The Veteran's Administration has specific requirements for students to meet in order to remain eligible for benefits. Please ensure you meet all requirements, and contact Western Iowa Tech if you have any questions or run into any issues.

All Students must notify the Veterans Certifying Official when they:

  • Wish to receive benefits for a semester or enrollment period.
  • Add or drop any course.
  • Change address. (Student must also notify the VA directly.)
  • Withdraw from or terminate enrollment at Western Iowa Tech.
  • Change graduation date.
  • Change major.
  • Receive notice from the VA that eligibility for benefits has expired.

Credit hour requirements:

 

 Semester
Full-time 12
3/4 time 9-11
1/2 time 6-8
Less than 1/2 1-5

**Student status for summer is based on a combination of course meeting dates and credits enrolled as defined by the VA.

Please Note:

  • Courses meeting for only part of a term (i.e. first half term, second half term) count for benefits only for the portion of the semester in which the course is being taught.
  • 11.5 credits will not be certified as full-time.
  • Repeating a course that was taken either at Western Iowa Tech or another institution may result in a retroactive loss of benefits.

Special Considerations

  1. Students in the following categories must contact the Certifying Official for special instructions:
    • Repeating a course in which the previous grade was a D- or better.
    • Enrolled in short courses (certification will only be for actual duration of the course).
    • Concurrently enrolled at two educational institutions.
  2. Veterans enrolled at less than 1/2 time receive benefits for tuition and fees only.
  3. A withdrawal from Western Iowa Tech or a course drop may result in retroactive loss of benefits. The reduction in training time reverts back to the beginning date of enrollment for that semester unless VA finds mitigating circumstances in the case of withdrawals and drops. VA benefit recipients who drop or withdraw will be responsible for providing any documentation of mitigating circumstances to the VA.
    Mitigating circumstances as defined by VA include:
    • Serious illness of veteran or eligible person.
    • Serious illnesses or death in immediate family.
    • Immediate family or financial obligation that requires a change in terms, hours, or place of employment.
    • Discontinuance of a course by a school.
    • Active military duty.
    • Veteran or eligible person demonstrates good faith pursuit in the course to point of withdrawal and submits evidence that, through counseling, an attempt was made to remedy the unsatisfactory work with withdrawal.
    • Any other circumstances hindering progress that are out of the student's control.
  4. Incomplete (I) grades and non-report (N) grades must be converted to credit grades according to college policy or benefits for that course will be terminated which may result in an overpayment liability. Undergraduate incomplete grades are converted to F grades according to college policy.
  5. Non-punitive Grades (grades or marks not calculated into the G.P.A.) - a NP (Not Pass) grade received when taking a course under the P-NP option will be considered non-punitive and may result in retroactive loss of benefits received for that course.
  6. Tutorial assistance may be available to students enrolled at least half-time. Contact the Veterans Certifying Officials for additional information. Western Iowa Tech provides tutoring at no cost by contacting the Comet Learning Center.