Veteran Services FAQ

Certification is the school's way of notifying VA that you are enrolled and wish to be certified. You must let your VA Rep know that you plan to attend the upcoming term. You may make this notification as early as six weeks prior to the beginning of the term. Make sure you have your class schedule set before you request to be certified. Changes in enrollment may impact or delay your eligibility. Allow 10 working days to process your paperwork.

How long ago were you certified? It takes the VA approximately 6-12 weeks to verify new claims and/or process initial payment. Processing tends to take longer during the fall semester - the highest enrollment period of the year. If it has been 6 weeks since you were certified, you may call the VA Benefit Education line at: 1-888-442-4551 to check the status of your benefits.

Late payments will be retroactive to the first day of the term.

Changes in enrollment (drop/add/withdrawal) may impact your benefit eligibility. Changes are processed and reported weekly by Walters State to the VA. Allow 4-6 weeks for the VA to process the adjustment.

You will need to call VA at 1-888-GI Bill-1 (1-888-442-4551)

When did you ETS? Did you provide WSCC with a copy of your DD214? When you ETS, it is the Department of Defense's responsibility to update your duty status in the Department of Veterans' Affairs database. Updates could take up to 90 days. By providing our office with a copy of your DD214 (Member 4 copy) you can expedite the conversion of your entitlement to "off-duty" pay. In general, allow VA 30 to 60 days to adjust your pay following receipt of the DD214.

The benefit counselors on the 1-888 line may not be able to verify VA's receipt of a document - but they should never say that your school has not submitted it. In general, it takes 1-2 weeks for VA to acknowledge receipt of certification documents. Most certifications are submitted to VA electronically. We receive instant verification of receipt of these documents. We can provide you the transaction number or certification number upon request

The number provided to you is the same number we are given; thus, we experience the same delays. Instead, you may want to set up a "phone appointment" when prompted or you may submit a question through the gibill.va.gov website.

You should respond to the overpayment letter within 30 days. Appeal procedures are enclosed in your letter. If you know that you are at fault, you may either pay the DVA directly, or request that the overpayment be deducted from future entitlement.

Effective 1 August 2011, VA no longer pays for the break periods.