Veteran Services FAQ

Any military training you received that may qualify for college credit is evaluated by the registrar’s office once the official transcript is received.

Request a copy through this website and note that the Member 4 copy, which shows the character of your discharge, is preferred for most educational purposes.

It is your responsibility to keep track of your remaining benefits each semester to ensure that your tuition payments will be met. The Veteran Services Office does not have access to this information. Your remaining entitlement can be viewed by going to the VA eBenefits website and following the prompts to the educational benefits tab.

After your initial registration for educational benefits has been completed, you will only need to resubmit a signed course schedule each semester. It will be your responsibility to keep track of your remaining benefits each semester to ensure that your tuition payments will be met.

Military Veterans will receive the earliest priority date based on their official course registration date and class availability.

The academic catalog outlines the departments and programs (majors) along with their respective course requirements. The catalog that corresponds to the academic year of your first Lipscomb enrollment lists the courses you must complete to fulfill the requirements of your major. VA educational benefits will only pay for courses required for your major. For example, if you are an Accounting major, the VA will not pay for you to take private voice lessons, as this is not required for your major.

To resolve any questions or issues, refer to your academic advisor and/or the dean’s office for your academic program.

If you make changes to your schedule after having submitted a signed copy for processing, you will need to immediately inform the Veteran Services Office and arrange to sign an updated copy. Dropping a course may require you to repay the VA for a portion or the entire class. If you have questions about repaying for dropped classes, please contact the Veteran Services Office prior to dropping a course.

You have up to one year after the start of a semester to submit your form. However, if you wish to be eligible for any federal or state educational benefits, or have the VA pay for your tuition (if you meet other criteria for eligibility), the sooner you submit your form the better. Remember that veterans receive priority registration during course-registration periods, so you should be able to arrange and finalize your schedule well in advance. Also, the later you submit your signed schedule, the longer it will take the VA to process your benefits (including housing allowance and book stipend).

The VA will process your benefits as quickly as possible, but this can take several weeks if this is your first time using the benefits. The VA typically reports a maximum wait time of six weeks. The VA will not make tuition payments to the school any sooner than two weeks prior to the class start date. Housing allowance is given on the first of each month following the semester start date. If you submit a signed schedule approximately six weeks prior to the course start date, you should receive your benefits in a timely manner.

If this is your first time using the GI® Bill, it may take up to six weeks for the VA to process your benefits. However, if you have submitted a signed schedule in a timely manner, you will receive your housing allowance on the first of the month following the semester start date. Keep in mind that partial months are paid at a prorated rate. For example, if a fall semester begins on Aug. 26, your BAH payment will only be for the four days between Aug. 26 and Aug. 30. The textbook stipend is paid as soon as your claim is processed so you should not wait for the stipend to arrive before ordering your textbooks. The Veteran Services Office does not have access to view your housing allowance and book stipend deposit information. If you want to contact the VA to inquire about your housing allowance, you may obtain your certification ID for the semester from the Veteran Services Office and then contact 1.888.GI.BILL.1.

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available on the official U.S. government website at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill

The VA considers a standard semester as 15 to 19 weeks. If you are a traditional undergraduate student, 12 credit hours of full-term classes is considered full time. Please note: You must be in at least one residential course (and full-time) to fulfill the requirement for full BAH.

If you are in the adult degree program, it is likely that you are taking eight-week courses instead of full-term (16-week) courses. The VA considers terms less than 15 weeks to be “non-standard.” This requires them to calculate full-time based on a formula. See example below.

VA’s formula is as follows: number of credits pursued multiplied by 12 and then divided by the number of weeks of the course. You would then divide that number by 12. Therefore, if you were taking 6 credit hours during an 8-week term, you would be considered at a 75% rate of pursuit. At this rate of pursuit, you would receive 75% of the housing allowance.

If you have questions, reach out to our School Certifying Official, Billie Scroggins.

See formula listed in question above.

If you fail a class because of a lack of attendance, you will have to repay the VA for the full amount of the class. If you attempted the class and failed, you do not have to repay the VA. You may repeat a course if it is required for your degree program, and the VA will pay for it a second time. However, if you drop or withdraw from a class after the deadline for doing so, you will have to pay the VA back if you received money for that course.

A partial or full refund will only be available if the course was dropped within the refund window. These and other official dates are published by the registrar’s office. Dropping a class may have financial aid or VA benefit implications requiring you to repay tuition.
Please contact the Veteran Services Office and Financial Aid prior to dropping a class.