Responsibilities of the Veteran
Veterans, Special Service personnel, and 18 through 26 year-old children of deceased or totally disabled veterans may be eligible for assistance under the GI Bill. The amount and duration of the educational allowance will depend on the program in effect during the veteran's enlistment. Applications and assistance in completing the forms are available through the Financial Aid Office.
" People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on thier behalf " - George Orwell
You Must
- Notify the Veterans Coordinator of your intended enrollment each semester and summer.
- Notify the Veterans Coordinator of any change in course load (drop, add, withdrawal) within one week of the change. This will help eliminate or reduce potential overpayment of benefits.
- Notify the Veterans Coordinator of your address and phone number and any change of address.
- Notify the Veterans Coordinator of any change in major.
If Your Unit Is Activated
If your Reserve or National Guard unit is activated and you must leave the college for a period of time, use the following procedures:
Notify Registrars at 724.284.8510 and the Veterans Office at 724.287.8711, 8335 or 8422 of your last date of attendance. You must also provide a copy of your federal activation orders.
If you withdraw due to activation during the semester, financial aid will be returned, you will be withdrawn with "W" grades, and you will not be charged for tuition/fees for the term. If you received GI Bill benefits, you will be permitted to keep funds received. Entitlement for those months will not be counted. Your 10-year delimiting date may be extended for the number of months you were activated.
Termination Of Benefits
Class attendance: The Veterans Coordinator will monitor class attendance via your professors. Students who do not attend on a regular basis, stop attending , or withdraw (officially or unofficially) will be reported to the Buffalo Regional Processor. Such notification may include a last date of attendance for each class, and may result in adjustment or termination of your GI Bill eligibility.
Academic Probation/Suspension and GI Bill eligibility: A student who does not make satisfactory progress for attendance at BC3, will have his/her GI Bill benefits terminated. The veteran will receive a letter stating benefits have been terminated.
Education Benefits Overpayments
An overpayment may result if you receive a grade of I, F, W, which are not used in computing requirements for your degree program/graduation or if you repeat a course in which you previously received a passing grade, unless a higher grade in that course is required for graduation.
Additional causes for overpayments
- you stop attending classes
- you withdraw from school
- information is received from professors which indicates you stopped attending or have not attended class
Avoiding Education Overpayments
To avoid overpayment of benefits, veterans and dependents must immediately report to the Veterans Coordinator any change in credit hours, drop/add, withdrawal or termination of attendance!
- All overpayments must be repaid to the DVA.
- Failure to repay an overpayment will result in adverse credit and debt collection may be turned over to a collection agency or the IRS.
- Contact the Veterans Coordinator before you cash your next check if you suspect a change in credit load or termination of attendance could result in an overpayment.
Mitigating circumstances
If you change credit load or withdraw from the college after the drop/add period, you will be asked to provide a statement explaining the events which caused the change in enrollment. Mitigating circumstances are unanticipated and unavoidable "events" which interfere with your pursuit of a course. Withdrawal to avoid a failing grade, dislike of the instructor, attempting too many courses is not considered mitigating circumstances.
If you do not provide a statement, or mitigating circumstances are not acceptable, the DVA may reduce or terminate your benefits effective the beginning of the term, rather than your actual last date of attendance.
