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Dear Certifying Officials,
Thank you for joining our July Office Hours where we reviewed and discussed the Rounding Out Policy, Tuition & Fairness for Survivors Act of 2021, Section 3 REMOTE Act Update/ Section 1009, DGIB Updates, and SCO Annual Training Requirements.
During the series, we referenced several resources created to support your understanding of the changes and communicate information to beneficiaries. Below, you will find a summary of hyperlinked resources outlined during the sessions.
July Office Hours
All the information shared during July Office Hours can be found in the presentation. As a reminder, you can obtain credit for attending July Office Hours in the SCO Training Portal. If you received this as a forwarded message, please sign up for the GovDelivery subscription to receive future announcements directly to your inbox. Please ensure that you subscribe to the EDU School Certifying Officials topic.
Note: If you do not receive the Registration Confirmation email, please check with your institutions Office of Information Technology (OIT) to determine if “Do Not Reply” emails from Adobe are being blocked by the firewall and anti-virus protection. We’ve found this to be a very prevalent issue.
July Office Hours Recording: If you were not able to attend a session, please view the video here.
Office Hours Questions and Answers: Questions and answers from the Office Hour sessions can be found at this website. Please bookmark as this site will be updated regularly.
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Rounding Out Policy Update
EDU’s policy states a student may round out with any additional class(es) included within their program, even if it’s not required for the specific beneficiary to graduate. Such classes must be specified by name in the approved program curriculum, and not previously completed.
Additionally, if the student has taken (or is enrolled in) every class offered as part of the program, the student may round out with classes not offered as a part of their program of education (i.e., any class offered by the educational institution).
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Tuition & Fairness for Survivors Act of 2021
The Colonel John M. McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-68) contained conforming amendments which added Chapter (CH) 35 benefit recipients to both Section 702 of the Choice act and under the provisions contained in 38 USC §3679(e) relating to Section 103.
CH 35 is paid to the student directly, not the school. Therefore, the changes made by PL 117-68 to 38 USC § 3679(e) have no impact under Section 103, and schools need not change their current policies or procedures related to this statutory provision to address the addition of Chapter 35 to 38 USC §3679(e).
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Section 3 REMOTE Act Update & Section 1009
A school may satisfy the requirements of §3679(f) by either:
- Continuing to provide covered individuals with a CFP [such schools are exempt by virtue of §3679(f)(7)]; or
- Begin providing students with a CFP by August 1, 2022
Please go here to find out more about the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet.
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DGIB Updates
A new Post-9/11 GI Bill® application experience will soon be live for Veterans and service members as part of the Digital GI Bill® effort.
The VA is taking steps to simplify the GI Bill® application process and to make it easier to apply for Post-9/11 education benefits. The new application process will include some pre-filled information about the Veterans or Service members as he or she completes the GI Bill® application.
Upon completion of the GI Bill® application there will be faster, electronic responses in eligibility decision times; important documents will be accessible online.
Visit the website: www.VA.gov for the new enhanced Post-9/11 GI Bill® Application.
Please visit here to stay informed of VA’s modernization updates.
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SCO Annual Training Requirements
As a reminder, August 31, 2022, marks the last day of the Annual Training Window. During September 1-30, there is no training in progress for existing SCOs. For new SCOs, training is continuous throughout the year.
For more information about SCO training requirements, please visit this webpage.
Note: You can view the number of modules completed in the SCO Training Portal in the Your Completion Status table.
Upcoming Office Hours
August Office Hours- 24th & 25th
September Office Hours- 21st & 22nd
August Registration Links for SCOs
SCOs August 24th
SCOs August 25th
We truly appreciate you taking the time to attend our July Office Hours. We look forward to continuing regular sessions and providing material to support your role. Please be on the lookout for your next GovDelivery invite for the next Office Hours Series and additional resources.
Respectfully,
Education Service
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