By:
Heather Kryszak
Returning
to school after serving time in the military can be a
difficult transition to make.
Eric
Ando, a veteran of both Bosnia and Iraq, found the VA
office at BSC to be helpful, most of the time.
"It
was sometimes difficult to reach someone in the office
due to very limited office hours," he said. "But
when there was someone in the office they were always
quick with filing our GI Bill and answering questions
that I had. If they didn't know the answer they could
point me to someone that could."
Veterans
may feel anxious about the change and not sure of where
to go to for help. The Veterans Affairs office at Buffalo
State College is located in Moot Hall and provides information
about all entitlements and benefits available to veterans
and how they can obtain them.
The
Veterans Affairs office assists students who are eligible
to receive VA educational benefits in the application
for those benefits. It also provides on-going certification
of their enrollment to the VA in order to ensure the
continuation of those benefits. The office serves as
a resource to both students and the VA on matters pertaining
to VA educational benefits and the certification of enrollment.
So what
are some of the responsibilities that come with receiving
aid from the Veterans Affairs office? Students who are
eligible to receive VA benefits such as the GI Bill have
strict responsibilities and guidelines that they must
follow.
The
Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Coordinator
at BSC monitor each student veteran's enrollment status
and academic program. The student's educational benefit
is based upon the number of credit hours applicable to
his or her academic degree program.
Veterans
are required to complete the Veterans Educational Assistance
File Card at the beginning of each fall and summer quarter,
or the quarter in which they begin receiving educational
benefits. For full information on all benefits, guidelines
and regulations, visit the Education
ServicesWebsite.
The
veteran is also responsible to notify the veteran’s
coordinator in Moot Hall within 30 days of the following
changes in his or her enrollment status; including:
- Terminate attendance
- Change credit hours
- Withdraw or stop attending
a course
- Attend a course but
receive an Incomplete (I) grade
- Change educational
program
- Change address or phone
number
As a
veteran there are certain guidelines that must be met
or the veteran could possibly lose his or her benefits.
Some of these guidelines are:
- Students must maintain
satisfactory progress to retain benefits.
- Students are prohibited
from receiving educational benefits for auditing a
course.
- Students will not receive
benefits for repeated courses, unless they are graduation
requirements.
- Students must be formally
admitted as a degree-seeking student after completing
two quarters.
- Register only for courses
that are required for completion of the student’s
selected degree.
- Do not register in
courses for which the student has previously received
a passing grade/credit.
Carlos
Guerra, also a veteran of the Iraq war, found the VA
office at BSC to be helpful.
“I
was not aware of half of these benefits and thanks to
them,” he said “I am getting the money that
is owed to me.”
These
are just a few of the benefits that may be eligible to
veterans of BSC. For more information about the VA office,
contact the financial aid office in Moot Hall at (716)
878-4902 or by email at finaid@buffalostate.edu.
Contact
Heather Kryszak at: kryshm19@mail.buffalostate.edu |
