College Financial Aid-VeteransThe VA may always be contacted electronically at http://www.gibill.va.gov/or by phone at 1.888.442.4551. You may also contact Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana at Sellersburg Financial Aid Office by phone at (812) 246-3301 or email Jenni Brown for Veterans Information. Learning about Veterans Educational BenefitsThere are several different categories, or chapters, of veterans educational benefits. A brief description of each benefit is provided below along with eligibility requirements as established by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Please remember that eligibility for each of these benefits is determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs, not Ivy Tech Community College-Sellersburg. A free booklet on any of the benefits listed below can be obtained from the Ivy Tech Community College-Sellersburg Financial Aid Office.

Chapter 30 Montgomery G.I. BillProvides up to 36 months of educational benefits. Generally, benefits are payable for ten years following the veteran’s release from active duty. Veterans must meet the following criteria in order to receive Chapter 30 benefits.• Entered active duty after July 1, 1985 and contributed $100 a month during the first year of service to the Montgomery G.I. Bill• Served a minimum of two years and earned a high school diploma or its equivalent, prior to or during the qualifying enlistment• Received an honorable discharge

Chapter 1606 Montgomery G.I. Bill Selected Reserve/National Guard• Provides benefits for members of the Reserve/National Guard who enlisted, re-enlisted, or extended their enlistment for a period of 6 years after July 1, 1985.

• Chapter 1607 Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP)
Provides up to 36 months of educational benefits. Chapter 1607 (REAP) is a new benefit providing educational assistance to members of the reserve components-Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve-who are called or ordered to active service in response to a war or national emergency, as declared by the President or Congress. Eligibility will be determined by the Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security. Generally, a member of a reserve component who serves on active duty on or after September 11, 2001 under title 10, U.S.C., for at least 90 consecutive days under a contingency operation is eligible for REAP. Note: “Contingency operation” means the current Iraq or Afghanistan operations and may include other operations.

Chapter 35 Dependents or Spouse of 100% Disabled or Deceased Veterans (Service Connected)
• Provides benefits for dependents and spouses of veterans who died or are 100% disabled due to service-connected causes.

Applying for Benefits (first-time students)

To apply for any of the veterans benefits listed above, you must complete the appropriate application, as listed.

· Chapter 30, Chapter 1606, or Chapter 1607 – VA Form 22-1990

· Chapter 35 – VA Form 22-5490
All application forms can be obtained in the Financial Aid Office. Once the application is completed, it should be submitted to the Financial Aid Office, along with copies of your DD-214 and/or your NOBE (Notice of Basic Eligibility).
Please be aware that you may only use one veterans benefit at a time. For instance, if a veteran has eligibility under both the Ch. 30 and Ch. 1606 programs, the veteran would have to choose which program he or she wanted to use. Veterans who have questions regarding which benefit should be used first should contact the Department of Veterans Affairs at 1-888-442-4551 and speak to an Education Case Manager.

Using your Benefits (Transfer Students) Veterans who are currently receiving educational benefits at another post-secondary institution must complete a V.A. Change of Program form in order to use those benefits at Ivy Tech Community College-Sellersburg. This Change of Program form can be obtained in the Financial Aid Office and once it is completed it should be returned to the Financial Aid Office.

Also, the Veterans Administration requires that an academic credit evaluation be completed for any student who previously attended college. This means that all college transcripts and/or course descriptions, as needed, must be submitted to the Registrar. Please be aware that failure to provide college transcripts and/or course descriptions will cause a serious delay in processing, as the enrollment certification cannot be submitted without reporting prior academic credit.

Receiving your benefits Before a student may begin receiving veterans benefits, each of the following items must be completed. A student’s enrollment cannot be certified to the Veterans Administration until each of these requirements are met; therefore, it’s very important that these requirements are fulfilled by the beginning of the semester in which you plan to enroll.• ASSET test has been taken and/or waiver has been completed• Application for Admission has been completed and submitted to the Office of Student Affairs.• A copy of your high school transcript or GED scores has been submitted to the Office of Student Affairs.• All college transcripts and/or course descriptions, as needed, have been submitted to the Registrar for an academic credit evaluation.• You are enrolled in a degree-seeking program.
VETERANS BENEFITSStudent ResponsibilitiesCommunication with the Financial Aid Office & the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It is very important that students maintain good communication with the Financial Aid Office and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs throughout their academic career at Ivy Tech. This means that students must inform the Financial Aid Office and the VA any time any of the following events occur:•Registering for classes •Dropping or adding a class•Withdrawal from all classes •Change of program of study•Change of educational objective • Change of name or address
A student’s prompt notification to the Financial Aid Office and VA of any of these occurrences allows for smoother processing of the student’s veterans benefits by both Ivy Tech Community College-Sellersburg and the Veterans Administration.88
The VA may always be contacted electronically at http://www.gibill.va.gov/or by phone at 1.888.442.4551. You may also contact the Ivy Tech Community College at Sellersburg Financial Aid Office by phone at (812) 246-3301 or email Jenni Brown, Veterans Clerk.
Monthly Verification of Attendance All students receiving Ch. 30 and Ch. 1606 veterans benefits must verify their attendance each month. Students may verify their attendance electronically at http://www.gibill.va.gov/ or by telephone at 1-877-823-2378. If a student’s enrollment status has changed, he or she must verify their attendance electronically. Failure to verify your attendance each month will cause a delay in receiving your monthly check, as the VA will not process your check until your attendance verification is received.
Payment ArrangementsA student that receives veterans educational benefits must make payment arrangements with the Bursar's Office before the beginning of each semester, as veterans benefits are always paid to the student 30 days behind schedule. Please remember that a student is not officially enrolled in classes until his or her tuition and fees have been satisfied in thBursar's Officece.
Financial AidThe most common forms of payment include financial aid, which consists of Pell Grants, state grants, student loans, and scholarships. An advance payment, which is described below, is another payment option that is available for students. For more information on the various types of financial aid that are available on our campus, please visit the Financial Aid web site at http://www.ivytech.edu/Sellersburg/FinancialAid.html.
Advance PaymentA student can receive an advance payment on his or her Ch. 30, Ch. 1606, or Ch. 35 veterans benefits. This advance payment is literally an advance on his or her monthly check and is used towards a student’s tuition and fees. Generally, only new students or students who have interrupted their education for a semester are eligible to receive an advance payment, as there must be a break in enrollment to process the request. A student must be enrolled at least half-time (6 credit hours) to receive an advance pay. Advance payment requests must be received by the VA no later than 30 days before the beginning of the semester in which the student wishes to enroll.
Advance payment request forms are available in the Financial Aid Office. Students will be given more detailed information regarding their advance payment request upon submission of their form to the Financial Aid Office.
VETERANS BENEFITSAcademic Information Required CoursesThe Veterans Administration will only pay for courses that are required for a student’s program of study. You may enroll in courses that are not required for your program; however, you will not be certified for these courses and therefore, will not receive payment from the VA. For example, if a student is in the Computer Information Technology (CIT) program and wants to take a Medical Terminology class, he or she would be able to register for the course, but would not be eligible to receive VA benefits for the course since it is not a required course in his or her program of study.
Repeating CoursesAs a general rule, the VA will not pay for the repetition of any class that a student has already satisfactorily completed. As an example, if a student took a Business Law class and received a "D" grade, he or she may not use his or her VA benefits to repeat this course, as a passing grade was earned and credit was given to the student for the course.
The exception to this rule occurs when a specific letter grade is required for a course and a student’s grade falls below that requirement. For instance, there are some Medical Assistant and Nursing classes that require students to complete the class with a "C" grade or better. If a student does not complete the class with a "C", he or she can use his or her VA benefits to repeat the course; however, there is a limit to the number of times that a course may be repeated. Please see the section entitled Failing Courses for more details.
Failing Courses The Veterans Administration will pay only once for the repetition of a failed course or a course that fell below the specific grade requirement. As an example, if a student takes English Composition and fails the course, he or she could be re-certified for that course and receive his or her VA benefits. However, if the student fails the course again, he or she could not be certified for a third time for that course. As a result, the course could be taken again, but the student’s enrollment in English Composition class would not be included in the student’s total number of credit hours that is reported to the VA for that semester.
Any time a student fails a course, his or her last date of attendance in that course must be reported to the Veterans Administration. The instructor's grade and attendance roster are used to establish the student's last date of attendance. Once the last date of attendance is reported to the VA they will determine whether or not the student earned the "F" or if the student stopped attending classes.
Unofficial WithdrawalsAt the end of each semester, the Financial Aid Office at Ivy Tech Community College-Sellersburg reviews the grades of each student receiving veterans benefits. If a student receives failing grades in all of his or her courses for the semester, the student is considered to be an unofficial withdrawal by the VA. The instructors’ attendance and grade rosters are reviewed to determine the student’s last date of attendance. Once the last date of attendance is verified, it must be reported to the Veterans Administration. The VA will then determine if the student earned the "F" or if he or she just stopped attending class(es).
The student’s last date of attendance is also used to calculate how much money the student is actually entitled to. Please remember that VA educational benefits are to be used for school-related expenses; expenses that are not incurred if the student’s schooling is discontinued. For this reason, it is very important that students complete a Change of Enrollment (drop/add) form if they plan on dropping out of school so that they may be formally withdrawn from their classes. The formal withdrawal from school not only allows the student to receive "Ws" instead of "Fs" for the classes, but also prevents a potential overpayment with the VA.
VETERANS BENEFITS-Additional InformationLinksThe following web sites are listed below to provide students with additional sources of information regarding veterans benefits.
http://www.IN.gov/veteran/ Indiana Department of Veterans' Affairs
http://www.gibill.va.gov GI Bill web site
http://www.vba.va.gov/ro/stlouis/eduinter.htm Veterans Benefit Administration St Louis Regional Processing Office
Contact InformationStudents may contact the Financial Aid Office in person or by phone, mail, or email at the addresses listed below:
•In person or By mailIvy Tech Community College • 8204 Highway 311 • Sellersburg, IN 47172-1897 • Room B12 Office Hours are Monday through Thursday • 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday • 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.•By phone 812.246.3301, extension 4148 or 1.800.321.9021•By email Jenni Brown, Veterans Clerk.
• Scholarship Opportunities

Learn more about Veterans Services and Opportunities by calling 812.246.3301, or call toll free at 1.800.321.9021or Email the Office of Financial Aid/Veterans