FAQs for Ch.33

Once you have registered for your classes, you must contact the Veteran and Military Affairs office in the McCord-Herbst Student Veteran Center to complete a New Student Intake and your Certificate of Eligibility (COE), which will be sent to you directly from the VA after you apply for your benefits.  This is the form that states your percentage of eligibility as well as your months of entitlement.  You will also need to submit a Request for Enrollment Verification (REV).  This form informs us that you want to use your benefits for the upcoming term and can be found in your student portal under the Records and Registration menu. For more information, please visit the VMA website.

**Please note we only need you to submit your COE once (unless your percentage changes), but we need you to submit a new REV for every term you want to use your benefits**

Once these documents are received, the VMA will submit your initial Certification of Enrollment to the VA.  This initiates any benefits payable directly to the student (BAH and Book/Supply Stipend, if eligible) from the VA.

Next, enrollment certification information is provided to the Office of 3rd Party Sponsor Billing and a conditional credit will be placed on your student account for the estimated amount the VA will pay based on the eligibility stated on your COE.  If we have not yet received a copy of your COE UCCS will certify your enrollment to the VA but the Office of 3rd Party Sponsor Billing will not place a conditional credit on your student account until received.  Once the census period is over, the Office of 3rd Party Sponsor Billing will submit the final Certification of Enrollment to the VA, providing them with the final tuition and fee amounts to initiate payment to the school.  All schedule changes will be submitted to the VA after the census date.

Yes, the VA requires Certification of Enrollment every semester you intend to use your Ch.33 Post 9/11 GI BILL benefits to cover your tuition and fees.  This means you must submit a new REV every term.

You must turn in all required paperwork, including the certificate of eligibility and be certified in the UCCS Veteran and Military Affairs office office on or prior to the first tuition payment due date/census date of every semester.  If you are not certified, or the Office of 3rd Party Sponsor Billing has not received your certification information by this date in every term, you are subject to late and service charges until your REV or a copy of your certificate of eligibility are received.  The student will be responsible to pay any late and service charges assessed, as these costs are not covered by Ch.33 Post 9/11 GI Bill.

If the VA will pay less than 100% for your Ch. 33 benefit, you need to pay your portion of the bill in full or enroll in a payment plan prior to the first payment due date of the term.  If your portion is not paid you will be responsible for any late and service charges that accrue on the student account.

Effective January 5^th, 2021, all tuition and fee debts must be returned to the VA by the school. These debts, also known as “overpayments,” typically stem from students dropping or reducing their credits after the first day of the term. Once the school reports any credit changes to the VA, the VA will mail the school a debt letter. Classes dropped during the census period do not typically generate a balance on the student account. Classes dropped after the census period will create a balance on the student account as we must reverse the portion of the Ch. 33 payment that is owed back to the VA. You will receive an email notification of any new balance and will have 30 days to make the payment.

If you have a mitigating circumstance that led to the drop (i.e. illness or injury, change in work schedule), please notify the VMA Office and the Office of 3rd Party Sponsor Billing immediately as the VA may reduce your debt based upon the mitigating circumstance. Please note that your debt will not be eliminated, only reduced. You will have two weeks from the date of the drop to notify the school and provide documentation of the mitigating circumstance, otherwise the VA will be notified of your change in enrollment without a mitigating circumstance.

**Please note your BAH may be impacted by credit reductions.  You must submit a drop request form before dropping any classes after the term census date**

If you add a class after that class has already started, and you have not attended the class since the first day, the VA will not pay for the full cost of that course.  The VA will send the school a prorated payment and we will be forced to reverse the conditional credit on your account based upon the amount of the underpayment.  You will receive a letter in the mail notifying you of the underpayment and you will have 30 days to pay the remaining balance.

It is very important to remember that any changes to your schedule after the first day of the term will likely result in you owing money either to the school or the VA.  Please contact the Office of 3rd Party Sponsor Billing at 719-255-3739 before changing your schedule so you are aware of any financial impact those changes may have.

UCCS Office of 3rd Party Sponsor Billing subtracts COF (for those who are eligible) before submitting tuition and fee information to the VA.  Meaning, the VA will pay tuition minus COF, as long as the student is eligible to receive COF funds.  This is requested by the VA and the UCCS leadership team, as COF is defined as direct funding to undergraduate students from the State of Colorado in the form of a stipend paid to the school directly.  The stipend is used to reduce down the student share of tuition charged by the school.  If the student chooses not to use the COF toward their bill, the student is financially responsible to pay for any remaining balance on their student account by the published due dates to avoid late and service charges.

For more information on COF and how to apply and authorize please see the following page:

https://www.cu.edu/ums/cof/faq.html

No, Ch.33 GI Bill is always considered the last payer on your account outside of Financial Aid.  This payment priority is required by the VA and UCCS will notify other 3rd party sponsors of any Ch.33 benefits being received.

The exception to the use of multiple sources of  funding is if you are not eligible for 100% tuition and fees under Ch.33 Post 9/11 GI Bill, you can use an additional source of 3rd party to fill the remaining amount due up to 100% of tuition and fees.

Example:  Ch.33 covers 60% tuition and fees.  You can use CO National Guard (federal or state) to pay their portion first, and Ch. 33 will pay 60% of the remaining balance.

If receiving federal funds from any of the following programs:

• Reserve Officers Training (ROTC)
• Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA)
• Health Professionals Scholarship Program (HPSP)
• Government Employees' Training Act (GETA)

The VA requires UCCS, and all Ch.33 schools, to report the amount of tuition and fees initially charged to the individual after deducting any amounts paid with the above listed Federal Funds.

This is because you have not provided UCCS with a copy of your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from the VA or your Request for Enrollment Verification for the current term.  If you have submitted the necessary paperwork and you still do not see a conditional credit on your account by first day of the term, please contact the VMS immediately as they may need additional paperwork for you.

• The VA will only pay for in-state rates; students being charged as non-residents will be responsible for the difference.  Please contact Admission & Records at 719-255-3361 for more information about your residency.  If you are a non-resident student you may be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon program.  Please contact the VMS at 719-255-3253, option 1 for more information.
• The VA will only pay for classes that are part of your degree plan.  It is very important that you meet with your student advisor before registering for classes every semester.  Just because you think a course should count towards your degree plan doesn’t mean it will.  If you want to take a class that is not part of your degree plan please let us know as soon as possible so we do not accidentally certify it with the VA.
• Monitor your student account.  If you have a balance on your account that doesn’t look right, there may be an issue (i.e. non-resident charges, COF not authorized, courses ineligible for certification).  Please contact UCCS immediately with any questions you have about a balance on your account.  Any balance that the VA does not pay is ultimately the student’s responsibility.
• If you have any questions about your Ch. 33 benefits or your student account, please contact 3rd Party Billing at 719-255-3330 or at vabillng@uccs.edu