Military and Veterans Education Benefits

Military and Veteran Benefits

Post-9/11 GI Bill® (Chapter 33)

The Post-9/11 GI Bill^® (Chapter 33) helps students pay for school or job training. Students who served on active duty after September 10, 2001, may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill^® (Chapter 33).

Am I eligible for Post-9/11 GI Bill^® (Chapter 33) benefits?

Students can get education benefits if they meet at least one of the requirements listed below:

Served at least 90 days on active duty (either all at once or with breaks in service) on or after September 11, 2001, or
Received a Purple Heart on or after September 11, 2001, and were honorably discharged after any amount of service, or
Served for at least 30 continuous days (all at once, without a break in service) on or after September 11, 2001, and were honorably discharged with a service-connected disability, or
Are a dependent child using benefits transferred by a qualifying veteran or service member

What if I qualify for other VA education benefits too?

Students must pick which benefit they would like to use. This is an irrevocable decision, meaning they cannot change their mind.

What benefits can I get through the Post-9/11 GI Bill^® (Chapter 33)?

Students can receive up to 36 months of benefits, including:

Tuition and fees.
Money for housing (if in school more than half time). The monthly housing allowance is based on the cost of living where the school is located.
Money for books and supplies. Students can receive up to $1,000 per school year.
If students served on active duty for less than 1,095 days (at least 36 months) they are eligible for only part of the Post 9/11 GI Bill^®. Students can find their percentage on their Certificate of Eligibility or by calling the Student Hotline - 888-442-4551.

Do these benefits expire?

This depends on when the student was discharged from active duty.

If service ended before January 1, 2013, the Post-9/11 GI Bill^® (Chapter 33) benefits will expire 15 years after the last separation date from active service. Students must use all of their benefits by that time, or they will lose what is left.

If service ended on or after January 1, 2013, benefits won’t expire.

Transferring of Post-9/11 GI Bill^®

If Post - 9/11 GI Bill^® benefits were transferred, students will still need to apply.

Montgomery GI Bill®-Active Duty (Chapter 30)

Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31)

Montgomery GI Bill® - Selected Reserves (Chapter 1606)

Tuition Assistance

Military Tuition Assistance Policy

Military Tuition Assistance is a U.S. Department of Defense program. Tuition Assistance rules vary by branch of service and even vary between different units within the same branch depending on whether the unit is active, reserve, or National Guard. Tuition Assistance funds will be applied to tuition costs only.

Military Tuition Assistance Recipients

Military Tuition Assistance (TA) is awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When a student withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of TA funds originally awarded. To comply with the U.S. Department of Defense policy, Kansas City Kansas Community College (51��) will return any unearned TA funds on a proportional basis through at least 60% portion of the period for which the funds were provided. If a service member stops attending due to a military service obligation, 51�� will work with the affected service member to identify solutions that will not result in a student debt for the returned portion.

Withdrawals

A student’s official withdrawal date is used as the last date of attendance and to calculate earned percentage of TA. A student’s official withdrawal date is determined by using the last date of attendance that is documented and submitted to the Office of the Registrar. Once the last date of attendance has been determined, 51�� will recalculate a student’s TA eligibility.

Tuition Assistance Refund Policy

The amount of TA funding that is earned is determined on a pro-rata basis. For example, if a student completed 30% of the course, s/he earned 30% of the TA funds that s/he was originally scheduled to receive. The remainder of the unearned funds (70%) would be returned to the TA program. If this results in an unpaid tuition balance, payment would be the responsibility of the student. Once a student has attended at least 60% of the period for which TA funds were approved, the student is considered to have earned 100% of the TA funds.

Utilize the following table for the return of unearned TA funds (this may be different than 51��’s Tuition Refund Schedule).

8 Week Course Withdraw Submitted

Before or during week 1	During week 2	During weeks 3-4	During week 5	During week 6-8
100%	75%	50%	40%	No return

^{Completion Point: 60%}

16 Week Course Withdraw Submitted

Before or during week 1	During week 3-4	During weeks 5-8	During week 9-10	During week 11-16
100%	75%	50%	40%	No return

^{Completion Point: 60%}

Dependent Benefits

Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (Chapter 35)

Post-9/11 GI Bill® Transferability

While the Post-9/11 GI Bill® offers a very generous post-service education benefit, a special provision of the program allows career service members the opportunity to share their education benefits with immediate family members.

Allowing career service members to transfer their GI Bill® benefits to family members has long been one of the most requested items among military family readiness and advocacy groups.

The department has established the policies and procedures for this important program. These policies and procedures are described below.

Application Procedures

Applications for transferability will start on June 29, 2009. However, the effective date of any transfer will be no earlier than August 1, 2009, regardless of application date. All applications will be submitted through the Servicemembers will be able to securely access this site with a Common Access Card, a DoD Self Service User ID or a DFAS PIN. Currently this application may be accessed only with Internet Explorer.

Eligible Individuals

Any member of the Armed Forces (active duty or Selected Reserve, officer or enlisted) on or after August 1, 2009, who is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill®, and

Has at least 6 years of service in the Armed Forces on the date of election and agrees to serve 4 additional years in the Armed Forces from the date of election.
Has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces (active duty and/or selected reserve) on the date of election, is precluded by either standard policy (service or DoD) or statute from committing to 4 additional years, and agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute, or
Is or becomes retirement eligible during the period from August 1, 2009, through August 1, 2013. A service member is considered to be retirement eligible if he or she has completed 20 years of active duty or 20 qualifying years of reserve service.
For those individuals eligible for retirement on August 1, 2009, no additional service is required.
For those individuals who have an approved retirement date after August 1, 2009, and before July 1, 2010, no additional service is required.
For those individuals eligible for retirement after August 1, 2009, and before August 1, 2010, 1 year of additional service after approval of transfer is required.
For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2010, and before August 1, 2011, 2 years of additional service after approval of transfer are required.
For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2011, and before August 1, 2012, 3 years of additional service after approval of transfer required.

Eligible Family Members

An individual approved to transfer an entitlement to educational assistance under this section may transfer the individual’s entitlement to:

The individual’s spouse.
One or more of the individual’s children.
Any combination of spouse and child.
A family member must be enrolled in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS) and be eligible for benefits, at the time of transfer to receive transferred educational benefits.
A child’s subsequent marriage will not affect his or her eligibility to receive the educational benefit. However, after an individual has designated a child as a transferee under this section, the individual retains the right to revoke or modify the transfer at any time.
A subsequent divorce will not affect the transferee’s eligibility to receive educational benefits. However, after an individual has designated a spouse as a transferee under this section, the eligible individual retains the right to revoke or modify the transfer at any time.

Nature of Transfer

An eligible servicemember may transfer up to the total months of unused Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits, or the entire 36 months if the member has used none.

Family member use of transferred educational benefits is subject to the following:

Spouse:

May start to use the benefit immediately.
May use the benefit while the member remains in the Armed Forces or after separation from active duty.
Is not eligible for the monthly stipend or books and supplies stipend while the member is serving on active duty.
Can use the benefit for up to 15 years after the servicemember’s last separation from active duty.

Child:

May start to use the benefit only after the individual making the transfer has completed at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces.
May use the benefit while the eligible individual remains in the Armed Forces or after separation from active duty.
May not use the benefit until he/she has attained a secondary school diploma (or equivalency certificate), or reached 18 years of age.
Is entitled to the monthly stipend and books and supplies stipend even though the eligible individual is on active duty.
Is not subject to the 15-year delimiting date, but may not use the benefit after reaching 26 years of age.

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