Veteran's Affairs

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Processing Time
Transcripts
Tutorial Assistance
Selecting a Major
Counseling
Course Numbering System
Education Plan
Verification of Payable Classes
Academic and Progress Standards
Extra Programs that May Assist You

Processing Time
The VA certifying official usually clears paperwork in 2-3 days; during peak periods at least one week. Processing of the initial VA application takes at least 8-12 weeks at the Veterans Administration; subsequent paperwork usually takes 4-6 weeks.

Transcripts
Federal law requires veterans to submit OFFICIAL, SEALED transcripts from all schools, colleges, training institutions, and technical schools attended to the FLC Records Office. This includes all training and education received before entering active duty, as well as any received during service and after discharge, even if VA benefits were not paid for attending the course or program. Military transcripts (AARTS, SMARTS or CCAF) are required. DD295 or VMET or certificates of completion must also be submitted for military schools.

VA regulations give students the first semester of attendance to supply FLC with their official transcripts. Students are also required to supply the school with documentation regarding the military schools they have attended. DD-295 or VMET or certificates of completion are acceptable proof of military schools.

Foreign schools – Students with foreign school transcripts will need to have the foreign transcripts evaluated by an outside evaluation service, and will need an official copy of the evaluation sent to the FLC Records Office.

If transcripts are not received during the first semester of attendance, the Veterans Office will refuse to certify students beyond their first semester unless they complete a statement of claim, VA Form 21-4138 stating:
-Why the transcripts are missing
-What the student is doing to get transcripts to the college
-Requests certification without all transcripts

The VA may give students a second semester as a grace period to get transcripts in to the college but will not under any circumstance pay beyond the second semester of attendance without the evaluation being completed.

Tutorial Assistance
Tutoring is available through the college free of charge. This can be arranged by visiting the Tutoring Center located in building FL2.

Selecting a Major
Veterans and dependents are required to declare a two-year major as listed in FLC’s catalog, a certificate program as listed in FLC’s catalog, or a transfer major based on four-year school’s articulation agreements with CSU or UC and FLC.

What is a Major?
A major consists of general education classes, major courses as prescribed in the catalog and electives (only as required by a specific major). The VA pays for required remedial/refresher courses as determined by testing through the assessment office, specifically Math, English and Reading classes. Refresher/remedial courses are numbered between 1 and 99 and are not usable towards AA or transfer degrees.

General Education Requirements – give the student an opportunity to have a well-rounded education and are mandatory for degree requirements.

Major Requirements - involve courses that pertain only to your major and must be followed to maintain your benefits. Your major is an important part of your education equation.

Electives - are the courses that remain after you account for GE and Major courses.
•For an AA degree, if your pattern has a high number of major requirements, then you may have no room for electives. Hence electives will not be payable.
•For a Four year degree, depending on the size of your major pattern, you could have room for electives. This is done on a case by case basis, but usually BS degrees heavy in math and science courses, have no room for electives. On the other hand, many BA degrees have room for electives.

Changes of major must be made with the VA certifying official; informing the school isn’t enough. You may only declare one major at a time.

Counseling
When you make counseling appointments, make sure to identify yourself as a veteran or dependent of veteran. Be aware that the VA places restrictions on what courses you may be paid for. A counselor’s recommendation may not be payable under VA regulations, especially if the class is a recommended elective. Substitutions of courses must be approved by the school through the Evaluations Department and must be reported to the VA certifying official.

It is your responsibility to sign up for payable classes, not the schools', the VAs', or any other entity. It is yours! If you enroll in non-payable classes you may get overpaid for the first semester and be in an overpayment situation with the VA to the tune of hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars. If this happens, they can get their money back via wage garnishment, tax refund seizure, or even by taking you to court.

DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN. This most often happens with students that have previous credits from other colleges. The more units you have - the easier it is to sign up for a non-payable class. If you are even slightly unsure where your credits will fall when transferred, contact us for further clarification.

If you have very few major classes, you may also have a third part - electives credits. We DO NOT know with any certainty if you do have electives until an education plan is completed by your counselor.

DO NOT count on electives until you know with 100% certainty that you have them.

•For a two year degree at FLC, students must follow the Associate Degree Graduation Requirements in the college catalog. This includes General Education units as well as Major units.
•For a 4-year degree, students must follow either the CSU GE Breadth Requirements or IGETC Curriculum sheet in the college catalog.
•For a certificate at FLC, students must follow the appropriate certificate requirements in the college catalog.

Course Numbering System
Courses numbered 1-99: Credit courses that are considered developmental or basic skills (remedial) and are not acceptable for the Associate Degree or transfer credit. If you test into Math or English at this level, these courses would be payable by the VA.

Courses numbered 100-299: Applicable to the Associate Degree but not transferable to a 4-year institution.

Courses numbered 300-499: Articulated for transfer with four-year institutions and are intended to meet major, general education or elective credit requirements.

Education Plan
VA Education Plans are completed during the first semester of attendance, unless the FLC Records Office has not received official transcripts from any previous schools. The VA requires that every veteran student complete an education plan. Once an ed plan is done, the VA certifying official will check semester courses against the ed plan. Courses are also checked for payability at the start of each new term. The VA is notified of student’s enrollment in courses not required for completion of the declared major.

Make sure that your courses are payable to your major prior to actually enrolling in classes. We will aid you as much as possible, but students are ultimately responsible for the courses they register in. If once you get a copy of the education plan you do not agree with your plan, you must contact your VA counselor to clear any discrepancies.

Verification of Payable Classes
Consult with your academic counselor or VA certifying official.
Refer to your education plan.
Please be aware that when you turn in paperwork to the VA certifying official your classes will be reviewed to see if they are payable; however, you are responsible for registering in proper payable classes.
If you decide to change majors, you must do so officially through your VA certifying official. A new education plan will be done for the new major, and classes will be checked for usability.

Academic and Progress Standards
Veteran students should be aware of the standards of satisfactory progress and attendance for GI Bill recipients attending FLC. A student who fails to maintain FLC’s academic standards of progress and is dismissed must be terminated from VA benefits for “Unsatisfactory Attendance, Conduct, or Progress”.

Our district’s dismissal policy is as follows:
Academic Dismissal: A student on Academic Dismissal is subject to dismissal when the student earns a cumulative GPA of less than 2.0 in all units attempted in each of three consecutive semesters.

Progress Dismissal: A student on Progress Dismissal is subject to dismissal if one half ormore of the units in which the student has been enrolled have recorded entries of “W”, “I”, and “NC” in at least three consecutive semesters.

A dismissed student may appeal to the Vice President of Student Development and Enrollment Management for permission to enroll if the student feels that extenuating circumstances caused the dismissal. It is the student’s responsibility to detail those circumstances in writing on a petition for readmission after dismissal and meet with a counselor. In these cases, the college must report to the VA that the student was subject to dismissal but allowed to remain enrolled by appeal and submit an enrollment certification terminating the student effective the last day of the term in which progress was unsatisfactory. We would then submit an enrollment certification reenrolling the student the beginning of the next term.

Extra Programs that May Assist You
ROUND-OUT – is a program which allows students who have a limited number of courses remaining in their program to add non-required courses and be paid at a higher rate. Round Out may only be used in the final semester of attendance. It may be used under one major at the two-year level and again for one major at the four-year level.
TUTORING – the VA provides a reimbursed tutoring program for Dependents (Chapter 35), Vocational Rehabilitation students (Chapter 31), VEAP students (Chapter 32), and a limited tutoring program for Chapter 30. Chapter 1606 students do not receive a tutoring assistance allowance from the VA. Free tutoring is available to all FLC students through the Tutoring Center in building FL2.
CAL VET PROGRAM – The California Veterans Dependants Educational Assistance Program offers educational assistance to children and spouses of severely disabled or deceased veterans. Dependents of POWS and MIAS, widow/ers of deceased veterans, and wives of 100%-disabled veterans may also be eligible.