ABOUT

The Veterans Readiness and Employment program assists veterans with service-connected disabilities to prepare for, find, and keep suitable jobs. For veterans whose service connected disabilities prevent them from immediately considering suitable work, VR&E offers services to improve their ability to live as independently as possible.

ELIGIBILITY

• Receive a discharge other than dishonorable
• Receive a service-connected disability rating of 10% or more from the VA, or
• Expect to receive a discharge that is not dishonorable upon separation from active duty and obtain a memorandum rating of 20% or more from the VA

BENEFITS

VR&E helps you explore employment options and address education or training needs. Some benefits include:

• Career guidance and counselling
• Job-market evaluation
• Money for education and/or training for a professional or vocational field

VR&E

ELIGIBILITY

• Served at least 90 days on active duty on or after September 11, 2001, or
• Received a Purple Heart on or after September 11, 2001, or
• Served at least 30 continuous days on or after September 11, 2001, or
• Are a dependent using benefits transferred by a qualifying Veteran or service member

ABOUT

Some benefits include:

• Tuition and Fees (percentage based on active duty time)
• Money for housing (if you're enrolled in school more than half-time)
• Money for books and supplies

Full-Time Status:

• Undergraduates - Fall/Spring = 12 credits, Summer = 8 credits
• Graduates - Fall/Spring = 9 credits, Summer = 6 credits
• These are for the full length of the semester. If you are taking any first/second half or miscellaneous term classes, be sure to read the amplifying information below.

Post 9/11 GI Bill

CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY

This details what program your are entitled to and for how long. This is obtained after applying for benefits through the VA and can be done here. You will need to have this certificate on file with the Registrar's Office in order to receive your benefits.

REQUEST FOR BENEFITS

In order for Veteran Services to certify your courses, you must submit a Request for Benefits form. These can be filled out for a full school year at a time. A pdf version of the form can be found here, and can be submitted by email.

ENROLLMENT CERTIFICATION

In order to receive benefits associated with the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you must have your courses certified by a School Certifying Official (SCO). This is done to ensure that all of the courses you are registered for will be covered by the VA or that you are aware of any that are not covered. Shortly before the beginning of each semester you will receive an email to your UMail account asking you to verify that your schedule is set (you don't anticipate any changes). If that is the case, simply respond to that email for your courses to be certified. This will place a hold on your account preventing you from making any additional changes to your schedule, which could affect the benefits you receive. In the event that you do need to make changes, simply contact a SCO to have this hold removed. Benefits are processed by the VA in the order they are received, so the earlier you can respond to this email, the earlier you will see benefits.

The GI Bill only funds classes that are required for your degree and not those that are only "recommended". Courses that are required include:

• General Education requirments
• Major requirements
• Upper Division requirements
• Any required electives
• Credits needed to meet the 122 credits required to graduate.

The best way to ensure that your class will be approved is by checking your "Degree Audit", available on your CIS Student Homepage. This is the report used by the SCO to certify your courses. If it is indicated on the Degree Audit as being required, it will get approved. If there are courses that you need, but it does not show up on your Degree Audit, contact the SCO to discuss getting it approved.

FIRST/SECOND HALF AND MISCELLANEOUS COURSES

The VA only pays you for the time that you are in class. For example, if you register for 12 credit hours of which 2 credit hours are from a first half class, you will only receive full-time benefits for the first half of the semester and reduced benefits for the second half. Even though the university considers you full time for the entire semester, the VA  calculates full-time status based on the dates for each class. If you are registered for first/second half classes, or classes with start/end dates which are different than the regular semester dates and want to know if you'll be considered full time, please contact Veteran Services at 801-581-6945 or visit them in the VSC and ask them to look at your schedule.

YELLOW RIBBON PROGRAM

The Yellow Ribbon program helps student who are using the Post 9/11 GI Bill and eligible for 100% of benefits avoid up to 100% of their out-of-pocket tuition and fees associated with education programs that may exceed the Post 9/11 GI Bill tuition benefit. If you are a resident you do not need the Yellow Ribbon program, but if you are a non-resident and/or graduate student, you may want to apply for the program. You may qualify for the Yellow Ribbon program if:

• You served a total of at least 36 months after September 10, 2001
• You were honorably discharged from active duty for a service connected disability and served 30 continuous days after September 10, 2001
• You are a family member eligible for Transfer of Entitlement under the Post-9/11 GI Bill based on a veteran's service under the eligibility criteria listed above
• Received a Purple Heart on or after September 11, 2001, and were honorably discharged after any amount of service
• Received a Fry Scholarship on or after August 1, 2018
• Are currently receiving the Fry Scholarship (beginning August 1, 2018)

ELIGIBILITY

If you are the child or spouse of a Veteran or service member who has died, is captured or missing, or is disabled, you may qualify for assistance through the DEA program.

BENEFITS

Through this program, you will receive a monthly payment to help cover the cost of:

• College or graduate degree programs
• Career-training certificate course
• Educational and career counselling
• Apprenticeships
• On-the-job training

ELIGIBILITY

• Minimum time of service required is determined based on the time period in which you served
• Had your military pay reduced by $100 per month for the first 12 months of service or made a $1200 lump-sum contribution

BENEFITS

• 36 months (up to 48 months if you qualify) of VA education benefits - not including VR&E

MGIC - Active Duty

ELIGIBILITY

If you are the child or spouse of a Veteran or service member who has died, is captured or missing, or is disabled, you may qualify for assistance through the DEA program.

BENEFITS

Through this program, you will receive a monthly payment to help cover the cost of:

• College or graduate degree programs
• Career-training certificate course
• Educational and career counselling
• Apprenticeships
• On-the-job training

ELIGIBILITY

You may qualify for the Fry Scholarship if you are a child or surviving spouse of a member of the Armed forces who

• Died in the line of duty while on or after September 11, 2001
• Died from a service-connected disability on or after September 11, 2001

Please see the link above for a more comprehensive list of eligibility requirements

BENEFITS

You may be able to get up to 36 months of benefits, including:

• Money for tuition
• Money for housing
• Money for books and supplies

Fry Scholarship

ELIGIBILITY

• Be an undergraduate student seeking their first baccalaureate degree
• Be a resident of Utah or exempt from paying the nonresident portion of total tuition
• Be a veteran under the State of Utah's definition: an individual who served in the U.S. Armed Forces for at least 180 days: on active duty; or in a reserve component, including the National Guard; or incurred an actual service-related injury or disability while in the Armed Forces regardless of time served; and separated or retired under honorable or general conditions
• Be enrolled in good standing at the U on at least a half-time basis
• Have no federal veterans' educational benefits available (exhausted, expired, or never qualified)

ABOUT

The Tuition Gap program provides up to one year of undergraduate tuition for qualifying Utah veterans. The program only pays tuition; it does not provide an allowance for housing or supplies. Applications for the Tuition Gap program may be submitted to the VSC.

Tuition Gap

The Department of Defense (DoD) Tuition Assistance (TA) program provides financial assistance to Service members for voluntary off-duty education programs in support of professional and personal self-development goals. TA is available for courses that are part of an approved academic degree or certificate program. Each branch is authorized to establish branch-specific eligibility criteria to manage TA funds. As such, service members interested in TA should reach out to an Education Services Office (ESO) prior to enrollment. Service members may also visit your local installation education center or follow the link below for your service branch:

• Army
• Army National Guard
• Marine Corps
• Navy
• Air Force
• Coast Guard

For more service specific information, visit the DANTES website here.

Residents of the State of Utah who received the Purple Heart for combat wounds can receive a waiver to their undergraduate and graduate tuition. To initiate the Purple Heart Tuition Waiver, bring your DD-214 showing the award to Financial Aid and provide a letter requesting the waiver. For questions pertaining to the process, contact the Scholarship Office at 801-581-6211 or email

Scholarships are one of the most common ways to pay for your education; however, many scholarships go underutilized. The VSC, partnering with University of Utah Alumni Association and the University Union, offer several scholarships to our students, and encourage all of our students to apply for any scholarships which they are eligible for. The University of Utah utilizes Academic Works as a central hub for all of the scholarships offered by each college, as well as many others offered by community sources.

NOTE:

If you are utilizing VA education benefits (GI Bill, VR&E, etc.), your benefits may be affected by some types of scholarships. Any scholarships you are awarded which are tuition based will be applied to your account before your VA benefits, meaning you may notice a smaller amount from the VA that is applied to your tuition. You will still receive the full amount for other benefits from your applicable program (housing allowance, book/supplies stipend, etc.). If the scholarship is cash based, the VA benefits will be applied to your tuition first, followed by any scholarships you have been awarded. This means that any remaining scholarship funds will be paid directly to you.

Academic Works