veteran and military services

GI Bill®: Forms & Student Responsibilities

Veteran & Military Services

GI Bill®: Forms & Student Responsibilities

If you are unsure what veteran education benefit(s) you qualify for, refer to VA or contact our office for assistance. Contact the VA through the GI Bill® hotline (888.442.4551) or on their website to confirm benefit eligibility.

Benefit Request Form: GI Bill® Request for Certification Form

In order to comply with VA regulations and to get your enrollment certified you should know and understand the following:

  1. Changes to your schedule will be reported to VA and could affect your benefit payments.
  2. Your benefits can be terminated if your GPA remains below a 2.0 for three consecutive terms.
  3. Grades of NS or W, will affect your benefit payments.
  4. Only courses required for graduation can be certified toward your benefits. Courses required to be repeated for graduation can be certified. Contact the Veteran & Military Services office with questions.
  5. You must submit the  GI Bill® Certification Request form each semester to Veteran & Military Services in order for your enrollment information to be sent to VA.
  6. You must also select a Macomb program your first semester and notify Veteran & Military Services any time you change academic programs.

Standards of Progress

Macomb Community College must comply with federal reporting requirements about your enrollment when you are using veteran education benefits. Due to this, the following are examples when we report changes to VA that will affect your benefits:
  1. A student must maintain a 2.0 GPA. If your GPA (grade point average) falls below 2.0, you will be placed on probation and will have two consecutive semesters to raise your GPA to a 2.0 or higher. Failure to do so will result in termination of education benefits by the VA. While on probation, you are required to meet with a Macomb counselor or academic advisor in order to enroll for future semesters. Upon successful completion of this meeting, the counselor/advisor will grant you permission to register.


    Benefit Termination Due to Continued Low GPA:

    After three consecutive benefit usage semesters with GPA below a 2.0, an education benefit user must provide the School Certifying Official (SCO) with a GI Bill® Appeal Form. This form is obtained by the Veteran & Military Services office (VMS) and must be filled out and reviewed with a Counselor in the College’s Counseling and Academic Advising office.

    After submission of this form to the VMS office, you will be granted two additional semesters to increase your GPA to a 2.0. Failure to do so will result in an inability to use your VA education benefits at Macomb until your GPA increases to a 2.0 or above.

    Education Benefit Reinstatement:

    When benefits are terminated due to continued, consecutive GPA below a 2.0, they can be reinstated when the student GPA meets a 2.0 or above. Once GPA reaches a 2.0 or above, the student should submit a Request for Certification form to Veteran & Military Services office. Once the GPA has reached a 2.0 or above, future semesters are eligible for certification. 

  2. If you receive a grade of NS or W, Macomb reports your last day of attendance or your non-attendance to VA. VA will determine how this affects your benefit and adjust your payments accordingly. In some cases, VA will reduce your benefits from the first day of the term. By notifying our office of any circumstances that affected your enrollment (mitigating circumstances), we may be able to report additional information to VA.

  3. Macomb can only certify you for courses required for graduation. Courses not on your program plan will not be certified.


    TIP:

    By reporting changes to your schedule and communicating with us about stoppages in attendance or unavoidable life situations, we may be able to help you avoid, or at least reduce, debt situations. Regardless of whether you tell us about your schedule changes or not, we have to report the changes to VA. Communicating with us as things are happening allows us to better guide you through options.

For further information or assistance, contact the Veteran & Military Services office.

Enrollment Status

GI Bill® payments are calculated by VA using the number of credit hours you are enrolled in and the dates of your semester (how your credit hours overlap). Most benefits prorate your payments based on your "Enrollment Status" (full time, 3/4 time, etc.). Check out our Enrollment Status charts and information or contact our office for further clarification.

For details on GI Bill® eligibility, view our web page, VA's web page or contact our office.

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 https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.