Veterans Benefits - �ۿ۴�ý

Overview

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website.

If you are eligible for federal VA benefits (see list below), please email your Letter of Eligibility (COE) or your notice of basic eligibility (NOBE) to hhb@bradley.edu. If you need additional information about entitlement programs, please visit the VA website. �ۿ۴�ý does not accept the Illinois Veterans Grant or the Illinois National Guard Scholarship.

Accepted VA Benefit Programs

The Post-9/11 GI Bill® provides financial support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service on or after September 11, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days. You must have received an honorable discharge to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill®. For more information please visit:

�ۿ۴�ý is a Yellow Ribbon Program participant.

The MGIB program provides up to 36 months of education benefits. This benefit may be used for degree and certificate programs, flight training, apprenticeship/on-the-job training and correspondence courses. Remedial, deficiency, and refresher courses may be approved under certain circumstances. Generally, benefits are payable for 10 years following your release from active duty. This program is also commonly known as Chapter 30. For more information please visit:

The MGIB-SR program may be available to you if you are a member of the Selected Reserve. The Selected Reserve includes the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve and Coast Guard Reserve, and the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard.

You may use this education assistance program for degree programs, certificate or correspondence courses, cooperative training, independent study programs, apprenticeship/on-the-job training, and vocational flight training programs. Remedial, refresher and deficiency training are available under certain circumstances. Eligibility for this program is determined by the Selected Reserve components. VA makes the payments for this program. For more information please visit:

Dependents’ Educational Assistance provides education and training opportunities to eligible dependents of certain veterans. The program offers up to 45 months of education benefits. These benefits may be used for degree and certificate programs, apprenticeship, and on-the-job training. For more information on eligibility please visit:

The mission of VR&E is to help veterans with service-connected disabilities to prepare for, find, and keep suitable jobs. For veterans with service-connected disabilities so severe that they cannot immediately consider work, VR&E offers services to improve their ability to live as independently as possible.

To receive an evaluation for VR&E services, a veteran must:

have received, or will receive, a discharge that is other than dishonorable
have a service-connected disability rating of at least 10%
submit a completed application for VR&E services

The basic period of eligibility in which VR&E services may be used is 12 years from the latter of the following:

date of separation from active military service, or
date the veteran was first notified by VA of a service-connected disability rating

For more information regarding this benefit please contact:

Dr. Stephanie L. Sleister, LCPC United States Department of Veteran Affairs Peoria Vet Center 5015 W. American Prairie Drive, Peoria, IL 61615 (312) 286-5708 Stephanie.Sleister@va.gov

Federal Tuition Assistance (FTA)

Federal Tuition Assistance (FTA) is a benefit paid by the U.S. Department of Defense
(DoD) to cover tuition costs for eligible active-duty, Reserve, and National Guard service
members while they serve. Service members are encouraged to consult with their
Educational Services Officer (ESO) or a counselor within their Military Branch of Service
before enrolling.

�ۿ۴�ý Federal Tuition Assistance Policy
The Department of Defense (DoD) has mandated a uniform Federal Tuition Assistance
(FTA) fiscal policy across the service branches which include Army, Air Force, Marines
and Navy.

The FTA program pays for tuition only.

All four service branches and the U.S. Coast Guard offer financial assistance for
voluntary, off-duty education programs in support of service members’ personal and
professional goals. The program is open to officers, warrant officers and enlisted active-
duty service personnel. In addition, members of the National Guard and Reserve
Components may be eligible for FTA based on their service eligibility. To be eligible for
FTA, an enlisted service member must have enough time remaining in service to
complete the course for which he or she has applied. After the completion of a course,
an officer using FTA must fulfill a service obligation that runs parallel with – not in
addition to – any existing service obligation.

The Federal Tuition Assistance Program may fund up to 100% of your college tuition
and certain fees with the following limits:

Not to exceed $250 per semester credit hour
Not to exceed $4,500 per fiscal year (October 1 through September 30)
Annual credit hour cap (up to 18 semester hours per year)
Students may receive FTA payments for no more than a lifetime total of 130
undergraduate semester hours and 39 graduate semester hours.

To ensure all service members participating in off-duty, postsecondary education
programs are provided quality education programs, the Department of Defense
established the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between DOD and the colleges.
�ۿ۴�ý is a participating institution in the DoD MOU Program.

To become eligible for Federal Tuition Assistance (FTA) at �ۿ۴�ý all
Service Members must receive approval from their Educational Services Officer
(ESO) or counselor within their Military Service prior to enrolling for classes.
Service Members who fail to receive approval for FTA prior to enrollment will be
obligated to pay the amount due for the costs of tuition and fees.

Employees of �ۿ۴�ý are not responsible for the submission and approval of
FTA requests made by Service Members.
Establish an ArmyIgnitED Account and do the following:

Create Education Goal
Complete Annual Virtual Benefits Training (first time users only)
Meet with your academic advisor.
Register for classes. (If approval has been received from an Educational
Services Officer (ESO) or counselor.
Once the Education Goal is approved by your Education Center, login to your
ArmyIgnited account and create a Tuition Assistance Request.

After your FTA has been approved, contact Ms. Heather Berkley, VA School Certifying
Official, Office of the Registrar at hhb@bradley.edu. All military FTA must be
requested and approved prior to the start date of the course(s).

VA Offices

Within Illinois
(800) 437-9824
Out-of-State
(217) 782-6641
(217) 524-4645

Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs
833 South Spring Street
P.O. Box 19432
Springfield, IL 62794-9432
(217) 782-6641
(217) 524-0344

Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs
James R. Thompson Center
100 West Randolph, Suite 5-570
Chicago, IL 60601-3219
(312) 814-2460
(312) 814-2764

Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs
Tiffany R. Perry
Veterans’ Education Specialist
State Approving Agency for VETS
1551 N. Kedzie Ave.
Chicago, IL 60651
(773) 292-2789
(773) 292-2790

Department of Veterans’ Affairs
Buffalo Regional Office
P.O. Box 4616
Buffalo, NY 14240-4616

Work Study Program

If you’re a full-time or 3/4-time student in a college degree program, or a vocational or professional program, you can “earn while you learn” with a VA work-study allowance.

Students must be assigned to work sites that will permit them to perform VA related activities. These work sites include, but are not limited to: Regional Offices, VA Medical Centers, Vet Centers, VA Outpatient Clinics, National Cemeteries, and local education institutions. If assigned to a non-VA work site, the student’s primary employment responsibilities must be to perform VA related outreach assignments. More information regarding eligibility is available on .

APPLY Visit/TOUR request information

Additional Links

For questions regarding VA benefits, certification of enrollment or payment issues contact:

Tuition Assistance

The Montgomery GI Bill® – Active Duty education program permits VA to pay a Tuition Assistance Top- up benefit. The amount of the benefit can be equal to the difference between the total cost of a college course and the amount of Tuition Assistance that is paid by the military for the course.

To be eligible for the Top-up benefit, the person must be approved for federal Tuition Assistance by a military department and be eligible for MGIB Active Duty benefits. To be eligible for MGIB benefits, the person must be an MGIB – Active Duty participant and must have served at least two full years on active duty.

The amount of the benefit is limited to the amount that the person would receive for the same course if regular MGIB benefits were being paid. In no case can the amount paid by the military combined with the amount paid by VA be more than the total cost of the course. If a person receives the Top-up benefit, his or her regular MGIB benefits will be reduced. The amount of entitlement charged for Top-up payments is determined by dividing the amount of the payment by the claimant’s fulltime monthly rate.

The benefit is available for all courses that began on or after October 30, 2000. A copy of the Tuition Assistance Authorization form for the course that has been signed by an authorized military official will be required. People who have not requested MGIB benefits before should submit a VA Form 22-1990 to establish eligibility. The Top-up program is not available at this time to persons who are eligible for the MGIB Selected Reserve program. More information is available on VA’s website.

Additional Resources

Students who during the course of an academic term are called into active military service, (including National Guard and Reserve active duty) need to follow the guidelines established for withdrawing from the University.

Policy on Military Service and Student Withdrawal Procedure

The evaluation and possible placement of military credit at �ۿ۴�ý will be completed based on the branch of military served and submission of the appropriate “Institutional Copy” of a transcript(s) listed below:

AARTS (Army/ACE Transcripts System)
CCAF (Community College of the Air Force)
DANTES, CLEP & DSST exam score submissions if applicable

�ۿ۴�ý refers to the American Council of Education (ACE) Guide when evaluating credit for Military Course Completions described on the SMART and AARTS transcript.

�ۿ۴�ý does not award credit for Military Experience (Occupational Specialties) when evaluating SMART and AARTS transcripts. Credit is also not awarded for basic training.

Students please send official transcripts directly to:

�ۿ۴�ý Office of Undergraduate Admissions 1501 W �ۿ۴�ý Ave Peoria, IL 61625