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Education and Training

Restoration of Benefits After School Closure or if a School is Disapproved for GI Bill Benefits

The Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 allows VA to restore entitlement to beneficiaries affected by school closure or disappoval (if the disapproval was due to a change in law or VA interpretation of statute).

Did your degree program close between 2015 and 2017? Did you use any of your Post-9/11 GI Bill to cover tuition? If so, you may qualify for restoration.

Do I Qualify for GI Bill Restoration

How do I qualify for restoration?

If you attended an Institution of Higher Learning (e.g. college or university) program from January 1, 2015 to August 16, 2017 using your GI Bill benefits, and you have not transferred any of your credits to another college, you may qualify for restoration of the entitlement charged for the term you attended during the program or school closure.

What if my school closed after August 16, 2017?

VA will not charge you for the term, quarter, or semester you were attending when the school closed or your program was disapproved if:

    • your college or program closed permanently, or
    • a change to VA regulations or a new law caused your programto end, and
    • you did not receive credit, or lost training time for your program.

I'm using the Post-9/11 GI Bill, will I still get my monthly housing allowance?

For courses that ended after August 16, 2017, the housing allowance would be payable until the end of the end of the term, quarter, or semester that you attended during the program or school permanent closure; or 120 days after the school or program ends (whichever is sooner.)

School Closures and Program Withdrawals

Section 109 of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 allows the Department of Veterans Affairs to restore entitlement to beneficiaries affected by a school closure or disapproval (if the disapproval was due to a change in law or VA interpretation of statute).

The law defines two types of restoration of entitlement cases:

      • Special Application Cases - Beneficiaries who qualify for the Special Application provision will not be charged entitlement for the entire period of enrollment at the closed facility. VA will retroactively restore any entitlement previously charged to affected beneficiaries.
      • Regular Restoration of Entitlement Cases– Beneficiaries who qualify for Regular Restoration of Entitlement will not be charged for the individual term, quarter, or semester they were enrolled in at the time of the school closure or disapproval.

Eligibility Requirements

Special Application

Beneficiaries will qualify for the Special Application provision if:

      • they attended an accredited Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) facility that closed between January 1, 2015 and August 16, 2017;
      • they were last attending the school within 120 days of the school’s closure; AND
      • they were not enrolled in a comparable program prior to August 16, 2017; OR
      • They were enrolled in a comparable program, but did not transfer any credits from the closed school.

Regular Restoration of Entitlement

Beneficiaries will qualify for Regular Restoration of Entitlement if:

      • VA finds the beneficiary was unable to complete the program of study due to the school closing; or
      • there is a change in law or VA interpretation which results in the disapproval of the program or school AND
      • the beneficiary did not receive credit or lost training time toward the completion of the program of education.

Extension of Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) Payments When a School Closes or is Disapproved

When a school closes or is disapproved during an active term, enrolled beneficiaries may be eligible to continue receiving MHA payments until the original end of the term or for 120 days (whichever occurs sooner). This MHA payment can only be made if the closure/disapproval happened on or after August 16, 2017.

Note 1: There is no entitlement charge for MHA payments made during this time period.

Note 2: By law VA is not authorized to make the above described MHA payments until August 1, 2018. If your school closed or was disapproved prior to this date and if you are due an MHA payment, VA will make that retroactive payment after August 1, 2018.

Applying for Restoration of Entitlement

If your school closed and you believe you meet the requirements outlined above – complete the Educaton Benefit Entitlement Restoration Request Due to School Closure or Withdrawal form.

Submit that form online though the “Submit a Question” button on the GI Bill website or via mail to:

Muskogee Regional Processing Office
P.O.Box 8888
Muskogee, OK 74402-8888

 

or to your Regional Processing Office.

Questions

If you have any additional questions, contact the Education Service Call Center at 888-442-4551. The Call Center is open from 7:00am – 6:00pm Central Time.

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