All educational benefits recipients must submit your Semester Enrollment Form each semester to receive your benefits.

An overpayment is an incorrect benefit payment that is more than the amount to which you are entitled. If you promptly notify the university's Veteran's Services staff of changes affecting your benefits, you can prevent or reduce overpayments.

In addition, you should use reasonable judgment when you accept and cash a check. Carefully read all letters from the VA about the monthly rate and effective dates of your benefits. If you think a VA check is wrong, contact the VA before cashing the check. Return any checks for too much money to the VA.

If you cash a check for the wrong amount, you will be liable for repayment of any resulting overpayment.

If you apply for financial aid with the University Financial Aid Office and complete the FAFSA, you must declare your veteran benefits on the FAFSA or you will be liable for repayment of an overpayment.

To request an extension of your eligibility period for using your Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty (Chapter 30) benefits, send us a letter requesting your extension based on one of the following:

• You have served a later period of active duty of 90 consecutive days or more;
• You have experienced an illness or disability that prevented you from attending school.
• You were detained by a foreign government or power after your last discharge or release from active duty.

If you served a later period of active duty, please provide:

• A copy of your orders ordering you to active duty;or A copy of your DD214 releasing you from active duty.
• Send the necessary documents to your local Regional Processing Office.

If you experienced a disability or illness that prevented you from training, give us as much information as possible about the condition that kept you from training. Tell us:

• The type of disability or illness you're claiming.
• The exact beginning and ending dates (mm-dd-yyyy) of the period during which you couldn't go to school or attend training because of your disability. (If this period lasted less than 30 days, tell us why you couldn't enroll in school or had to withdraw from school.)
• The reason(s) you were unable to begin or continue a training program.
• The type of each job you held during the period of your disability.
• The name and address of each employer, and the beginning and ending dates and the weekly hours of each job.

Also, it is very important that you send us a statement from the doctor who treated you. The doctor should tell us:

• His or her diagnosis and treatment,
• How long you've had the disability or illness,
• The exact beginning and ending dates (mm-dd-yyyy) of the period during which your disability prevented you from training or going to school.

You should also send us any other medical evidence you have, such as hospital reports or laboratory test results relating to your condition.

Send the necessary documents to your local Regional Processing Office.

If you have additional questions, please use the "Ask a Question" feature on our web site (in the Questions and Answers section) or call 1-888-GI-BILL-1 [(888) 442-4551] .

When a student terminates or reduces after the drop period and a nonpunitive grade is assigned, mitigating circumstances become an issue. If mitigating circumstances are needed and adequate evidence of mitigating circumstances isn't received, VA will not pay for the course or courses in question. Also note that the examples given are not the only acceptable circumstances the VA will accept as mitigating.

Mitigating Circumstances

Mitigating circumstances are circumstances beyond the student's control that prevent the student from continuing in school or that cause the student to reduce credits. Examples are:

• An illness or death in the student's immediate family.
• An illness or injury afflicting the student during the enrollment period.
• An unavoidable change in the student's conditions of employment.
• An unavoidable geographical transfer resulting from the student's employment.
• Immediate family or financial obligations beyond the control of the claimant that require him or her to suspend pursuit of the program of education to obtain employment.
• Discontinuance of the course by the school.
• Unanticipated active military service, including active duty for training.
• Unanticipated difficulties with childcare arrangements the student has made for the period during which he or she is attending classes.

When a student terminates or reduces after the drop period and a nonpunitive grade is assigned, mitigating circumstances are an issue. If mitigating circumstances are needed and adequate evidence of mitigating circumstances isn't received, VA will not pay for the course or courses in question. If the student has already been paid for the course or courses, VA will create an overpayment (subject to the 6-Credit Hour Exclusion described below) from the beginning of the term.

6-Credit Hour Exclusion

VA automatically grants mitigating circumstances for up to 6 credits the first time a student reduces or terminates and mitigating circumstances must be considered. This automatic grant is called the 6-Credit Hour Exclusion. The exclusion is a onetime grant made the first time mitigating circumstances must be considered for the student. Up to 6 credits can be excluded if the student has been awarded benefits for the credit. The 6-Credit Hour Exclusion cannot be granted if the student completes the term and receives nonpunitive grades.

• If the student withdraws from 3 credits, the exclusion will be granted for 3 credits and the student's one time exclusion is used.
• If the student withdraws from 12 credits, the exclusion will be granted for 6 credits, the student's one time exclusion is used, and the student must provide mitigating circumstances for the other 6 credits.

We have created a web page with information about the New GI Bill or visit the VA GI Bill page for more information.

Check this comparison of education benefit programs from the VA.

Under the Montgomery GI Bill the VA considers 12 semester credits to be full-time enrollment. If you are enrolled for more than 12 credits during the Spring or Fall semester, the VA will only pay you for up to 12 full-time credits.

We have received word from the VA, noting that they will pay for more than 12 credits per semester. The policy at this time is that the VA will pay up to the number of credits you may take at the University without special permission from the University. Here at the University, the number of credits you may take without permission is 18.

If you have already begun a semester and are deployed or called to active duty, you have three options available.

• You may withdraw completely with out penalties and receive a W grade for each of your classes, or:
• You may take incomplete "I" grades for your classes. You will have one year upon your return to complete the classes and change the "I" to a letter grade
• You may use a combination of withdrawing and taking W grades for some classes and taking Incomplete grades for others.

Please see the Nevada System of Higher Education policy on deployment.

Yes, but prior approval must received from the State Approving Agency (SAA). At this time all dual degrees must have prior approval by the SAA before a student can pursue a dual degree. Please see our Dual Degree page for information and instructions on requesting approval.

The VA will pay for a minor only if the minor is a requirement as part of your major. For example: All majors in the College of Liberal Arts require a minor and the VA will pay for those classes that are part of the minor requirement.

Courses that are failed, or for which the grade does not meet minimum requirements for their major or graduation, or credit was not earned may be repeated and be certified for VA purposes. Courses that are successfully completed may not be repeated and be eligible to receive VA benefits. If students must take additional courses in order to raise their GPA to graduate, the courses must be ones that have not already been successfully completed by the student.

No. The VA will not pay for an audited class.

No. The VA will not pay for a PEX class as most PEX classes are not required for any program. There are exceptions for certain programs such as Teaching Physical Education.

Yes, but there are limitations. VA benefits can be paid for enrollments up to one year before the date VA receives a student's application. The date stamp put on the student's application determines the one-year date.

Tutorial assistance is available if you are receiving VA educational assistance at the half-time or more rate and have a deficiency in a subject making tutoring necessary. If you have questions on this program please contact the VA directly at their toll-free number 1-888-GI-BILL-1 [(888) 442-4551] . Tutorial assistance is not available under REAP (Chapter 1607) benefit program.

You may also contact our University Tutoring Center by visiting their website. 

The VA pays education benefits for nonstandard enrollment periods based on credit equivalents. The school will report the actual number of credits and the beginning and ending dates of the nonstandard term. Please see view Enrollment Calculations.

Most veterans and their next-of-kin can obtain free copies of their DD Form 214 (Report of Separation) and other military and medical records several ways. Visit the National Archives website to begin the process.

Yes. The VA will pay for VA approved tests. A list of the approved tests and the procedure for having the VA pay for them is located on the GI Bill National Testing Program page.

Break (Interval) pay between semesters, quarters, and terms is paid according to the rules outlined below. Breaks are paid at the rate paid on the ending date of the term preceding the break. VA pays breaks automatically unless one of the following restrictions precludes payment for the break.

Restrictions on Break Pay. The VA will not pay for the break if:

• The break is more than 8 weeks.
• The term before or after the break is shorter than the break.
• Training time the last day of the preceding semester, quarter, or term is less than 1/2-time.
• The student withdrew from all courses during the preceding semester, or Summer term.
• The student's entitlement will exhaust and not paying the break is to the student's advantage.
• The student requests no pay for a break before payment for the break is authorized.
• The student is on active duty.

Please see our Enrollment Information page for more information.