GI Bill Eligibility for VA educational benefits is determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Muskogee, Oklahoma. More information may be obtained online at www.gibill.va.gov . Students eligible to receive VA educational benefits must submit a copy of their schedule to the college’s VA Coordinator. Any change in your program or schedule must be promptly reported. The student must provide a copy of the certificate of eligibility to the VA Coordinator upon enrollment at the college. Additionally, all veterans must provide a copy of their DD-214. The DD-214 ideally should be the Member-4 copy.

Getting Started

After gaining admission to Temple College, students should go to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website  to begin the process of applying for VA benefits. If you are a veteran transferring from another school, you must fill out Form 22-1995  “Change of Program or Place of Training.” If you are a family member or dependent, you must fill out Form 22-5495  “Change of Program or Place of Training.” The following documents should be presented to the college’s VA Coordinator when making application for VA benefits:

  • DD Form 214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty
  • VA Certificate of Eligibility
  • Copy of current semester/term college class schedule returning students
Useful Forms

Contact Info

One College Centre, 2nd floor

Magen McCauley
Veterans Affairs Technician
magen.mccauley@templejc.edu

Phone: 254-298-8310
Fax: 254-298-8288

VA Benefit Programs 

Chapter 30 Montgomery GI Bill active duty or veteran status

Montgomery GI Bill / Chapter 30 active duty or veteran status must have served in the United States Armed Forces and participated in the GI Bill program. In most instances, veterans must also have been honorably discharged. Veterans must complete Form 22-1990 online.The student must provide a copy of the certificate of eligibility to the Temple College VA Coordinator upon enrollment at the college.

Chapter 31 Veteran Readiness and Employment (service-connected disability)

Service-connected disabled veterans must apply with a VA caseworker to have rehabilitation plan developed indicating a Temple College degree plan. For more information on eligibility and the application process, visit the Veterans Readiness and Employments website.

The student must provide an approval of benefits generated by the vocational rehabilitation counselor to the Temple College VA Coordinator upon enrollment at the college.

Chapter 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill

The Post-9/11 GI Bill is for 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. The Post-9/11 GI Bill became effective for training on or after August 1, 2009. Veterans must complete Form 22-1990 online. The student must provide a copy of the certificate of eligibility to the Temple College VA Coordinator upon enrollment at the college.

Chapter 35 Survivor’s and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program dependents and spouses of 100% disabled or deceased veterans

Survivor’s and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program dependents and spouses of 100% disabled or deceased veterans / Chapter 35 must complete Form 22-5490 application and submit to the Department of Veterans Affairs at the following address:

VA Regional Office – Western Region

PO. Box 8888

Muskogee, OK 74402-8888

For a quicker response, go online and submit your paperwork electronically.   Once the benefit is established, the VA will issue a certificate of eligibility to the dependent/spouse. The student must provide a copy of the certificate of eligibility to the TC VA Coordinator upon enrollment at the college.

Chapter 1606 Montgomery GI Bill (selected guard and reserves)

Montgomery GI Bill / Chapter 1606 selected guard and reserves must have completed all initial entry training IET and are now assigned to a Reserve and/or a Texas National Guard Unit. Please submit a copy of your DD 214 Form and NOBE Notice of Basic Eligibility, obtained from your unit education officer.Veterans must complete Form 22-1990 online. The student must provide a copy of the certificate of eligibility to the Temple College VA Coordinator upon enrollment at the college.

Tuition Assistance

Tuition Assistance (TA) is the term used for financial aid given by military branches to active duty and reserve service members for college courses. Each branch of the military has its own tuition assistance policy. Service members should contact their Education Services Officer (ESO) for detailed information.

If an eligible Service member decides to use TA, Temple College will enroll him or her only after the TA is approved by the individual’s Service.

All eligible active duty Service Member students MUST receive approval from an Educational Service Officer (ESO) or counselor within the Military Service prior to enrolling in classes at Temple College. TA must be approved by your command 14 days prior to the first day of class.

College Credit For Heroes and the College Credit for Heroes Initiative (CCHI)

College Credit For Heroes and the College Credit for Heroes Initiative (CCHI) is a partnership between the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to ensure our active duty, former and retired military personnel receive the credit they earned for their service to our country. This program allows for innovative approaches for awarding college credit by evaluating military and allied healthcare training and experience, including testing and prior learning assessments. This process will allow the veteran or active duty member to demonstrate they are able to meet the competencies and cognitive objectives while not having to complete the entire program. Based upon your transcript, you will be given credit for previous learning for some classes, and will be required to demonstrate knowledge and abilities for other classes.

Please visit our page for further information and resources.

VA Work Study Program

VA students are eligible to apply for VA work study positions. Fill out VA Form 22-8691 and send it to the Temple College VA Office for processing. Once an approval is received, someone will call you to explain the next steps.

Hazlewood Act

The Hazlewood Exemption Hazlewood Act is an education benefit provided to honorably discharged or separated Texas Veterans and/or their eligible dependents. Eligible veterans and/or dependents may qualify for an exemption of tuition and fees for up to 150 credit hours. For more information on how you may qualify and maintain your eligibility for this exemption, visit the Texas Veterans Commission Hazlewood Act Website.

Eligible students must submit the Texas Hazlewood Act Application and all Supporting Documentation for consideration for the Hazlewood Act Exemption. Once the student has been awarded the Hazlewood Act Exemption at Temple College, they must submit the Application for Continued Enrollment each semester. If the student has a break in enrollment, this does not include Summer term, they must once again fill out the Full Application and submit applicable supporting documents to be considered for the exemption. All applications must be submitted by the last day of the semester to be considered for the exemption for that specific term. In the event that an eligible Veteran or dependent is unable to submit all appropriate documentation by the deadline, the student will be responsible for payment of all tuition and fees.

Students eligible for a Hazlewood Act Exemption of tuition and fees must abide by the College’s Satisfactory Academic Progress SAP policy. If the student is placed on Financial Aid Suspension, then he or she will become ineligible to use the exemption. The student may reinstate eligibility once he/she has established Satisfactory Academic Progress SAP status.

Receiving the Texas Hazlewood Act Exemption is subject to the current semester application. Receipt of the Texas Hazlewood Act Exemption at another institution does not guarantee the applicant is eligible to receive the exemption at Temple College.

All regulations regarding the Hazlewood Act are subject to change per the Texas Veterans Commission. For more information, students can refer to the  Texas Veterans Commission Hazlewood Act Website

Any questions about the Hazelwood Exemption at Temple College should be directed to the Financial Aid Office.

Examples of Acceptable Supporting Documents
  • Certificate of Eligibility – If Veteran’s final discharge is after 9/11/2001
  • DD Form 1300 Report of Casualty for service related death
  • Death Certificate Veteran is deceased, not service connected
  • VA Summary of Benefits Letter Generated at the eBenefits website
  • Relationship Documents – copy of official:
    • Birth Certificate
    • Marriage Certificate/License
    • Adoption Papers
    • IRS Tax Transcript (within one year)

Resources

Hazlewood Application

Hazlewood Application for Continued Enrollment

Hazlewood Student Hours

Revocation of Hazlewood Hours

Official Evaluation Requirements

Temple College awards evaluated credit for military education and experience and other non-traditional learning. Refer to the eligibility requirements and list of required documents.

  • Active-duty military: Service members are eligible to receive an official evaluation upon admission to Temple College and upon receipt of all official college transcripts and the Joint Service Transcript (JST).  Credit awards for military experiences are based upon American Council on Education (ACE) Guide recommendations and credits will be awarded only when they apply to your degree(s).
  • Non-Active-duty/civilian: Are eligible to receive an official evaluation upon admission to Temple College.

Credit for courses in which a grade of “D” or better has been earned may be transferred to Temple College from colleges and universities accredited through recognized regional accrediting associations. Unaccredited institutional coursework will not count as transfer work accepted to Temple College. In order to determine if courses transfer, the student must meet with an either the Veterans Affairs or Academic Advisor to review transcripts. 

Required Documents:

  1. OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS: ALL students must have official transcripts from any and all previously attended colleges and universities sent directly to Temple College before an official evaluation can be processed. Student copies of transcripts are not acceptable. This requirement cannot be eliminated or modified.
  2. ACTIVE-DUTY: Go to https://jst.doded.mil/ and send your official transcript to Temple College in Temple, Texas.
  3. WARRANT OFFICERS: Certified True Copy of Officer Record Brief and Officer Evaluation Report
  4. NAVY/MARINES/COAST GUARD: Go to https://jst.doded.mil/ and send your official transcript to Temple College in Temple, Texas.
  5. AIR FORCE: Go to http://www.au.af.mil/au/ccaf/transcripts.asp and send your official transcript to Temple College in Temple, Texas.
  6. PRIOR SERVICE: Students must submit a copy of DD 214, copies of NCOERs and certificate or DA1059 of military service schools completed. Military work experience cannot be more than 10 years old to be considered for credit.
  7. TESTING: In order to have CLEPS, DANTES, ASE or APP considered for credit, you must have the testing agency submit official tests results directly to Temple College. If test results are listed on JST, we will take the result directly from the JST transcript. Any test results more than 10 years old cannot be considered for credit.

Veteran Students’ Responsibilities

Tuition and Fee Payment

Students are responsible for paying all college tuition and fees. TC and the VA do not have an agreement to process tuition/fee waivers excluding Hazlewood, and Voc rehab/Ch.31; therefore, failure of the VA to pay students in a timely manner does not eliminate or delay students’ financial responsibility to the college. Programs such as MYCAA and Post 9/11 GI Bill may cover a portion or all tuition/fees costs. It may take the Muskogee VA processing center 6-8 weeks to process new education claims, so please plan accordingly.

Academic Progress and Enrollment

Veteran students at TC have ongoing responsibilities to the VA. The TC VA Coordinator closely monitors each student’s enrollment status and academic program. The student’s entitlement is based on the number of credit hours for which they are enrolled in conjunction with the length of term that they are enrolled in Rate of Pursuit. Current pay rates can be viewed on the GI Bill website.

Veteran students at Temple College must do the following to ensure continued benefits:

  1. Notify the VA Coordinator every semester enrolled in which VA benefits are expected using the Certification Request Form.
  2. Complete an academic plan with the VA Coordinator and provide a copy of a current class schedule each term.
  3. Notify the VA Coordinator if you:
    • change your degree program
    • change your schedule / add or drop notification required within two days
    • withdraw completely notification required within 24 hours
    • change your address
Chapter 30 and 1606 Monthly Verification

All students receiving Chapter 30, 1606 or 1607 benefits must verify their monthly enrollment on the last day of each month or after. The benefit monetary award will not be released by the VA until this is done. Enrollment verification can be accomplished by using the VA toll-free telephone number 1-877-823-2378 or the WAVE feature found on the VA website www.gibill.va.gov .

Advance Pay

The Office of Veterans Services does process VA Advance Pay, but must be notified and processed 60 to 120 days BEFORE the start of the semester/term.

Annual Reporting Fees

Temple College receives annual reporting fees from the Department of Veterans Affairs as outlined in §21.4206 : VA may pay annually to each educational institution furnishing education or each joint apprenticeship training committee acting as a training establishment under 10 U.S.C. chapter 1606 or 38 U.S.C. chapter 30, 32, 33, 35 or 36 a reporting fee for required reports or certifications.

 

Temple College utilizes these funds for the departmental salaries to operate the college’s Veteran Affairs office.

 

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 Web site at: https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill .