Certification Process Changes -- ADDED 4/29/2013
Effective with the Fall 2013 semester, the University will adopt the dual certification process used by other universities, so that we can more efficiently process initial student registrations into the Department of Veterans Affairs system (VAOnce).
How the process will work and what it means to you as a GI Bill recipient:
- Initial certification to VAOnce will be for enrolled credit hours only, to allow the VA to begin the processing of students' BAH and book stipends. We will begin submitting certifications for Fall 2013 on July 10.
Once the initial certification is complete, adjustments and new registrations will be submitted at regular intervals during the summer.
It is very important that you register before July 10 to ensure you are included in the initial certification.
- Second stage certification will begin after the session drop/add date, at which time tuition and fees will be added to the certification, allowing the VA to begin the second disbursement to ODU directly.
- Any change to your schedule after certification may result in a financial impact to you, so it is important that you finalize your schedule as early as possible.
- The tuition deadline will be deferred for all certified VA students to allow time for the VA to process the second stage certification of your credit hours, tuition and fees.
- All students receiving GI Bill benefits should check the ODU e-mail on a regular basis for any updated communications.
Q: Do I need a new Veterans Clearance Form?
A: In most cases, no. If you ask us not to certify your summer registrations with the VA, you will need to submit a new Veterans Clearance Form for the Fall semester to restart your certifications. This form should be submitted before July 10 to ensure timely processing of your Fall certification.
If you have any questions about your payment status, benefit eligibility, remaining benefits, or how BAH will be paid out, please contact the VA at 1-888-442-4551.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the University's certification procedures, please contact us at vaservices@odu.edu.
*************************************************************************************************************
Summer 2013 Benefits -- ADDED 3/21/2013
The VA has provided the following information on how your benefits will be calculated for the Summer 2013 sessions. For those of you who attended last summer, the requirements should seem familiar.
ODU offers five academic summer sessions of varying length. These sessions are as follows:
- Session 1 - May 20-July 2
- Session 2 - May 28-June 27
- Session 3 - May 20-August 15 (summer long courses and condensed courses-based on course start and end dates)
- Session 4 - July 3-August 15
- Session 5 - July 8-August 7
Because ODU's summer academic sessions vary in length, the VA has determined the following undergraduate and graduate credit hour requirements that will determine your level of eligibility for BAH disbursement:
Undergraduate students:
| Session |
Number of weeks in session |
Number of credit hours for 100% BAH |
Minimum credit hours for BAH eligibility |
|
1 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
|
2 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
|
3 |
12 |
9 |
5 |
|
4 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
|
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
Graduate students:
| Session |
Number of weeks in session |
Number of credit hours for 100% BAH |
Minimum credit hours for BAH eligibility |
|
1 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
|
2 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
|
3 |
12 |
7 |
4 |
|
4 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
|
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
The ODU Military Educational Benefits Certification Unit does not determine the eligibility level or date of disbursement, and we do not have information to answer specific BAH and book stipend-related questions.
For your convenience, we have posted the BAH guidelines provided by the VA, below. The VA will be utilizing these guidelines to determine summer BAH eligibility.
If you have any specific questions about how BAH will be paid out for these sessions, or how overlapping sessions will be calculated, please contact the VA at 1-888-442-4551.
BAH Guidelines from Veterans Affairs:
"The following is provided in the most general of terms.
Firstly, you must attend classes at a rate of pursuit of at least 51% (more than half-time) in order to be eligible for a housing stipend at all. The VA considers a number of factors when determining if someone is full time, three quarter time, or half time. Basically what we do is determine the number of credits that you have been certified as being enrolled for. Then, we determine the length of the term you are enrolled in. Finally, we have to verify if the training facility that you are enrolled in is a semester or quarter school. If the school is a semester school, we consider a standard term to be 15-19 weeks; if it is a quarter school, we consider a standard term to be 10-13 weeks. Any course outside of these standard lengths is adjusted to equivalent credit hours to determine training time.
For undergraduate programs which are standard semesters or quarters, in most cases, 12 credits or more is considered to be full time, 9, 10 or 11 credits are considered to be 3/4 time, 6, 7, 8 credits would be considered to be 1/2 time, 4 or 5 credits would be considered less than 1/2 time, and enrollment in 1 2 or 3 credits would be 1/4 time.
For non-standard terms or quarters, equivalent credit hours are used to determine your rate of pursuit. The formula is the following:
Credit hours you are attending times 18 weeks (semester) or 12 weeks (quarter). This result divided by the actual number of weeks in your term equals your equivalent credit hours. This divided by what your school considers full-time for your program equals your rate of pursuit.
CRH's attending x 18 or 12 weeks = X
X / # of weeks in your term = ECR
ECR / schools full-time measure = ROP
Once your eligibility for BAH is established, the BAH rate paid is based on the zip code of your school. Current rates can be found at https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm. The rate is based on an E-5 grade with dependents. This rate will be prorated by your eligibility percentage if less than 100%. This rate is further prorated based on your rate of pursuit (training-time). For example, if you attend class at 3/4 time the BAH rate will be prorated by .80% which is your training-time rounded to the nearest tenth (rate of pursuit equal to .75% is rounded to .80%). Additionally, if you attend online classes only, you are only entitled to 50% of the national average which is currently $684.00 before all other proration factors are considered.
If all classes within a term do not start and begin on the same dates, this will affect your rate of pursuit for each time-frame within that term.
Please keep in mind that the resulting BAH rate is paid for each full month of attendance. You will receive a prorated payment for any partial month's attendance. As of August 1, 2011 breaks between terms are no longer paid."
*************************************************************************************************************
Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation Recipients
- Parking Decals -- parking authorizations are sent by the Registrar's Office to the Parking and Transportation Services office
- Books and Supplies -- you may pick up your books and supplies from the University Bookstore three weeks before the semester begins. Bookstore vouchers are no longer needed.
*************************************************************************************************************
Deployment or Mobilization of Currently Enrolled Students
All active duty military students who are unable to complete course requirements due to change in employment duties, work schedule, or deployment to a duty assignment may be administratively withdrawn from current semester courses. Students are required to furnish a copy of their military orders to the Office of the University Registrar. The Registrar's Office will maintain records of administrative withdrawals performed under this policy.
For complete information, please refer to Old Dominion University Policy #3101--Exceptions to Normal Policies and Procedures Due to Military Mobilizations (can be found in the University Catalog), and consult the Veterans Affairs Services staff at (757) 683-4425 or e-mail vaservices@odu.edu.
