Education and Training

Question 1: Can the option for SCOs to have the ability to put a custom remark on amendments/termination certifications be available again? We are continuing to have problems and issues when we amend credits and tuition & fees - they only pay for the dates between the beginning of the term to the amendment date, not the entire term. 

Answer: Custom remarks will not be reinstated for Chapter 33 certifications and will be removed for non-chapter 33 certifications in the near future to further enable automation. If an amended certification is properly submitted, correct payment will be released. A remark is not needed.

Tuition & fees based on the original enrollment must be submitted on an amended certification prior to reporting any changes to the enrollment. If the tuition & fees for the original number of credits is not first reported, the school will receive a prorated payment due to the way Veterans Affairs (VA) systems process amendments. 

For example: Student is initially certified for 12 credits with $0 T&F. They reduce to 9 credits and a certification is submitted with 9 credits and $0 T&F. Then, after drop/add the T&F for 9 credits is submitted. VA systems will pay the T&F for 9 credits from the first day of the term until the effective date of the reduction, leaving the rest of the term unpaid.

Question 2: Can the SCO Handbook provide more guidance for dual certification on flat rate tuition institutions and have “non-standard terms throughout a semester”. We had a “finding” for VA compliance survey for submitting tuition and fees (T&F) late when the student could have changed their schedule and T&F would have changed. We tried the argument that is on slide 8 “knowing the exact tuition and fee amounts” but was not accepted. The Education Liaison Representative (ELR) also is going by the SCO Handbook and also does not understand that while a student can change their schedule, we do not know exact T&F or Financial Aid (FA).  

Answer: A school should not be cited for a late report for T&F. Certifications must generally be submitted no more than 30 days after the start of a term, but there is no time frame for submitting T&F, as that is a school payment rather than a student payment.

If you have been cited for a late report solely for T&F but the enrollment or amendment was submitted timely, please reach out to the National Training Team-Schools: EDUTRAINING.VBACO@va.gov.

Question 3: How do I dual certify a Chapter 35 student who we are not receiving tuition and fees for? 

Answer: Both Zero T&F Certifications (Formerly known as Dual Certification) and the second 1010 (verification) certification requirement only apply to Chapter 33. Chapter 35 students are paid via direct to student only (no T&Fs to the school).

Question 4: During my last compliance survey, they checked to make sure i had completed dual certification. I am a non-college degree school (NCD) school. So, dual certification is not required? 

Answer: Dual Certification (now being called Zero T&Fs certification) is an optional way of certifying Chapter 33 students whereby an SCO submits the original certification with $0 tuition and fees. This would not be checked for on a compliance survey as it is optional.

A second 1010 (verification) certification is required for Chapter 33 certifications. This is checked on a compliance survey. While these are two separate concepts, if a school submits the original certification with $0 tuition and fees and then submits the amended certification reporting the tuition and fees within the timeframe required for the second 1010 certification, that amended certification satisfies the second 1010 certification requirement. 

Question 5: Can you please clarify exactly when we would add zero T&F as the comment?  We certify initial certification with $0 and then submit a dual certification with the tuition and fees. 

Answer: There is no remark or amendment reason for zero T&F. What you have stated, certifying initially with $0 tuition and fees and then amending the certification to provide T&F, is zero T&F (also known as dual certification). The only change is the name.

Note: We are replacing the name “dual cert” with “zero T&F”.

Question 6: If the student drops a course and a SCO notices the drop close to the last week of the month. Should the SCO wait until next month which may be out of the 30 days range to submit the amendment or must submit to meet the 30 days rule?  

Answer: No, an SCO should not hold the amendment. The system is designed to pause Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) until the amendment is processed in order to minimize the amount of overpayment on the student. This type of certification is bound by the 30-day reporting rule.

Routine amendments that do not affect the student’s MHA (such as reporting T&F after using zero T&F certification and/or submitting an unchanged amendment to satisfy the second 1010 certification requirement) are the types of amendments that we are suggesting you hold and not submit during the final week of the month, as they needlessly hold up a students’ MHA. 

Question 7: As a foreign school physically located in West Grenada, the tuition amount is reported in American United States Dollars (USD), but automatically shown on the certification in that foreign currency, the remark from the drop down for "Tuition reported in foreign currency" now has added required fields for "foreign currency" and "amount".

We are only trying to say that we are reporting in USD, but these added fields make it seem like we are doubling down on it being reported in the foreign currency. Should we no longer include the remark in this case?

Answer: You are able to type anything in the foreign currency remark boxes. We suggest that you type something in the “Foreign Currency” box such as “Tuition and Fees are being reported in USD and not xxx – ignore EM auto-populated foreign currency remark”. 

Note: You are only authorized to report in US dollars if your school bills all students in US dollars.

Question 8: Could we have a remark for flat-fee programs that don't involve 12 hours? We have some graduate programs that are full-time under 12 hours, and other modular programs that affect the reported hours. Not everything is a flat 12 hours. 

Answer: Please see the Flat-Rate Tuition Schools (Chapter 33) section of the SCO Handbook for instructions.

Note: Veterans Affairs (VA) does not use 12 hours (or any figure) as a flat measurement for graduate level programs. Enrollment Manager requires the SCO to provide the full-time modifier for graduate level programs. A calculation may be required to determine the full-time modifier for graduate programs during nonstandard terms.

Question 9: Would we use Zero T&F comment every time a student amends prior to submitting T&F? Sometimes they change their schedule several times before add/drop. 

Answer: There is no such remark or amendment reason to select. The only change that has been made is to what we are calling the act of submitting the original certification with $0 T&F entered (i.e., we are renaming Dual Certification to Zero T&Fs certification).

Question 10: Is the student's entitlement charge impact from Zero T&F a change? Could this potentially impact the student's first monthly housing allowance (MHA) at a stand-alone Non-College Degree (NCD)? 

Answer: For NCD Stand-alone schools, the entitlement charge has always been impacted by submitting $0.00 tuition and fees on the initial certification, not due to changing the name from “dual certification” to “Zero T&F Certification.

Using zero T&F will not impact the student’s MHA payment. Keep in mind, the MHA payment for the first month of training for any program will be less than the full monthly amount, unless the student begins their program on the first day of the month. 

Question 11: What is considered "automated" amendment so that it does not hold up a student's monthly housing allowance (MHA) and can be done within the last week of the month? 

Answer: Any amendment submitted after the 25^th of the month will delay the student’s monthly housing payment while the amendment is being processed. This is because it must be determined if the amended cert changes how much MHA the student is due.

We are suggesting that you not submit ‘routine’ changes after the 25th so that a student’s housing is not delayed needlessly. Routine changes are any amendments that do not affect the amount of MHA a student is due, such as providing the T&F after initially submitting a zero T&F certification and “unchanged” amendments solely to meet the second 1010 (verification) requirement.

Any amendment that will affect the amount of housing a student is due, such as amendments reporting reductions in hours or terminations, should not be held and should be submitted as soon as possible to minimize debts placed on the student. 

Question 12: Do I have to update credit hours as an institute of higher learning (IHL) if it does not affect T&F (all full time is same cost)? 

Answer: Yes, because the student’s book stipend could be affected. 

Question 13: The SCO hotline is stating that manual processing is taking over 30 days, is this still the case?  

Answer: The Regional Processing Offices (RPOs) were more backlogged this past 2024 Fall then they have been for several years. They have cleared out the backlog since you asked this question.

Question 14: If the 30 days period ends during the last week of the month and the required change was held per this request, what happens if it’s not? If we have to stop submitting the 2nd certification the last week of the month, it shouldn't matter when the 30-day period ends.   

Answer: If a ‘routine’ amendment is not held, the student’s monthly housing allowance will be delayed but a school will not be cited, as this is only a suggestion in order to assist your students.  

Question 15: My school offered both Non-College Degrees (NCDs) and Degrees, Can I submit the initial certification with tuition and fees, then within 30 days submit /amend for the second certification? 

Answer: Yes, you can submit tuition and fees in the initial certification. Follow the timeline in the SCO Handbook for submitting the second certification.

Note: If a SCO submits the initial certification with T&F, you will submit an ‘unchanged’ amended certification within the required timeframe in order to satisfy the second 1010 (verification) certification. 

Question 16: Are tuition and fees required for all chapters or just chapter 33?   

Answer: Tuition and fees are always required for Chapter 33. For non-33, tuition and fees are required for Chapters 30 and 35 if the student is less than half time, active duty, or when accelerated payment is requested.

Note: Tuition and fees are never required for chapter 1606 students, except for accelerated payment.

Question 17: Do we have to submit a dual certification for all other chapters other than Chapter 33? 

Answer: Dual Certification (now being called Zero T&Fs certification) is an optional way of certifying Chapter 33 students whereby an SCO submits the original certification with $0 tuition and fees. This allows the student to receive their monthly housing allowance and book stipend on time.

Generally, non-chapter 33 certifications do not require T&Fs. When T&Fs are required for non-chapter 33 (for example, chapter 30 students on active duty or training at less than half time, etc.), Zero T&F should not be utilized as Veterans Affairs (VA) cannot process those certifications without the T&F. 

A second 1010 (verification) certification is required for Chapter 33 certifications at institutions of higher learning (IHL) and Non-College Degree (NCD) schools.  It is not required for non-Chapter 33 certifications.

Answer: No remarks or notes are needed when submitting the amendment to provide the tuition and fees (T&F).  

Question 19: The School Certifying Official (SCO) Handbook states: In limited instances a dual objective may also consist of two NCD programs. So, most times they can't consist of two certificates, but sometimes they can? 

Answer: The SCO Handbook verbiage has been updated. At institutions of higher learning (IHLs): The program can only be approved by the State Approving Agency (SAA) if it is offered as a specific combination program in an IHL’s catalog. The combined program must be in the Web Enabled Approvals Management System (WEAMS) and available in Enrollment Manager (EM) before it can be certified by the IHL.

At Stand-alone Non-College Degree (NCD) Schools: The SAA cannot approve a dual objective program consisting of 2 individual NCD certificates or diplomas.

Note: This does not preclude SAA approval of an ‘umbrella’ program that consists of a series of NCD certificates that lead to an overarching certification or credential.  

Note: SCOs should prioritize SAA approval requests for any dual objective programs you currently have a student(s) enrolled in if they will not complete the program by January 1, 2026.

Example we have students wanting to complete Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and Electrical and other combinations of these types of credentials to be well rounded. Is that possible? 

A dual objective program that consists of two NCD certificate or diploma programs is not approvable at a stand-alone NCD school.

• If each major is listed as a separate program in WEAMS, you will need to follow the same instructions as for certifying a dual degree in EM.

• If only the degree is listed in WEAMS (i.e., no individual majors are listed), you will certify under the degree in EM and add a note to each enrollment providing the two majors.

Additionally, at accredited institutions of higher learning (IHL) credit bearing graduate certificate programs are considered IHL programs for VA purposes. Therefore, concurrent enrollment with a degree does not constitute a dual objective. The degree and the graduate certificate can be certified like a dual degree program and without specific SAA approval.

Graduate certificates at non-accredited IHLs and clock hour bearing graduate certificates at accredited IHLS would be considered a dual objective when paired with a degree program.

• At this time, you should prioritize requests for dual objective programs which currently have an enrolled student who will not complete the full program before January 1, 2026. SCOs should also request approval for dual objective programs they routinely have Veterans Affairs (VA) students enrolled in, if any.

• For terms beginning on or after January 1, 2026, you should only request a dual objective approval from the SAA when you have a program developed for a student and a student that will be enrolled.

If training time is less than ½-time, the student is on active duty, or accelerated payment is requested, tuition and fees must be reported. The full amount of tuition and fees as billed to similarly circumstanced non-VA students should be submitted for non-Chapter 33 students.

For example, if a student completes a degree program and subsequently enrolls in and completes a certificate program, it is not a dual objective.