College of Southern Nevada

Instructions for Subsequent Application

Montgomery GI Bill - Active Duty Educational Assistance Program

Chapter 30, Category II

Note: Please read and comply with these instructions carefully.  If you have questions, contact the College Veterans' Affairs Office at (702) 651-4046 or csn.va@csn.edu.  If an instruction is unclear, do not guess! Incorrect answers can cause significant delays.  Completed applications should be hand-carried to the CSN Veterans' Affairs Office.

Note: Steps 1 through 4 below must be completed before you may enroll in classes (Step 5).

1. Admission to the College - If you have not already done so, submit an Admissions Form to the Office of The Registrar.  If you're claiming VA educational benefits for college credits earned at CSN, you must indicate on the form that you will declare a major and are pursuing either an Associate Degree or a Certificate of Achievement.

2. Placement Test - You may need English and/or Mathematics classes for your program.  If you have not previously completed these classes at CSN or some other college, you will be required to take Placement Tests at the Assessment Center before you can enroll in Mathematics or English classes.  Newly admitted students must complete Placement Testing before they may enroll in any classes at CSN.  The results of these tests will indicate that you are either qualified to enter into college-level English and Mathematics classes, or must take refresher classes.  If refresher classes are required, you may receive benefits for them, but only for the highest level indicated by testing.  If you enroll in refreshers that are not required, you may not receive benefits for them.

3. New Student Orientation - Newly admitted students must complete CSN's New Student Orientation, before they may register for classes.  You may either review our Online Orientation at your convenience, or attend one of the recurring sessions that will be scheduled by the Counseling Center.  This program has been put into place to increase your level of success as you pursue your academic goals.  After Placement Testing and Orientation are completed, see an academic counselor as noted in the following paragraph.

4. Academic Counseling - Seek an academic counselor to assist you in choosing the program of study you plan to follow.  If you are seeking a medically related program, see a Health Programs Advisor at the Cheyenne or West Charleston Campuses.  When you decide on your program, ask for a signed copy of the degree sheet which shows the classes you will need to complete before you can graduate.   Provide a copy of this sheet to the CSN VA Office.  Retain a copy for yourself.  The Department of Veterans Affairs will pay benefits for only those classes which satisfy unfilled graduation requirements.  The name of your chosen degree program must be documented on your application (VA Form 22-1995, Question 7).  After you have seen your academic counselor, you may enroll in classes.

5. Enrollment in Classes - Enroll with the Office of The Registrar in any class that you desire, but remember that the VA will pay benefits for only those classes required by your degree program.  Although the CSN VA staff members attempt to verify enrollment in proper classes, you are ultimately responsible for your enrollment choices!

6. Payment of Tuition - Payment of VA Educational Benefits is made directly to you, the student. The VA normally requires approximately 30 to 45 days to process claims.  This is normal VA processing time, over which the College has no control.  Except for Advance Pay, VA mails to you, or directly deposits into your bank account, your benefit payments.

VA Educational Benefits typically are paid after each month of class attendance is completed.  As a result, do not assume your benefits will arrive in time to pay your fees before the deadline dates published in the Class Schedule.  Unless you are requesting Advance Pay, you should be prepared to pay the cost of tuition, fees, and other expenses up front while VA is processing your application.  The following options are available for payment of tuition:

A. Pay tuition and any fees at the Cashier's Office before the deadline published in the Class Schedule.  This is the typical procedure.

B. Enter into a Time Payment Agreement with Cashier's Office.

C. Apply at the Cheyenne Campus VA Office for the Advance Payment of Educational Benefits.  This allows you to receive some of your Educational Benefits before the semester starts, to pay school related expenses.  If you desire this option, contact the VA Office immediately.  Restrictions may apply which would make this option unavailable.  The deadline to submit Spring 2007 requests for Advance Pay is December 1, 2006.  Ensure you make a specific verbal request for the advance when you place your claim.  Do not assume that your claim will be processed as a request for Advance Pay merely because your claim was submitted by the deadline.  You will need to sign an Advance Pay request form at the time you submit your claim.

D. Use Financial Aid if you have received an Award Letter from the Financial Aid Office.

If you do not apply for Advance Pay, do not assume that your benefits payment will arrive before the tuition payment deadline published in the class schedule!  Tuition payment will be due, even though your benefits payment has not been received!  Failure to ensure tuition payment by the due date Thursday, January 4, 2007 could result in your disenrollment from classes.

7. VA 22-1995 (can be downloaded from the CSN VA Forms page) - This is your application for educational benefits.  Before completing the form, please fully read the form's "Information and Instructions" pages.  Also, please read each question carefully before answering it!  It is extremely important that you answer questions accurately.  The following clarification of some questions may be useful:

Question 6 - Your answer to this question should be the highest level of education you are seeking in your chosen field, whether it is a certificate, associate, baccalaureate, master, or doctorate level education.

Question 7 - Enter the name of your chosen CSN program as it appears on the degree sheet provided by your counselor.

Question 9A - Use the following, regardless of which campus you may be attending:

College of Southern Nevada

3200 East Cheyenne Avenue

North Las Vegas, NV 89030

Question 9B - Ensure you enter both the name and the address of the training institution  where you last received VA educational benefits.

Questions 11A through 13  - If there is a change in the status of your dependents, complete VA Form 21-686c.

Questions 17A and 17B - To be completed only if you are still serving on active duty.

8. VA Form 21-686c (can be downloaded from the CSN VA Forms page) - Submit only if there has been a change in your dependent status since your last use of VA educational benefits.  While the Form indicates you are required to send proof of dependent status for dependents you are claiming, the Department of Veterans Affairs has waived this requirement.  The Department will ask you to forward these document only if there is a specific need, so your claim can be processed.  You can prevent delays by providing supporting documentation, for those dependents' whose status has changed, when you submit your claim package, if desired.  The documents can include, but are not limited to:

Marriage Certificate for a spouse

Birth Certificate for each dependent child

Divorce Decree if you are claiming a dependent child from a prior marriage

Adoption papers for any adopted children you claim for benefits

8. Transfer Credit Evaluation - The Department of Veterans Affairs will not pay you to take a class if the need for the class was previously satisfied by education received through other sources.  You must have all previous education evaluated for its applicability toward your declared program.  Official transcripts from all previous colleges must be forwarded directly to CSN's Office of Admissions and Records.  In addition to transcripts, you must submit certain military documents (see below), along with a Transfer Credit Evaluation Request Form, to the Office of The Registrar.   Military documents you must submit include any of the following which the Department of Defense should have provided to you:

DD Form 214 - military separation document

AARTS/ACE Transcript - Army personnel

SMART Transcript - Naval and Marine Corps personnel

College of the Air Force Transcript - Enlisted Air Force personnel

CGI Transcript - Coast Guard personnel

Report the evaluation results to the CSN VA Office no later than the end of the second semester after you begin receiving VA benefits.  You may receive benefits while the evaluation is being conducted, but failure to report the evaluation results will result in a delay of your VA benefits.

As mentioned, the VA will not pay benefits for classes if the need for those classes had been satisfied through prior education.  If you enroll in and receive benefits for a class, and the Transfer Credit Evaluation reveals the requirement for that class had been previously satisfied, the VA may require you to refund any benefits paid toward the unnecessary class.

9. Standard of Progress - You are required to complete each semester with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of at least 2.0.  Failure to do so will result in your placement on VA Probation Status.  VA Probation will remain in effect for at least 1 semester.

While on VA Probation, you may continue to receive VA Educational Benefits, but you must continue to earn a Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) of at least 2.0.   When your CGPA reaches 2.0 or higher, you will be removed from VA Probation.   While on VA Probation, failure to maintain a SGPA of 2.0 until the CGPA rises to 2.0 or above will result in your placement on VA Suspension Status.

While on VA Suspension, you may attend classes, but you will not be certified to receive VA Educational Benefits.  VA Suspension will remain in effect for 1 full-term semester (Spring/Fall) of your enrollment.  When you have completed a full-term semester of attendance under VA Suspension, the Suspension will be lifted and you will be returned to VA Probation if your CGPA remains below 2.0.  You may be removed from VA Probation Status as previously explained.

The College grading policy addresses "I" (Incomplete) grades.  When an "I" grade is converted to a different grade, the new grade may cause your GPA to fall below 2.0 for the semester in which the class was originally attended.  If this occurs, the above probation/suspension criteria will be applied to that semester.  As a result, retroactive suspension could possibly follow.  This may result in an overpayment of Educational Benefits which you may be required to repay.

10. After you register for classes, and the above instructions are completed (except the Transfer Credit Evaluation results), return with your completed request package.   Include your:

Signed degree sheet,

VA Form 22-1995,

VA Form 21-686c, and supporting documents (if desired)

DD Form 214 - military separation document, (member #4 copy)

There is a small amount of additional documentation for you to complete which should only take a few minutes.

11.  The Department of Veterans Affairs has made available on their website a summary of your Educational Assistance Program.  You are encouraged to visit the site at http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/ch30/ch30_pamphlets.pdf to review the information about your valuable entitlements.