change impacts you and your GI Bill students, review our previous message and be sure to join us during May Office Hours for additional updates.

It has been over eight months since we rolled out the Enrollment Verification requirement to Post-9/11 GI Bill® students who receive monthly housing allowance and/or kicker payments and we wanted to thank you for your continued support! As of March 29, 98% of students have opted into text or email verification and 97% of students have continued to receive payments uninterrupted.

Over 5,000 schools and programs have achieved a 100% enrollment verification and over 7,000 schools and programs have achieved a 100% opt-in rate. Among the larger schools and programs with 75+ impacted students, more than 99% have achieved an opt-in rate of over 90% and about 83% have a verification rate over 90%. This is a major feat that we couldn’t have achieved without you. 

Again, thank you for your continued support in helping students receive their payments on time and keeping them informed about legislative requirements related to their benefits. 

Beginning April 2022, enrollment verification texts will be sent from short-code number, 44354. Since short-code senders are verified by mobile carriers, this verification provides your students with another level of security. So, they can trust that it’s VA contacting them! The new change will allow students to receive verification and confirmation texts quickly and consistently

System updates are coming down the pipeline for the GI Bill and your feedback is helping design those enhancements! In March, we conducted a second round of usability testing sessions with SCOs to gather feedback on system features. We heard that incorporating features such as locating and updating students’ information were foundational to improving your daily workflow and responsibilities. Based on your feedback, we understand your desire to reduce information overload and keep it simple. As one testing participant said, "This benefit tab is gold, it’s the #1 thing that everyone will tell you they need." We look forward to continuing to incorporate your feedback as we create a more user-friendly platform and keep you informed on future features along the way!

This spring, thousands of GI Bill students will complete their education journey and transition into their career search. Help your graduating students find meaningful employment, while continuing a tradition of serving those who served, with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VA has thousands of position openings across the United States with hiring paths focused on Veterans, military spouses, members of the National Guard and Reserves, as well as the general public. Individuals can find current VA job announcements on USAJobs.

Did you know that there’s a new Office Hours webpage? The National Training team recently launched this new page which provides responses to questions posed during the monthly Office Hours webinars. Questions and answers are published to the page within 30 days of each event and relate to the topics presented. Check out this new resource developed just for you here.