Veteran Student Services
UH West Oʻahu is dedicated to supporting our military, veteran students, and their family members. We recognize the unique experiences that come with serving in the armed forces and are grateful for the service and sacrifice provided in the defense of our great nation.
Office of the Registrar
Campus Center, C141
91-1001 Farrington Highway
Kapolei, HI 96707
Phone: (808) 689-2900
Fax: (808) 689-2901
Email: uhwova@hawaii.edu
Student Responsibilities for VA Educational Benefits
Enrollment Certification
To be certified each semester, all VA students must submit the appropriate Veteran Student Enrollment Certification Form(s) after officially registering for courses. It is recommended that students meet with a College Success advisor before submitting their Veteran Student Enrollment Form. Recertification is not automatic. Students are encouraged to submit the Veteran Student Enrollment Form to the Office of the Registrar as early as possible to avoid delays in processing payment(s) from the VA.
Students will receive a confirmation email from the Enrollment Manager to your hawaii.edu email account when your course registration is electronically certified. The email will indicate the number of credits certified at UH West Oʻahu only. If you requested certification for courses at another school, you will receive a separate confirmation email.
Check your hawaii.edu email account on a regular basis for correspondence from our office regarding your VA benefits. Your hawaii.edu email account is considered an official channel of communication by the university.
Class Registration
The VA only pays benefits for those courses that are part of an approved degree program, and that have not been previously successfully completed. All classes used towards VA educational benefits must satisfy requirements outlined by the student’s declared degree or certificate program. Classes that do not fulfill a program or graduation requirement cannot be certified. Students are encouraged to meet with a College Success advisor if they are uncertain if a course is required.
Changes in Enrollment
All VA students are responsible for notifying the Office of the Registrar of any changes to their class schedule used for certification, including involuntary changes such as a cancelled class. Notification requires the student to submit the Veteran Student Change in Enrollment Form. Students have until the published add and drop deadlines in the Academic Calendar to make class schedule adjustments. Any changes to your class schedule (i.e., adds or drops) may have an impact on your VA benefits.
Transfer Credit
Veterans and other eligible beneficiaries are required to provide transcripts of previous education and training, including Military Transcripts, Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), and/or International Baccalaureate (IB), to determine the number of transferable credits that will be counted toward degree requirements. Previously earned credits are automatically evaluated upon acceptance to a degree-seeking program at UH West Oʻahu and receipt of the student’s Statement of Intent to Register form, which confirms their intent to enroll for classes. UH West Oʻahu will grant credit for college-level coursework completed at regionally accredited colleges and universities, AP and CLEP exams, and prior military training. Visit the Transfer Student page for more information.
Payments
Students are responsible for meeting tuition and fee payment deadlines. Students under the Chapter 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill® and the Chapter 31 Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) should note that optional/opt-in fees (e.g., late registration fee, payment plan fee) are not covered by the VA.
Chapter 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients: The VA will usually send tuition & fees payment to UH West Oʻahu after the 50% refund period has passed.
Chapter 31 VR&E recipients: Contact your VR&E Counselor and have them send a VR&E PO Authorization directly to UH West Oʻahu. We cannot certify your enrollment without your PO Authorization.
VA tuition payments are viewable through your student account in MyUH Services.
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 at the official U.S. government website at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
Rules and Regulations for VA Certifications
Public Law 115-407, Sections 103 and 104
In accordance with the Veterans Benefits and Transition Act of 2018, section 3679(e) of title 38 (Public Law 115-407), a student who is entitled to educational assistance under Chapter 31, Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment, or Chapter 33, Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits shall be permitted to attend or participate in the course of education during the period beginning on the date on which the individual provides to the educational institution a Certificate of Eligibility for entitlement to educational assistance under Chapter 31 or 33 (a “Certificate of Eligibility” can also include a “Statement of Benefits” obtained from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ website – eBenefits, or a VAF 28-1905 form for Chapter 31) and ending on the earlier of the following dates:
- The date on which payment from VA is made to the institution.
- 90 days after the date the institution certified tuition and fees following the receipt of the Certificate of Eligibility.
The university shall not impose any penalty, including the assessment of late fees, the denial of access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities, or require the student to borrow additional funds, in order to meet his or her financial obligations to the institution due to the delayed disbursement funding from VA under Chapter 31 or 33.
Readmission Policy for Service Members
Service members and reservists will be readmitted to a program if they are temporarily unable to attend class or have to suspend their studies due to service requirements. Service members will be readmitted to the same program and academic status that they had when they were last enrolled or last admitted.
Concurrent Enrollment
Students may request certification for courses offered by another institution. Please complete and submit the Veteran Student Concurrent Enrollment Form. If you are planning to enroll at multiple concurrent campuses, please submit a separate Veteran Student Concurrent Enrollment Form for each campus. The courses you enroll in must apply towards your UH West Oʻahu degree program, and must transfer to UH West Oʻahu upon completion. UH West Oʻahu will send a “VA parent letter” to the secondary institution requesting certification for the courses you are enrolled in.
- You will receive a separate confirmation email from the Enrollment Manager when the secondary institution certifies your courses/credits to the VA.
- The VA will send separate tuition and fees payments to each institution, even within the UH system.
- The VA will combine your enrolled credits at both schools to determine your enrollment (full-time) status.
Declaring Major/Certificate
Visit WEAMS for information about your intended program’s eligibility for VA benefits. Program types in WEAMS include Non College Degree (certificate programs) and Institution of Higher Learning (degree programs). Most importantly, if your program is not listed, VA benefits will not cover the costs of your program.
If you wish to change your major or academic program, complete the Add or Change of Major/Concentration/Certificate.
Full-Time Credit Requirement
The VA will consider the start and end dates for each class you are enrolled in when determining your full-time enrollment status. For the Fall and Spring semesters, enrolling in 12 or more credits is considered full-time student status. In order to receive your full VA benefits, you need to be enrolled full-time (at least 12 credits), for the duration of the semester. If you are enrolled in an accelerated, or part of term, course that does not run the length of the semester, your VA payments may be impacted.
For the Summer Semester, enrolling in at least 4 or more credits during a 5-week summer session is considered full-time only during that summer session. In order to receive full VA benefits for the entire summer, you will need to be enrolled full-time (at least 4 credits) for both Summer Session I and II. If you are enrolled in an accelerated or full summer term course, your VA payments may be impacted.
In-Person/Hybrid Requirement for Monthly Housing Allowance
For benefits that are eligible for Chapter 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill® monthly housing allowance, the VA stipulates that you must be enrolled in at least 1 credit of in-person/hybrid courses to be eligible for the full rate of monthly housing allowance. You will receive 50% of the full rate of monthly housing allowance if you only register for online courses.
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 at the official U.S. government website at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
Grades + Benefits (CR/NC, Audit)
Credit/No-Credit (CR/NC) grades: UH West Oʻahu will report “NC” grades to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA will recalculate your benefits as though you were never enrolled in the course. Unless you have completed additional credits of required full-time coursework that semester or can demonstrate acceptable mitigating circumstances, you will need to repay the benefits you received for that course.
The VA does not pay for courses taken for audit.
Repeat Courses
Courses that are failed or for which the grade does not meet minimum requirements for graduation may be certified if they are repeated. If you are required to repeat a course for your degree program you must obtain approval from your College Success advisor. The VA will not pay for a course that has already been successfully completed with a passing grade. This also applies to courses that you receive transfer credit(s) from another institution.
Note for Chapter 31 Veteran Readiness & Employment students: You must obtain approval from your VA Counselor in order to repeat a course, even if you did not meet the minimum grade requirement.
Examples:
- If your program requires a “B” or better in a course, then the course may be repeated if a “B” or better was not earned.
- If a course is required for graduation, a student may repeat the course and be certified for it until it is successfully completed.
- If a student chooses to repeat a course that was successfully completed, just to improve their GPA, that course cannot be certified to VA.
Rounding Out
Beginning August 1, 2021, students can “round out” in their last term only if they are taking classes that are approved for their program of education. Classes approved for a program of education means those that can be used to satisfy the graduation requirements of the program as specified in the curriculum. Classes that have been previously completed cannot be used to round out the student’s course load.
Students are only allowed to round out once, in the last term of your program. If you do not graduate after the rounding out semester/term, you cannot round out again.
Withdraw from a Course with a “W”
You must notify the Office of the Registrar immediately when you officially withdraw from a course used for certification by completing a Veteran Student Change of Enrollment Form. You are responsible for meeting all of the university’s withdrawal deadlines as published in the Academic Calendar. UH West Oʻahu will report the withdrawal to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, including the date(s) of withdrawal.
If you withdraw from a course or completely withdraw from UH West Oʻahu, the VA will reduce your benefits retroactively to the beginning of the semester unless there are extenuating or mitigating circumstances. The VA may automatically grant a 6-credit hour exclusion the first time you receive a W grade that results in a debt while using VA benefits. This one-time exclusion can be granted for a withdrawal up to 6 credits and through the last day of attendance.
Examples of the 6-credit hour exclusion:
- If a student withdraws from 3 credits, the exclusion will be granted for 3 credits and the student’s one-time exclusion is used.
- If a student withdraws from 12 credits, the exclusion will be granted for 6 credits and the one-time exclusion is used. The student must provide mitigating circumstances to the VA for the other 6 credits.
- If a student withdraws from a course with a course fee (e.g., laboratory fee, studio art course fee, natural science course fee), the exclusion will be granted and the student’s one-time exclusion is used even if the student remains enrolled full-time.
You may contact the VA Education Call Center at 1-888-442-4551 to find out whether or not the 6-credit exclusion has already been applied to your benefits.
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 at the official U.S. government website at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
Veteran Student Certification Forms
Military Tuition Assistance
Eligible Service members who plan to use Tuition Assistance (TA) should receive approval from their Education Services Officer (ESO) or military counselor within their Service prior to enrollment.
Veteran Affairs (VA) Scholarships
UH West Oʻahu offers a number of scholarships to help you finance your education.
External Resources
- Military Transcript Retrieval (follow instructions in your browser to continue to the website)
- Office of Veteran Services (HI)
- Student Veterans of America
- VA Educational Benefits
- VA Medical Center
- West O‘ahu Vet Center