How to Apply for and Maintain Your VA Education Benefits

General Information

The purpose of this section is to:

• Assist you in processing your initial application for VA Educational Benefits and completing the actions required for enrollment certification.
• Assist you in completing the administrative actions necessary to ensure you receive your monthly VA Educational payments.

The WSU Office of Veterans Affairs is committed to assisting you in achieving your educational goals at WSU. Please feel free to contact us at (509) 335‑1234 or veterans@wsu.edu for assistance with all VA programs and WSU related inquiries.

Step 1:

Determine what VA Educational benefit Program (i.e. "Chapter") you are eligible for.

Step 2:

Decide on a specific program of study and officially apply to Washington State University.

• Less than 60 cumulative semester credit hours: You may enter your program of study as "Undecided" in the VA Forms noted below.
• With 60 or greater cumulative credits, or you are applying as a graduate student, you must enter a specific program offered by WSU.

The WSU VA Office will only certify enrollment in classes that are required to obtain a degree in your specific program of study.

• Example: You choose Mechanical Engineering as your program of study and enroll in 12 credits, but 3 of the credits are not required for a Mechanical Engineering degree, then you will be certified for 9 credits. This will result in a reduction in your monthly education benefit payments, and, if you are using the Post 9/11 GI Bill, a portion of your tuition will not be covered by the VA.

Step 3:

First time (new) Applicants

Meet one, or more, of the criteria below:

• Applying for VA Educational Benefits for the first time.
• Switching from another GI Bill program to the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
• Transferring Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to your dependents.

Returning Applicants

Meet one or more of the criteria below:

• Previously applied for GI Bill benefits and were approved by the VA.
• Received GI Bill previously benefits but not at WSU-Pullman.
• Approved for GI Bill benefits by the VA but have never used them.

Returning applicants under Chapter 35

You must complete the VA Form 22-5495 and mail, fax, or deliver the Form to the WSU VA Office. In addition to the VA Form 22-1995 please also provide a Certificate of Eligibility from the VA.

Note: If you previously attended WSU-Pullman and received VA Educational Benefits, but your last date of attendance was more than a year ago, you need to submit a VA Form 22-1995 or 22-5495 (as applicable) to the WSU VA Office.

Note: For enrollment certification purposes your class schedule will be evaluated against the program of study you selected on your original application (22-1990 / 22-5490) or the most recent copy of the 22-1995 / 22-5495 on file. It is your responsibility to notify the VA Coordinator of changes in program. Failure to do so will result in a delay of payments.

Applicants using Vocational Rehabilitation - Chapter 31

• Eligibility for Chapter 31 assistance is determined by the VA. For details on the application process please visit the VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment website.
• Once approved to use Chapter 31, please provide the WSU Office of Veterans Affairs with your VA Counselor's contact information. We will need from them a form 22-1905.  This is a description of the terms of your use of the benefit.

Step 4:

You must complete a WSU Enrollment Certification Request prior to the start of you first semester at WSU; as well as prior to each subsequent semester or term that you wish to use a VA benefit.

• The Enrollment Certification Request must be approved by your academic advisor. The request will be emailed; verify that you have typed the email address correctly.
• New students will have access to their advisor during their summer Alive! orientation session.

Note: If you do not submit an Enrollment Certification Request the WSU VA Office will not certify your enrollment with the VA, and you will not receive your monthly educational benefit payment, or tuition payments as applicable based on your benefit.

Step 5:

Provide the WSU Office of Veterans Affairs a copy of your Certificate of Eligibility.

• If you are applying for a new benefit this will be mailed to you, from the VA, in response to you submitting the 22-1990, 22-1990e, or 22-5490, as described above.
• If you previously used your education benefit this will be mailed to you in response to you submitting the 22-1995 or 22-5495, as described above.

Note: The WSU Office of Veterans Affairs will not report your enrollment to the VA prior to receiving a copy of your Certificate of Eligibility.

Note: Please plan ahead.  It can take the VA 3 to 4 weeks or more to process your benefit application and mail the Certificate of Eligibility.  The VA will only provide the certificate via mail. Ensure that the address that you provide to the VA is a location that you will be at to receive mail 3 to 4 weeks from the time that you submit your application.

Step 6:

As a veteran you may be eligible for a partial tuition waiver.

• For additional information please visit Tuition Waivers. Note that you may only use the veterans waiver for undergraduate or graduate work, but not both.

Recipients of the Survivor Education Assistance Program (Chapter 35) you may be eligible for a 100% tuition waiver.

• For additional information please visit Tuition Waivers.

More Information

You may mail or fax your documents.

• VA Regional Office
  PO BOX 8888
  Muskogee, OK 74402.
• Fax: 1 (918) 781‑7863 (Preferred method).

Mail or hand-deliver copies of all documents to the WSU VA Office at:

• Office of Veterans Affairs
  PO Box 641035
  Pullman, WA 99164-1035
• The WSU VA Office is located at:
  WSU Veterans Center
  Holland Library, Room 120BA
  Pullman, Washington
• Fax: (509) 335‑9429
• Office: (509) 335‑1234

The VA Regional Office will process your enrollment application in 6 to 8 weeks (all processing times are subject to change).

• They will send you a letter which which will outline your entitlements under the specific educational program in which you are enrolled. T
• he letter is commonly referred to as a "Certificate of Eligibility".

Once you are registered for classes and the class list is available through the WSU Information System, the WSU VA Office will certify your enrollment with the VA for those classes which apply towards your specific program of study.

• Please inform the WSU VA Office when you are registered for classes.
• You will receive your monthly education benefit payments only if your application has been approved by the VA Regional Office AND the WSU VA Office has certified your enrollment with the VA.

Post 9/11 GI Bill recipient: The VA will pay your tuition approximately 5 to 9 weeks after the start of the term.

• WSU will not require you to pay tuition, but please note that WSU will apply all or part of your financial aid award to your outstanding tuition balance on the first day of the term, so please be prepared financially for that process.
• Once your tuition payment is made by the VA, any excess funds on your student account will be refunded to you.
• If you are a Post 9/11 GI Bill recipient and you are required to attend a mandatory orientation at WSU, ensure you request New Student Programs defer the mandatory orientation fee to your student account so the VA will pay the fee.

An excellent resource is the Department of Veterans Affairs Questions & Answers website. You can search archived Q&A or ask a question via email.