Education and Training

Question 1: I had a student previously enrolled via paper. She is scheduled to graduate in a few short months. How do I graduate her via Enrollment Manager?

Answer: Reporting training program completion in Enrollment Manager (EM) is done on the monthly certification (electronic VA Form 6553d-1). A School Certifying Official, who has been submitting paper certifications must first submit an enrollment certification (electronic VA Form 22-1999) in EM, and then submit all prior monthly certifications before training program completion can be reported. 

Please see the On-the-Job Training/Apprenticeship (OJT/APP) Handbook, which can be accessed from the Resources for Schools page for more details.

Question 2: Is there a delay in putting in eligibility information into Enrollment Manager right now? I've got at least one student who submitted a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), but it was not yet in Enrollment manager. 

Answer: Existing students were rolled over from VA-Once to Enrollment Manager.  Students who apply for benefits after Enrollment Manager went live should be added to Enrollment Manager by the School Certifying Official.

Question 3: What do we do if we are searching for the name of the primary/parent institution, or their school code and it still is not populating? The search seems super picky about capitals and punctuation having to be absolutely correct or it won’t populate the school. We are having trouble pulling our own sister colleges within our college district.

Answer: The question does not provide enough information. However, it appears that this School Certifying Official is asking about a “Guest Student” situation, which any school should come up. If the School Certifying Official is typing in a name, it is understood where there may be issues with getting the name exact, but if they are typing in a facility code and the name is not coming up this should be referred for a ticket.

Question 4: Do I still need to keep hardcopies of the forms once my students have submitted them, and I record them in the Enrollment Manager, for enrollments/ On-the-Job Training hours?

Answer: They do not have to keep hard copies of the VA Forms 22-1999s or 6553d-1s, if using Enrollment Manager. Per the On-the-Job Training/Apprenticeship (OJT/APP) Handbook “Records (paper or electronic) must be maintained at the training facility for at least 3 years following the end of a VA trainee’s training and provided upon request to VA, the SAA and any third-party vendor contracted by VA to conduct compliance visits (See the Compliance Visits section).

 If the records are stored electronically, they must be easily accessible to the individual conducting the compliance visit. Records must be maintained for all trainees certified to VA, even those that have left employment.”

Question 5: What are "Online Clock Hours"? A disclaimer is now present in Enrollment Manager, when I submit clock hours on a certification to include a standard Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) comment, if the student is approved to take clock hours online or else a debt may occur.

Answer: School Certifying Officials should use the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Remark “Clock Hours for this student are approved to be taken online” when a student is taking a clock hour course that is approved by the State Approving Agency (SAA) to be taken by online.

Question 6: Find Error where the student Social Security Number (SSN) is in Enrollment Manager (EM), but shows up as NFN, NLN which would mean unknown first name, unknown last name. What are we supposed to in that case to add a student?

Answer: School Certifying Officials, please call the School Certifying Officials Hotline or submit an inquiry using Ask VA.

Question 7: Why can’t we edit or delete our own school and program information?

Answer: School and Program information require State Approving Agency (SAA) approval and Education Liaison Representative (ELR) action to change.

Question 8: For On-the Job Training (OJT) Programs, how can we temporarily "pause" a trainee's enrollment in Enrollment Manager? So that periods of time when a trainee is on extended sick leave, military leave, etc. don't count against their amount of benefits remaining.

Answer: In the Enrollment Manager User Guide: Enrollment Manager User Guide, please see slide 247.  

Answer ‘No’ to question 2, then select the relevant Termination Reason. For example: Called to Active Duty and Leave of Absence are listed in the dropdown.

Question 9: Will there be a way to deactivate students to remove them from the active students list like we had the ability to do in VA-ONCE?

Answer: This is listed as a future update.

Question 10: For Veterans with two benefit types, we used to be able to deactivate one but not anymore. Is this feature coming back?

Answer: In Enrollment Manager, Under the Benefits Tab, you may edit the benefit the student is using for that term.

Question 11: Are there any plans for better reporting out of Enrollment Manager?

Answer: There are plans to improve the reporting functionality in Enrollment Manager during future releases. The August 18, 2023, release allows users to run Summary and Detail reports for periods longer than 7 days.

Question 12: Where do School Certifying Official Assistant approval requests go to? We don't see it anywhere.

Answer: Please review the Enrollment Manager User Guide: Enrollment Manager User Guide. 

Question 13: Has there been any issues with Enrollment Manager sending out email notifications to students when certifications are submitted?

Answer: No

Question 14: Why are we unable to download/print individual Enrollment Manager reports like in VA-ONCE?

Answer: Enrollment Manager can generate a Weekly Summary Report and a Weekly Detail Report which can assist Compliance Survey Specialists in extracting records submitted during a given week. The Summary Report provides statistics of records submitted in each week, and the Detail Report provides a full readout of each record submitted in each week.

The Detail Report can be exported as a PDF file containing the PDF forms of each record – VA Forms: 22-1999s, 22-1999bs, etc. - allowing schools to keep these records on file offline. There will be increased functionality in later releases.

The August 18, 2023, release allows users to run Summary and Detail reports for periods longer than 7 days. However, it appears this School Certifying Official may be having some technical issues.

Question 15: When will the August update be for Enrollment Manager?

Answer: The Enrollment Manager date is scheduled for August 19, 2023. 

Question 16: Do we have to wait 24 hours from when we change a student’s program or benefit type to when we submit the first certification?

Answer: Enrollment Manager can process more than one amendment on a single certification in a 15-minute period for Chapter 33 students. For non-Chapter 33 students, continue submitting successive adjustments on separate days.

Question 17: Benefit Tab for Chapter 1606 recipients has delimiting date in the 1930's. Is this a known issue being worked on? School Certifying Officials will not need to take any action for the delimiting dates?

Answer School Certifying Officials do not need to take action on delimiting dates.

Question 18: How do you find in Enrollment Manager who you have certified? Is there a report you can pull? I am trying to find a list of students that were sent with initial certifications and no tuition added yet.

Answer: Weekly reports may be initiated from the ‘Reports’ tab. See Enrollment Manager User Guide: Enrollment Manager User Guide beginning on slide 129 for guidance on pulling reports.  

The August 18, 2023, release allows users to run Summary and Detail reports for periods longer than 7 days.

Question 19: Students have a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), but are not in Enrollment Manager, why is this?

Answer: Students who have never used benefits will need to be added by the School Certifying Official.

Question 20: A student has advised they are not returning to our facility for the upcoming semester, am I able to make them inactive?

Answer This ability will be in a future update.

Question 21: Why do some students who have applied for benefits and obtained Certificate of Eligibility’s (COEs) not in Enrollment Manager? This is the case for Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) and Chapter 1606 from what I've seen.

Answer: Students who have never used benefits will need to be added by the School Certifying Official.

Question 22: Please clarify process for updating any student information in Enrollment Manager. School Certifying Officials should not change any information in Enrollment Manager. Is that still, correct?

Answer: Correct! Contact and Biographical information should not be updated by the School Certifying Official. Please have the student contact Veterans Affairs (VA) directly.

Question 23: Can you certify dual enrollment students (so High School students taking courses through an Institution of Higher Learning)?

Answer: Dual enrollment/credit students may not be certified. The program of pursuit is the high school diploma, not the college degree. Once the student has attained their high school diploma, they may be matriculated into the college program, and certified.

Question 24: When submitting a second certification with no modifications, it is now required to select the new Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) remark, or can we leave the remarks blank?

Answer: The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) remark is not needed, required nor desired.

Question 25: If a student is terminated academically, do I need to notify anyone, regardless of Chapter or what Chapter must be reported and to whom?

Answer: It is required to report terminations for any student no longer in pursuit of their program. The School Certifying Official may submit the termination in Enrollment Manager. Please review the Enrollment Manager User Guide for details in how to terminate enrollment. 

Question 26: In Enrollment Manager, when I have a student that receives a “F” grade due to stopping attendance, I do not see the unsatisfactory as a selection when they have other classes they did keep attending.

Answer: Please contact your Education Liaison Representative to have your attendance policy reviewed, as well as determining if the “F” grade is punitive or non-punitive at your school.

Question 27: Can a student be placed on Leave of Absence in Enrollment Manager? If a student's enrollment is terminated without mitigating circumstances from a previous year, but now indicates a valid mitigating circumstance, can we still recertify and terminate with the correct mitigating circumstances?

Answer: Yes! The School Certifying Official must be sure to report the term exactly as previously certified.

Question 28: What about the list of students on the opening page that have graduated or are no longer enrolled at the facility?  Will those be cleaned up?

Answer: The ability to deactivate students or make student records inactive will be in a future release.

Question 29: I will be retiring soon and need to have a replacement for me with Veterans Affairs (VA). Can you give me guidance as to where I would look to add a new School Certifying Official?

Answer: Please visit the School Certifying Official Training, which provides guidance on the requirements for new School Certifying Officials.

Question 30: Which remark should we use to correct Tuition and Fees, but not changing units?

Answer: If only the tuition and fees are updated, ‘Change to Tuition & Fees’ is appropriate. These remarks are not required. 

Question 31: Is there a plan to update the Enrollment Manager User Guide to include the multitude of changes/fixes that have been implemented since it went live? 

Answer: Yes, these changes have been included in the latest version of the Enrollment Manager User Guide.

Question 32: Would there be an enhancement with the option to view/print all submitted enrollment for an individual student within a date range? 

Answer: This can be done via the Reports Function by entering the specific date range and generating a “Detail” report and choosing the specific student and selecting the “Print” button.

Question 33: What are the impacts of changing preset enrollment dates?

Answer: School Certifying Officials have been advised to not edit Preset Enrollments at all. If a date needs to be changed on a Preset Enrollment, they should deactivate the enrollment and create a new one. School Certifying Officials must manually amend any certifications that were submitted under the old Preset Enrollment.

Question 34: When reporting Graduation for an undergraduate program, will it impact any certifications for new graduate programs?

Answer: It will not. Graduations are program specific.

Question 35: Can we submit Enrollment Certification for Retro Payment - Student received Certification of Eligibility today, however, student was enrolled in spring 2023 term.

Answer: School Certifying Officials may certify retroactive terms; processing determines payment.

Question 36: If a student does not exist in Enrollment Manager, we can add them, correct?

Answer: Yes

Question 37: We are unable to submit Graduation information using enrollment manager. We are receiving an error message.

Answer: Please call the School Certifying Officials Hotline and report the error message.

Question 38: What would be the Objective Type for the new "Articulation Agreement for Transfer"? Is it Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science depending on what they're pursuing?

Answer: Please only certify the approved programs, as listed in Web Enabled Approval Management System (WEAMS).

Question 39: How to get we rid of "in process" enrollments/amendments from years ago?

Answer: Future enhancements in Enrollment Manager will include the ability to deactivate students.

Question 40: Why are Chapter 35 Dependents’ Educational Assistance Students providing Certificate of Eligibilities, but they are not in Enrollment Manager?

Answer: New students must be added to Enrollment Manager by the School Certifying Official.

Question 41: In Enrollment Manager, can we certify a student at two facility codes at the same day?

Answer: For Chapter 33: If a School Certifying Official (SCO) submits original enrollments at multiple facility codes for the same student, please wait 10 minutes before amending any of these enrollments.

For example: An SCO can submit enrollments for their primary facility and an extension campus, then wait at least 10 minutes to correct either enrollment.  

Question 42: Do we still do a second certification for enrollment verification each semester for each student?

Answer: Public Law (P.L) 116-315, section 1010 requires schools to submit an initial enrollment certification for each Chapter 33 student, and a subsequent enrollment certification (verification) after the last day a student can withdraw from the course or program of education without penalty, known as the drop-add period.

Veterans Affairs (VA) is defining “without penalty” as either an academic penalty or a financial penalty, whichever occurs first at the educational institution.

The Second 1010 submission must be received no later than 30 days after the school’s drop-add period or 60 days from the first day of the enrollment period, whichever occurs first. For schools without a drop-add period, the second 1010 submission must be received no sooner than 30 days and no more than 60 days from the first day of the enrollment period.

Question 43: It was said once that our personal email addresses will eventually not show on the certifications, we print from Enrollment Manager. It currently still shows. Is that still being worked on?

Answer: Personal emails are entered in the system when requested even though Enrollment Manager instructs to use work and school email addresses. Those experiencing this issue must contact the School Certifying Officials Hotline to request that a Call Center Representative create a Detailed Issue form indicating the exact nature of the error.

Provide the representative the facility code, incorrect email address and correct email address. Take this action only if the incorrect email is printing on enrollment certifications.

Question 44: Student transfers benefits from one school to another, but when going to certify them, old school still listed and can't submit new enrollment for the new school - is that something I need to do in Enrollment Manager or something that the Veterans Affairs (VA) updates?

Answer: School Certifying Officials may review the Enrollment Manager User Guide pages 97-103 for adding a student to their school. 

Question 45: Why can't I process more than one Enrollment and one time? The feature doesn't work, I need to update a student's program in Enrollment Manager.  I went to update, and the update/edit button is grayed out. How do I change this student's program/major?

Answer: Currently, there is no functionality to update a major in Enrollment Manager. For now, please identify their updated major and add a note, should it be questioned on compliance. School Certifying Officials can update by objective type, if a student’s academic information is not associated to an enrollment yet.

Question 46: What is being done for when counselors can't see the certification on Enrollment Manager, and even when it’s under the right benefit?

Answer: Under the benefits tab, ensure the School Certifying Official’s email is listed, as well.

Question 47: I have had to add over 30+ Chapter 35 students to Enrollment Manager.  Are these students not in Enrollment Manager for a reason?

Answer: New students will need to be added to Enrollment Manager by the School Certifying Official. Existing students may have had an error in transferring from VA-ONCE.

Question 48: My Enrollment Manager previously worked fine, but now when I log in it is showing me as the School Certifying Official (SCO) of the wrong school. I can't access any of my school's records, and as the primary SCO for my school I really need to get this fixed.

Answer: Please call the School Certifying Officials Hotline to correct your access.

Question 49: I keep coming across students with the exact same wrong date of birth, which is January 01, 1900, in Enrollment Manager. These are students who had their files switched over to Enrollment Manager from the old system. How do we get this fixed? No one seems to know how to fix it when I call.

Answer: Please reach out to National Training Team-Schools (NTT-S) at edutraining.vbaco@va.gov. If the file number or date of birth (DOB) is incorrect on a student profile, please encourage your student to contact the Education Call Center directly at 888-GIBILL-1 (888-442-4551) to update their profile information.

Question 50: I need help with selecting a current benefit when student has eligibility for multiple Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits in Enrollment Manager. Where are instructions how to do this successfully?  

Answer: Please see the Enrollment Manager User Guide beginning on page 120. School Certifying Officials may edit the benefits under the ‘Benefits’ tab. 

Question 51: I need help with selecting a current benefit when student has eligibility for multiple Veterans Administration (VA) benefits in Enrollment Manager. Where are instructions how to do this successfully?  

Answer: Please see the Enrollment Manager User Guide beginning on page 120. School Certifying Officials may edit the benefits under the ‘Benefits’ tab. 

Question 52: After doing a student search and retrieving a student already in the Enrollment Manager’s system, I am no longer able to edit the student ID number: Student Information Tab, Biographical -Information, or Contact-Information, I no longer have the option/box for student identification (ID) number. What is the work around, or are we no longer able to edit student ID numbers, either?

Answer: Please note that School Certifying Officials should not edit a student’s existing contact information or biographical information as this is the responsibility of the student. Students can correct this information by contacting the Education Call Center at 888-GIBILL-1 (888-442-4551) or via Ask VA at the following link: AVA.

Question 53: When will we be able to inactivate students in Enrollment Manager?

Answer: Future enhancements in Enrollment Manager will include the ability to deactivate students. We apologize but we do not have an exact date yet.

Question 54: How do we, have a student’s SSN number updated/corrected in Enrollment Manager?

Answer: Contact the Education Call Center directly at 888-GIBILL-1 (888-442-4551) to update students’ information.

Question 55: Can someone clarify how early can we certify for Chapter 33? Is it 180 or 120 days? Or another timeframe? We get different information from the Education Center and the School Certifying Officials Handbook does not clarify.

Answer:  According to the School Certifying Officials Handbook, Chapter 33 Enrollment Certifications:

Schools should submit certifications as early as possible in order to ensure that students receive their benefit payments in a timely manner, but certifications must be submitted within 30 days of the beginning of the term. 

Question 56: How do i update a monthly certification?

Answer: Please review the Enrollment Manager User Guide.

Question 57: How are we supposed to certify clinical hours for nursing students for an online program?

Answer: If the training is approved by the State Approving Agency to be taken online the School Certifying Official should certify the clock hours per week in the “Clock” box and include the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Remark “Clock Hours for this student are approved to be taken online.”

Question 58: When I try to update a student with graduation or termination information, do I amend an enrollment or create a new one?

Answer: Amend the enrollment.

Question 59: If a student successfully completes a term and does not return for the next term do we need to terminate them from Enrollment Manager?

Answer: No, unless the subsequent term was pre-certified.

For Example: Fall A and Fall B were certified in August; the student completed Fall A, but does not attend Fall B term. Fall B term will need to be terminated.

Question 60: How do you 'terminate' a student from a program via Enrollment Manager?

Answer: Please review the Enrollment Manager User Guide.

Question 61: I just finally was able to login to Enrollment Manager, yesterday. How do I get my institution's second facility code added to my access? 

Answer: Please contact your Education Liaison Representative (ELR) at the following link: ELR Contact Information to assist with facility code access.

Question 62: I updated our Web Enabled Approvals Management System (WEAMS), but our new School Certifying Official is still linked to his old institution. How can we correct this?  

Answer: Please contact your Education Liaison Representative (ELR) at the following link: ELR Contact Information to assist with facility code access.

Question 63: After we terminate a student by amending the enrollment for graduation as an example, when or how can I then remove the student from "my students" on our dashboard? I would only like to keep my active students there.  Is this possible?

Answer: Future enhancements in Enrollment Manager will include the ability to deactivate students.

Question 64: I need to correct the benefit type in Enrollment Manager for a student who is listed as Chapter 33, but receiving Chapter 31 benefits. How do I change it?

Answer: Benefits may be updated under the ‘Benefits’ tab.

Question 65: Why can’t we edit or delete our own school and program information?

Answer: This information is updated by the Education Liaison Representative after receiving the State Approving Agency’s approval information.

Question 66: Will programs be added to our Web Enabled Approval Management System (WEAMS) and be in Enrollment Manager, when our new catalog is approved, or can we do that in Enrollment Manager?

Answer: Education Liaison Representatives update Web Enabled Approval Management System (WEAMS) after receiving and accepting the State Approving Agency’s approval information; WEAMS populates the programs in Enrollment Manager automatically within 24 hours.

Question 67: Have they made it available where we can edit certification hours, if they are submitted incorrectly? As of now we have to terminate the entire enrollment.

Answer: Enrollments may be amended if incorrect information was reported.  

Question 68: School Certifying Officials need to be able to select dates for reports. Enrollment Manager limits reports to only one-week periods.

Answer: The August 18, 2023, release allows users to run Summary and Detail reports for periods longer than 7 days.

Question 69: How do we report dual majors?

Answer: Certify under one major and add a custom remark stating the student is enrolled in a dual major and providing the name of the second major.

Question 70: How reliable is the benefit tab when it can be changed by a School Certifying Official rather than a direct link to the information that the Veterans Affairs (VA) has on file as the active benefit type?

Answer: The Benefit tab shows the most recently used benefit. If the student is changing benefit type from 33 to 31, or vice versa, School Certifying Official will need to update the information.

Question 71: We are a Non-College Degree school. We have preset enrollment dates which run from the start date to the date a student must be completed by/End Date.  A few students choose to begin their practical (hands on) training a little early and therefore the student graduates before the original Completed By/End Date. At this point, I have gone in and amended the student’s information in Enrollment Manager, stating the student has graduated. However, we have gotten a call and or email on three of our recent graduates asking if they are no longer attending. Am I doing something wrong to where your team is still calling us to confirm?

Answer: Processing has procedures in place to verify the information they receive.  Ensure you report the graduation date appropriately.

Question 72: I'm trying to amend an enrollment for a student who graduated in May, but it keeps giving me an error that says, "this program cannot be used to create a new enrollment, please use other program or create a new program to submit a new enrollment"?

Answer: Please contact the School Certifying Officials Hotline and report the error message.

Question 73: Should we wait until the new update with the updated remark for the double certifications?

Answer: No, the additional Standard Remark that was made available for the verification certification is not a required remark.

Question 74: Some of my Points of Contacts have access to submit in Enrollment Manager, how do I correct that?

Answer: Please ensure your Points of Contacts are listed accurately in the Web Enabled Approvals Management System (WEAMS) and have Read-Only, or Assistant access. School Certifying Officials may contact their Education Liaison Representative at the following link: ELR Contact Information to assist.

Question 75: Should I be reporting students once they are not eligible for benefits or use the date of graduation?

Answer: Graduations should be reported as the last day of the term.

Question 76: If a student has two-enrollment certifications for one semester- one for full term and one for a short-term class, and then they withdraw out of the class that was in the short-term certification; Do I terminate that certification or do I reduce the hours to zero and submit as an amendment? I tried doing the latter and it won't let me because then there are no hours remaining since it was just one class for that certification. 

Answer: If the student was only enrolled in one course during the short term, you should amend the certification and check the Termination box to terminate the term. You cannot amend a certification down to zero hours.

Question 77: Do we need to add a dual certification comment when we amend a claim without adding fees?

Answer: No, the additional Standard Remark that was made available for the verification certification is not a required remark.

Question 78: I submitted my student with credit hours, and we are an hour school, and I can’t figure out how to fix it, can you provide guidance?

Answer: Please amend the credit and clock hours.

Question 79: How do we get copies of program completion certificates to Veterans Affairs (VA)?

Answer: Veterans Affairs (VA) does not need the program completion certificates for students. Please terminate your students as Graduation/End of Term or Course. Maintain copies of the completion certificates for compliance survey purposes.

Question 80: Can you add a “Guest” student without the student first being certified or added by the parent school?

Answer: Yes

Question 81: When adding the Chapter 35 student it asks for the Payee Number, but on the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) it only list the Payee letter. Will they update the COE letter to include the Payee number or update Enrollment Manager to have the Payee letter instead?

Answer: A spouse is Payee Number 10.  Children are ordered in the sequence of who applied for the benefit first, not necessarily birth order. The School Certifying Official may call the School Certifying Officials Hotline and verify the Payee Number of a child (student), when in doubt.

Question 82: Switching from Chapter 35 to Chapter 31 do we terminate that semester then re-add those credit hours so Chapter 31 can pick up?

Answer: If Benefits have been paid, under the initial chapter certified, you may not certify under any other chapter, unless there is official action by the student or school to terminate the submitted term, for example: withdrawal, class cancelled, etc. 

Question 83: When a student reduces credits during the drop window, and there is no change to tuition and fees (T&F), when we enter the T&F after the drop window, we are getting reduced payments. This doesn’t make sense. The amount entered is what is charged for their credits, and what should be paid to the school.

Answer: If your school uses flat-rate tuition, please refer to the School Certifying Officials Handbook at the following link: School Certifying Officials Handbook  for flat-rate schools. 

Question 84: How do I change the hours on a previous monthly certification?

Answer: Currently Enrollment Manager’s functionality does not include the ability to ‘replace’ a monthly certification that needs to be corrected. If an error was made, add a custom remark to a subsequent monthly certification. 

For example, if the School Certifying Official notices in August that they’ve submitted incorrect hours on the monthly certification for June, add a custom remark such as “Hours for June reported as 100. The correct hours are 120.”

Question 85: My college has two facility codes, but when I log in to Enrollment Manager, I only see one facility code.  How do I get the second facility code added?

Answer: Please contact your Education Liaison Representative (ELR) at the following link: ELR Contact Information to assist with facility code access.

Question 86: Can I enter tuition and fees on termination amendment vice receiving the email with the cost request?

Answer: No, the School Certifying Official cannot edit tuition and fees information on a termination.

Question 1: To confirm, we cannot denote our schools Yellow Ribbon contribution as a discount?

Answer: Correct

Question 2: If a college has updated Yellow Ribbon contracts, when will we know if they have been updated?

Answer: All facilities have been notified of the acceptance of their Yellow Ribbon Agreements for Academic Year (AY) 2023-2024. Please check the Yellow Ribbon website for most recent information on your facilities at the following link: Yellow Ribbon Participating  Schools.

Question 3: Does the Yellow Ribbon Agreement ever expire, or once in place - always in place?

Answer: For domestic schools, their established agreement is open ended, until the school decides to modify or withdraw their agreement during open season. 

Due to the fluctuation in currency exchange rates, foreign school participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program must be renewed annually during the established open season each June 1st to July 31^st. The school must indicate the school’s currency of record as well as contribution amounts in that currency using VA Form 22-0839. SCOs may also review the July Office Hours presentation for supplemental instructions for foreign schools.  

Question 4: If we have an established agreement, do we need to update it every year?  

Answer: For Domestic schools, their established agreement will continue each year, until the school decides to modify or withdraw from the program during open season.   

Due to the fluctuation in currency exchange rates, foreign school participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program must be renewed annually during the established open season each June 1st to July 31^st. The school must indicate the school’s currency of record as well as contribution amounts in that currency using VA Form 22-0839 (Yellow Ribbon Agreement). School Certifying Officials may also review the July Office Hours presentation for supplemental instructions for foreign schools.

Question 5: When the unmet need is an uneven amount, who pays the extra penny - the school or VA?

Answer: Veterans Affairs (VA) will match half of the unmet charges certified to the nearest penny. When the annual cap for a particular academic year is an even number of dollars and cents or the unmet charges cannot be divided exactly in half in full cents, VA’s processing system will not round up to include the extra penny. Some schools write off the extra penny, some pay it. 

Question 6: We are still waiting on our signed Yellow Ribbon contract, even though our numbers have been updated on the Veterans Affairs (VA) web page. They told us June 30^th, then July 30^th. Do you have any information?

Answer: All facilities have been notified of the acceptance of their Yellow Ribbon Agreements for the Academic Year (AY) 2023-2024. If you have not received your AY 2023-2024 signed agreement, please send an inquiry to the Yellow Ribbon corporate mailbox at the following email address for a status update, YellowRibbon.VBACO@va.gov.

Question 7: The next time you present on Yellow Ribbon, is it possible to come up with examples to show School Certifying Officials (SCOs), who learn differently?

Answer: Yes

Question 8: Is the Yellow Ribbon amount that's required through Enrollment Manager (EM) the VA-share, school-share, or both?

Answer: The School Certifying Official should report the school’s contribution (up to 50% of the unmet charges, based on the school’s agreement. This requires the School Certifying Official(s) be aware of when the student’s cap will be reached. If the School Certifying Official(s) is unsure when the cap will be exhausted, we suggest not reporting a Yellow Ribbon contribution until the tuition and fees (T&Fs) payment is received. Once T&Fs are received for a particular term, it’s easy to amend the enrollment to add up to half of the remaining unmet charges per the school’s agreement. 

Question 9: We have never used Yellow Ribbon, but we have the agreement. Do I need to update every year?

Answer: When a school signs the Yellow Ribbon Agreement, they certify students have a need based on their tuition and fees. If a school has never utilized their Yellow Ribbon, then there may be no need for it, and your school can consider withdrawing during open season. If this is not the case and your school would like to maintain the agreement, they can.  

If you are a domestic school and do not want to make any changes to the agreement, then no, you do not have to update it.  

If you are a foreign school, due to the fluctuation in currency exchange rates, participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program must be renewed annually during the established open season each June 1st to July 31^st. The school must indicate the school’s currency of record as well as contribution amounts in that currency using VA Form 22-0839 (Yellow Ribbon Agreement). SCOs may also review the July Office Hours presentation for supplemental instructions for foreign schools.  

Question 10: Can a graduate school student use Yellow Ribbon? Is the cap different for graduate school than undergraduate?

Answer: Yes, a graduate student can use Yellow Ribbon. Veterans Affairs (VA) issues one annual cap each academic year.  Graduate and undergraduate will only be different if your school designated them to be different on the Yellow Ribbon agreement.  

Question 11: When a school updates their YR agreement, will the school receive a copy of the new agreement signed by a VA Official or, when the VA approves the agreement, will it just show up on the list of Yellow Ribbon Schools Online?

Answer: Yes, to both questions. The SCO at the facility will receive a copy of the signed agreement as well as the Yellow Ribbon website will be updated accordingly.

Question 12: What is the new maximum for 2023-2024, for Ch 33?

Answer: Payment rates can be found at Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) Rates | Veterans Affairs (va.gov).  

• Private institution of higher learning: Veterans Affairs (VA) will pay the net tuition and mandatory fees up to $27,120.05. 
• Foreign institution of higher learning (a college or university, whether public or private, in a country outside the U.S.): VA will pay the net tuition and mandatory fees up to $27,120.05 in U.S. dollars. 
• Non-college degree programs at private IHLs (specific training programs like credit bearing certificates and vocational programs,) VA pay the net tuition and mandatory fees up to $27,120.05. 
• Yellow Ribbon is not payable at Non-College degree schools. 

Question 13: Our school contributes 50% of Yellow Ribbon funding. When the total eligible Yellow Ribbon tuition and fees does not divide equally between the VA portion and the school portion, we have found that the Veterans Affairs (VA) Yellow Ribbon amount we receive is sometimes rounded up to the penny and sometimes rounded down.  Are we able to determine why this is in advance so our anticipated amounts in our system will match the actual VA Yellow Ribbon amount we will receive?

Answer: Veterans Affairs (VA) will match half of the unmet charges certified to the nearest penny. When the annual cap for a particular academic year is an even number of dollars and cents or the unmet charges cannot be divided exactly in half in full cents, VA’s processing system will not round up to include the extra penny. Some schools write off the extra penny, some pay it. 

Question 14: Is there an email I can ask more detailed question regarding Yellow Ribbon?

Answer: If the question is regarding how to certify Yellow Ribbon correctly, it should be directed to your Education Liaison (ELR).  Any other questions can be directed to the Yellow Ribbon mailbox at Yellow.Ribbon@va.gov. 

Question 15: Is there training specifically for Yellow Ribbon?

Answer: Yellow Ribbon training is provided during regional and/or state conferences, when requested. In addition to conference training, Veterans Affairs (VA) has accessible resources for students and schools regarding Yellow Ribbon on the GI Bill® website, Education and Training Home (va.gov).

Question 16: If a student has exhausted benefits during the semester and the benefits are prorated, can we use the remaining yellow ribbon to pay any balance that is remaining for tuition?

Answer: In most cases, entitlement should extend to the end of the term in which it exhausts, to include the Yellow Ribbon (YR) matching contribution. Students using Transfer of Entitlement (TOE) benefits may not receive the extension if unused entitlement is available to the veteran or other family members. By law, Veterans Affairs (VA) cannot match any Yellow Ribbon contribution for periods after entitlement has exhausted, though we welcome the school to do so.

Question 17: If a student is out of entitlement, can they still get Yellow Ribbon? How do Veterans join Yellow Ribbon? Do we have to turn in any of our agreements? 

Answer: If a student exhausted their benefits during a term, but entitlement extended to the end of the term and has reached the yearly cap for private and foreign schools, VA may still pay Yellow Ribbon for the remaining out of pocket Tuition and Fees (T&F) during the term they exhausted their entitlement. If the yearly cap is not met at a private or foreign school when entitlement exhausted, then no Yellow Ribbon can be paid by Veterans Affairs (VA).   

Veterans can find out more about Yellow Ribbon at the following link: Yellow Ribbon Program and if they are eligible, may apply for Post- 9/11 GI Bill Benefits at the following link: How to Apply for GI Bill and Related Benefits. 

Existing approved institutions considering initial participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program must submit a Yellow Ribbon Agreement during the open season that runs from March through May for domestic schools. 

Question 18: If we have a new school approval after the May cut off can we still apply or do we have to wait till next year?

Answer: If you are a newly approved school or branch, you can submit a Yellow Ribbon Agreement outside of the open season dates.

Question 19: If the Veteran is eligible for Yellow Ribbon, but the school doesn't participate does the School Certifying Official need to do anything?

Answer: No

Question 20: Do we no longer have to enter the Out of State Charges?

Answer: If an eligible GI Bill® student has not met the legal requirements to be considered an in-state student for billing purposes, you can report the unmet portion of the out-of-state charges in that field. This amount should then be used to determine the amount reported as the school’s Yellow Ribbon contribution.

Question 21: We have a dual degree program (student earns Master of Science and Master of Business Administration from two different colleges/departments with two different Yellow Ribbon caps) can the student use the cap Yellow Ribbon amounts from both colleges/departments? What if these are both in the same facility code? What if each degree is certified from separate facility codes? We emailed the Education Liaison Representative (ELR) and they sent us the Yellow Ribbon Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, which was not helpful.

Answer: The student has one academic cap.  It’s up to the school to determine, if a student can be considered for more than one of their Yellow Ribbon contribution types. If the school determines the student can receive funds from two of their Yellow Ribbon sources, Veterans Affairs (VA) will match each contribution once the student’s cap is exhausted.

Question 22: This is the first time we've updated and not heard anything back. Is there a delay? 

Answer: Yes, there was a delay, however, both the Yellow Ribbon Website has been updated to reflect updates and all Yellow Ribbon Agreements have been signed and returned to the assigned School Certifying Official as appropriate.

Question 23: Am I correct in assuming that for Yellow Ribbon the school must agree to matching funds or whatever they choose to donate to the student?

Answer: Yes. A school must match funds as reflected on their Yellow Ribbon Agreement.

Question 24: In the Yellow Ribbon section of Enrollment Manager do we put only the Veterans Affairs (VA) half to pay or the whole Yellow Ribbon amount?

Answer: School Certifying Officials will certify the amount of Yellow Ribbon the school is contributing for the enrollment period being certified, per their signed Yellow Ribbon Agreement. The Yellow Ribbon amount certified should never exceed half of the unmet charges for the enrollment period being certified.

Question 25: If our school's maximum amount is $1,000. does this mean the Veterans Affairs (VA) will match this amount or only half of that for a total amount of $1,000?

Answer: Veterans Affairs (VA) will match up to the amount your school has agreed to contribute. Example, if the unmet charges are $2,000 for a student, your school will certify $1,000 and VA will match that amount.

Question 26: Thank you for the Yellow Ribbon information! Can you explain what "higher cost Graduate program" means? We are a public Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) and are not subject to the tuition cap for private schools.

Answer: During July Office Hours it was stated that the “Yellow Ribbon Program can help eligible individuals pay “for higher out-of-state”, private school, foreign school, or “graduate school tuition and fees that the Post-9/11 GI Bill® doesn’t cover.” Deducing that this statement may have been misunderstood as “higher cost graduate program”. For a public school, there is no annual cap, and there is no additional information regarding graduate programs that would affect Yellow Ribbon.

Question 27: I don't always know if Yellow Ribbon is needed at the time of certification number 1. Is it okay to certify the full balance of tuition first and then amend to add the Yellow Ribbon?

Answer: The best practice is to submit the correct amount on the initial certification; however, it is acceptable to amend a certification when changes need to be made, which includes changes to Yellow Ribbon.

Question 28: Where can we see what is on our agreement? 

Answer: In the following link School Certifying Officials or a student can enter your school’s name, state, and city to see what your school contributes to Yellow Ribbon. Please review the following link: Find A Yellow Ribbon School | Veterans Affairs (va.gov).

Question 29: If Yellow Ribbon (YR) funds and merit aid come from the same funding source can YR replace merit aid?

Answer: A student cannot be deprived of another entitled scholarship (merit aid), due to receipt of Yellow Ribbon. Merit based aid must be applied first and will reduce the unmet need for YR purposes. Both payments should appear on the student’s ledger separately and will be verified on compliance surveys. 

Question 30: Our scholarship award to students includes Yellow Ribbon (and we clearly state this) is this, ok?

Answer: Funds for Yellow Ribbon (YR) contributions may derive from any source of institutional funding that is not already allocated or awarded for a non-Yellow Ribbon purpose. Student ledgers must denote contributions as "Yellow Ribbon." Yellow Ribbon funds cannot be denoted as any type of grant, scholarship or other fund sources that would be applied to the student's account regardless of Yellow Ribbon program participation.  

It is unlawful to use or block other tuition-specific, earned scholarship funds as the funding source for the school’s YR contribution for a student qualified for both, such as a merit or athletic scholarship. These funding sources should appear on the student’s ledger and will reduce the net Tuition and Fees (T&Fs) certified. Similarly, earned non-tuition-specific funds must be awarded directly to a YR student qualified for both the earned funds and Yellow Ribbon.  

Question 31: How do you determine restricted or unrestricted funds when calculating Yellow Ribbon awards?

Answer: For Restricted Aid, if the funds in question are described to be designated for a specific purpose (other than for Yellow Ribbon), then they are considered Restricted Aid and cannot be used for Yellow Ribbon. If the funds in questions are NOT designated to a specific purpose, they can be used for Yellow Ribbon.

Question 32: Could Veterans Affairs (VA) pick an even cents number for the private school Chapter 33 tuition cap next year (e.g., it's $27,120.05 this year)? It's been an odd cent number the past three years which makes the school Yellow Ribbon and VA Yellow Ribbon contributions different by one cent.

Answer: The amount of the yearly cap is adjusted each year based upon Cost-of-Living Allowance (COLA). Veterans Affairs (VA) is unable to alter this amount.

Question 33: To confirm, if the tuition amount changes for a past term, do I submit this information via the Enrollment Manager?  

Answer: Yes, any change to tuition and fees should be reported to Veterans Affairs (VA) by amending the enrollment certification. In addition, the revised amount of respective Yellow Ribbon contributions payable based on the amended Tuition and Fees should be reported.

Question 34: How do I get a copy of our VA Form 22-0839 (Yellow Ribbon Agreement)?

Answer: School Certifying Official's may email the Yellow Ribbon Corporate Mailbox at Yellow.Ribbon@va.gov.

Question 35: How do you know if your school is a Yellow Ribbon school?

Answer: In the following link School Certifying Officials or a student can enter their school’s name, state, and city to see if a school participates in Yellow Ribbon. Please review the following link: Find A Yellow Ribbon School | Veterans Affairs (va.gov).

Question 36: If we have already submitted the enrollment certification for the semester and then need to add Yellow Ribbon later as an amendment, do we enter the full tuition amount again in Enrollment Manager, plus the Yellow Ribbon amount, or just the Yellow Ribbon amount? 

Answer: You will enter the full tuition amount again. Unless there were changes to tuition by the time you are submitting Yellow Ribbon.

Question 37: Has the Yellow Ribbon tuition cap for private colleges been determined yet?

Answer: Yes, payment rates for 2023 -2024 Academic Year can be found at the following link: Post-9/11 GI Bill Rates.

Question 38: What is our accounting department supposed to do with all the $0.01 payments we are receiving from graduated students?

Answer: The one cent payments from reported graduation were due to a problem with our payment system that has since been resolved. Veterans Affairs (VA) does not wish for these to be returned. Please follow your usual school policy for minor payment discrepancies.  

Question 39: So, what if the Yellow Ribbon funds plus the merit aid puts them over Cost of Attendance (COA)?

Answer: Tuition specific merit aid must be applied to the student’s account first. This will reduce the unmet need, thereby reducing the reported and matched Yellow Ribbon contributions. If the merit aid is not designated solely to defray Tuition and Fees (T&F), it should not be deducted from the T&F certified to Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Yellow Ribbon certified will be reflective of that. In this scenario, if there are excess funds on the student’s account, you should refund the student per your school’s refund policy. 

Question 40: If our scholarships are need based not merit based, does Yellow Ribbon have to be separate and not a part of the entire aid package?

Answer: Schools can consider Yellow Ribbon first for a student, otherwise eligible for need based aid. Both the school’s contribution and the matched Yellow Ribbon funds can reduce the amount of need-based aid.