Veteran Education Benefits

FCTC Veterans Liaison

FCTC’s Veteran Liaison office is located in Building A in the Financial Aid office. Email at [email protected] or call (904)547-3502 or (904)547-3505. No appointments are needed for VA students.

FCTC’s Veteran Liaison serves as a liaison to the VA. Should you have any questions regarding your application status, pay delays or requesting documents, you will need to contact the Department of Veterans Affairs directly.

FCTC Veteran Assistance

SUBMIT YOUR FORM TO ACTIVATE YOUR BENEFITS

Active or retired members of our military can access the necessary forms online.

Go to: http://vets.gov

Please remember to print a copy to bring to our office! You will need to provide us with a printed copy of your online application form and a copy of your DD-214 (Member 4). You can complete paper forms in our office but be advised that paper forms take significantly longer for the VA Office to process.

First time using your benefits? Complete a 22-1990 form
Changing programs? Do a 22-1995 form
Dependents/Survivors (Chapter 35) need to complete a 22-5490 or 22-5495 if you are changing programs
If you would like to speak with the Central VA Office directly, call 1.888.442.4551

VETERANS BENEFITS AND TRANISITION ACT OF 2018

In accordance with Title 38 US Code 3679 subsection (e), this school adopts the following additional provisions for any students using U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Post 9/11 G.I. Bill (Ch. 33) or Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (Ch. 31) benefits, while payment to the institution is pending from the VA.

This school will not:

Prevent the student’s enrollment
Assess a late penalty fee to the student
Require the student to secure alternative or additional funding
Deny the student access to any resources (access to classes, libraries or other institutional facilities) available to other students who have satisfied their tuition and fee bills to the institution.

However, to qualify for this provision, students may be required to:

Produce the VA Certificate of Eligibility (COE) by the first day of class
Provide a written request to be certified
Provide additional information needed to properly certify the enrollment as described in other institutional policies.

ALL VA APPLICANTS ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE TRANSCRIPTS

The Veterans’ Assistance Office requires each school to evaluate prior training and education transcripts to determine if credit can be awarded for previous classes and/or experience. Veterans are required to provide transcripts from all schools attended, including military training. For students in a program at least 6 months long, you have a maximum of 12 weeks to submit transcripts to the Financial Aid Office. Students in short-term programs must submit their transcripts prior to certification. If you do not submit your transcripts, FCTC cannot certify your VA benefits and enrollment.

The program instructor will evaluate the VA student’s previous training and/or experience. Should credit(s) be accepted and/or granted, the VA student’s tuition and training time will be reduced proportionally. The student will receive notice of credit(s) allowed. Military transcripts can be accessed here: JST.DODED.mil

VERIFYING YOUR ENROLLMENT

It is the responsibility of the VA student to verify his or her enrollment each month. Starting with the last day of the month, students may verify their enrollment for that month by calling 877.823.2378.

*Chapter 33 Post 9/11 Veterans are not required to verify their attendance.

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1 STANDARD OF ATTENDANCE

An attendance detail will be pulled each month for the month prior to ensure that the Veteran is meeting the Veterans Satisfactory Attendance Policy.
Veterans in non-licensure programs must maintain 80% attendance each calendar month and follow the 6%, 12% and 18% student attendance procedure below. Veterans will receive a 30-day warning notification by email immediately following the month at which attendance falls below 80%. The VA will be notified of those Veterans who do not maintain 80% attendance for a second month and benefits will be terminated back to the date attendance fell below the 80%. Benefits will be terminated for a minimum of 30 days and will be reviewed for reinstatement during the monthly review following the 30 days. Veterans must meet 80% attendance during that review for benefits to be reinstated. Benefits will only be reinstated going forward. Veteran benefits will be terminated for a student that withdraws or is administratively withdrawn. The termination date will be effective the last day of attendance. Students must follow the Student Attendance Policy.

Veterans in licensure programs must maintain 90% attendance each calendar month and follow the 3%, 6% and 10% attendance procedure below. Veterans will receive a 30-day warning notification by email immediately following the month at which the attendance falls below 90%. The VA will be notified of those Veterans who do not maintain 90% attendance for a second month and benefits will be terminated back to the date attendance fell below the 90%. Benefits will be terminated for a minimum of 30 days and will be reviewed for reinstatement during the monthly review following the 30 days. Veterans must meet the 90% attendance during that review for benefits to be reinstated. Benefits will only be reinstated going forward. Veteran benefits will be terminated for a student that withdraws or is administratively withdrawn. The termination date will be effective the last day of attendance. Students must follow the Student Attendance Policy.

2 STANDARD OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS

VA students must maintain a minimum grade point average of not less than 2.0 GPA (C) each grading period to maintain benefits. Each VA student is expected to complete the program within the number of training hours (clock hours) approved by the Bureau of State Approving Agency for Veterans Training, Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The student will not receive VA benefits for any period of hours over the posted clock hours for the program. In addition, the student must meet any skill or technical requirement of his or her program.

Any student who has not attained and maintained satisfactory progress (2.0 GPA or better) at the end of any grading period will be placed on academic probation for the next grading period. If the student does not attain or maintain satisfactory progress at the end of the probationary period (semester), the student’s VA educational benefits will be terminated for unsatisfactory progress.

For more information regarding Veteran’s Benefits in Florida visit www.floridavets.org/

For more information regarding Veteran’s Education Benefits visit www.gibill.va.gov

INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PROHIBITION

FCTC does not provide any commission, bonus, or other incentive payment based directly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments or financial aid to any individual or entity engaged in recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions about awarding FSA program funds. Two types of activities are subject to the incentive compensation ban: securing enrollment (recruitment) and securing financial aid. No other activities are subject to the ban. The incentive compensation prohibition applies to all individuals with responsibility for recruitment or admission of students or making decisions about awarding FSA funds.

As stated by the VA, there is a distinction between recruitment activities that involve working with individual students and policy-level determinations that affect recruitment, admission, or the awarding of FSA funds. As stated by the VA, employees who have titles such as enrollment counselors, recruitment specialists, recruiters, and enrollment managers have sufficiently direct involvement in recruitment that the incentive compensation ban applies to them. Senior managers and executive level employees who are only involved in the development of policy and do not engage in individual student contact or the other covered activities. When other activities are coupled with recruitment or securing financial aid, FCTC only provides salaried positions without any bonus or compensation. In addition to their salaried positions, FCTC doesn’t have any bonus or compensation incentives to any staff, administration or faculty positions. Payments to persons or entities that undertake or have responsibility for recruitment and decisions related to securing financial aid are subject to the incentive compensation ban even if their work also includes other activities.

PROVISIONS FOR U.S. ARMED FORCES

MEMBERS AND FAMILY

In-state tuition rates for active duty service members and family attending public institutions

FCTC which is a public postsecondary school may not charge a member of the armed forces who is on active duty for a period of more than 30 days more than the school’s tuition rate for residents of the state. Similarly, the service member’s spouse and dependent children are entitled to the instate tuition rate.

In addition, if the service member, spouse, or dependent child pays the in-state tuition rate, FCTC must allow the person to continue to pay such a rate if the individual is continuously enrolled, even if there is a subsequent change in the permanent duty station of the service member to a location outside of the state.

Readmission of service members

FCTC will readmit a service member with the same academic status as he had when last attending the school or accepted for admission to the school. This requirement applies to any student who cannot attend school due to military service (see the definition in the margin). The student must notify the school of his military service and intention to return to school as follows:

Notification of military service.

The student (or an appropriate officer of the armed forces or official of the Department of Defense) must give oral or written notice of such service to FCTC as far in advance as is reasonable under the circumstances. This notice does not have to indicate whether the student intends to return to the school and may not be subject to any rule of timeliness. (Timeliness must be determined by the facts in each case.) Alternatively, at the time of readmission, the student may submit an attestation of military service that necessitated the student’s absence from the school. No notice is required if precluded by military necessity, such as service in operations that are classified or would be compromised by such notice.

Notification of intent to return to school.

The student must also give oral or written notice of her intent to return to FCTC within three years after the completion of the period of service. A student who is hospitalized or convalescing due to an illness or injury incurred or aggravated during the performance of service must notify the school within two years after the end of the period needed for recovery from the illness or injury. A student who fails to apply for readmission within these periods does not automatically forfeit eligibility for readmission but is subject to the school’s established leave of absence policy and general practices.

FCTC designates the Financial Aid Administrators to be contacted by the student to provide notification of service and notification of intent to return. FCTC will promptly readmit the student into the next class or classes in the program beginning after he provides notice of intent to re-enroll, unless he requests a later date or unusual circumstances require the school to admit him later. This requirement supersedes state law—for example, a school must readmit a qualifying service member to the next class even if that class is at the maximum enrollment level set by the state.

FCTC will admit the student with the same academic status, which means to the same program to which the student was last admitted. At the same enrollment status, unless the student wants to enroll at a different enrollment status; with the same number of credit hours or clock hours previously completed, unless the student is readmitted to a different program to which the completed credit hours or clock hours are not transferable, and with the same academic standing (e.g., with the same satisfactory academic progress status) the student previously had.

Termination for bad conduct

A student’s readmission rights terminate in the case of a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge, general court-martial, federal or state prison sentence, or other reasons as described in 34 CFR 668.18(h). Reasonable efforts to help prepare student If the school determines that the student is not prepared to resume the program with the same academic status at the point where she left off or will not be able to complete the program, the school must make reasonable efforts at no extra cost to help her become prepared or to enable her to complete the program. This includes providing refresher courses and allowing the student to retake a pretest at no extra cost. FCTC is not required to readmit the student if it determines that there are no reasonable efforts it can take to prepare her to resume the program at the point where she left off or to enable her to complete the program, or that after it makes reasonable efforts (those that do not place an undue hardship on the institution), the student is not prepared to resume or complete the program.

“Undue hardship” means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense when considered considering the overall financial resources of the institution and the impact otherwise of such action on the operation of the institution. The school has the burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the student is not prepared to resume the program with the same academic status at the point where she left off or that she will not be able to complete the program.

If the student is readmitted to the same program, for the first academic year in which he returns, FCTC will assess the tuition and fee charges that he was or would have been assessed for the academic year during which he left the school. However, if his veteran’s education benefits or other service member education benefits will pay the higher tuition and fee charges that other students in the program are paying for the year, the school may assess those charges to the student as well. If the student is admitted to a different program, and for subsequent academic years for a student admitted to the same program, the school must assess no more than the tuition and fee charges that other students in the program are assessed for that academic year. Only the time the student spends performing service is counted.

OTHER SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE

FCTC encourages veterans to pursue additional sources of aid. Please explore other areas of the financial aid section of our website to find guidance on seeking supplemental funds. Funds or more information regarding Veteran’s Benefits in Florida: http://www.floridavets.org. For more information regarding Veteran’s Education Benefits: https://benefits.va.gov/gibill/.

On April 27, 2012, the President signed Executive Order 13607- Establishing Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and Other Family Members. The Executive Order may be viewed at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-05-02/pdf/2012-10715.pdf.