There are many VA rules and guidelines regarding your VA benefits. Our office will do the best we can to inform you about requirements but there are other sources you will need to touch bases with in order to be properly advised. You may access our quarterly newsletter, What's Happenin' and, at times, our bi-weekly campus newspaper, The Reporter for updated information. Also, watch your mail. Once you initiate your benefits the VA will send you information regarding your particular chapter. We suggest that you would be wise to read their publications carefully.

PROGRAM: You must apply for a specific educational program, i.e., A.A. College Transfer, A.A.S. Law Enforcement, etc.

PRIOR CREDITS: You must have prior credit earned evaluated. The VA requires that we report all previous credits earned that are allowable toward graduation by Spokane Community College. Therefore, it is your responsibility to make arrangements with Admissions to obtain "official transcripts" for ALL prior colleges attended. These transcripts, along with military experience, must be evaluated and any credits allowed by SCC must be reported to the VA by the end of your third quarter of attendance. Failure to do so will result in termination of your VA benefits while you attend SCC.

CLASSES: You must be familiar with the requirements for your program. The VA will pay only for those classes required for graduation. Repeat classes are not allowed unless required by the specific program or required due to technology advances. Substitute classes must be approved by your counselor/instructor and the dean of the specific division. Substitute forms are available in the Counseling Center and each dean's office. Counselor error is not an acceptable reason for taking classes not applicable to your program. If you plan to enroll in a Cooperative Work Experience course, please check first with the Veterans Office on campus. Benefits may not be available for some of the cooperative courses that are offered. Be careful of short-term classes; your benefits may be adversely affected.

IMPORTANT: If you are a liberal arts student and have had prior college please see the Veterans Coordinator.  There may be some restrictions regarding the courses you wish to take.

CHAPTER 31 (VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION) CLASSES: IMPORTANT! Each quarter it is important that you select classes that are required for graduation in your approved program. If you have any questions regarding a specific course please check with the counseling department on campus. If you desire to take a class that is not designated as a requirement please contact your VA counselor for approval. If you do not carefully select your classes you may wind up with a surprise overpayment.

REMEDIAL COURSES: If you sign up for remedial/deficiency courses we must have an authorization form signed by a counselor or instructor in your campus VA file which indicates that you MUST have these classes in order to be successful at SCC. You may obtain remedial authorization forms from our office.

SHORT TERM COURSES: Watch out for short term courses in the quarterly schedule. You could find yourself out of benefits for the quarter sooner than you expect and your break pay could be affected. The VA will only pay you for the dates you are actually in class.

TELECOURSES and ONLINE COURSES: You may enroll in telecourses and online courses if they are also used as requirements for graduation in your program. (Note: please know that some telecourses and online courses can have short term dates.)

GRADES: Please be aware that your final grades can affect your eligibility for benefits. Receiving a "Z", or "W" grade may cause a large overpayment with the VA. "F" grades with a last date of attendance reported by the instructor will also cause a large overpayment. You must earn an overall 2.0 GPA each quarter to remain in good standing with the VA. Please note the following:

1. Two quarters of GPA below 2.0 will result in GI Bill probation.
2. Three or more quarters of GPA below 2.0 will result in either a suspension of benefits by the VA or non-certification of GI Bill benefits until the completion of each quarter.

TUTORIAL ASSISTANCE: Available to all chapters. Please note that if you are having difficulty with a class you must exhaust the free tutorial hours provided in the Learning Center before you can access the VA tutorial program. You must be at least one half time and be in danger of failing. Confirmation of your potential failure must be documented by your instructor.

WORK-STUDY: Work-study is available for all chapters. At this time, the pay is $8.07 per hour (tax free). For information see the work-study fact sheet.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS: First, call the VA's toll free number and make certain they list your new address in their computer. Second, notify the post office so they may forward your checks. Third, please don't forget to notify the VA Office and Student Services on campus.

PLEASE REMEMBER: It takes the VA approximately 60 to 90 days to process your award, but if you haven't heard from them by the 6th week after we've submitted your claim please give them a call at 1-888-442-4551 and check on their progress!

We know there are a lot of "IMPORTANTS" in this information package but we provide them to protect you from overpayment situations and alert you to potential problems.  We wish you the very best in your experience at SCC!  Please don't hesitate to call or come in with any concerns you may have!  We're glad you are here and will do our best to help!

IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE PLEASE CONTACT:

Ana Roney
Veterans Coordinator
Spokane Community College
 1810 N. Greene Street
Spokane, WA 99207
 (509) 533-7027

7:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., M-F
(Summer hours vary)

Department of Veterans Affairs
P.O. Box 8888
Muskogee, OK 74402-8888
(for mailing purposes only)

VA Education
Phone: 1-888-442-4551