Benefits office

How certification moves, per ODU’s FAQ

1. First time using Chapter 30, 33, 35 or 1606

   ODU’s FAQ: students on Chapters 1606, 30, 33 or 35 “need to submit a Veteran Clearance Form with their Certificate of Eligibility from the VA attached to it.” First-time users: “you’ll need to complete your benefit’s application to activate them with the VA.” Then “the VA will mail you a Certificate of Eligibility (COE),” and the student submits “a virtual copy of it with your Veteran’s Clearance Form after you have successfully registered for courses to complete the certification process at ODU.” Chapter 31 is different: see the next step.

2. Chapter 31 (VR&E), first time or not

   ODU’s FAQ: “Chapter 31: Veteran Readiness and Employment students need to complete the VRE application process with the VA.” Then: “If approved, you will need to contact your VA assigned VR&E counselor who will submit an e-authorization to ODU in lieu of the Veteran’s Clearance Form.” “Chapter 31 students DO NOT need to complete the Veterans Clearance Form,” and “Chapter 31 students will coordinate with their assigned VA Educational Counselor.”

3. Continuing students on Chapter 30, 33, 35 or 1606

   No changes and certified last semester: “you DO NOT need to submit a Veterans Clearance Form. You will be certified automatically.” A new form is required “when there is a change in major, duty status (Active Duty/Veteran), selected Chapter benefit, a break in enrollment, or after a student has requested not to be certified for a term and would like to be re-initiate benefits.” Active duty, MEM Ashore and certificate students file one “EACH semester AFTER registering for ODU classes.”

4. Engineering Management Portable Media students

   ODU’s certification page: “Engineering Management students in the Portable Media Program do not need to complete the Veterans Clearance Form” and “will coordinate with the Engineering Management department.” ODU’s FAQ does not mention this group.

5. Forms are processed in order

   “Veterans Clearance Forms (VCF) are processed in the order they are received.”

6. ODU’s School Certifying Officials certify

   They report the enrollment to VA.

7. The student gets confirmation emails

   With a clearance form: “a confirmation email once you have submitted the form,” then “another confirmation email from the Military Benefits and Certification Services team” after certification. Certified automatically: “a confirmation email from the ODU’s VA Services.”

What to collect before passing it on

The kit’s own advice for the desk, not an ODU rule.

• The student’s name, University Identification Number (UIN) and the term. Read the UIN back to the student; one wrong digit can point to another student’s record or to none.
• The benefit, if they know it. If not, the Front-Desk Map’s line 1 finds it.
• The Front-Desk Map line number, so “it’s a 4” means the same thing at every step.
• For Chapter 31, whether the counselor’s e-authorization has reached ODU (Front-Desk Map line 11).

Contacts

Tools

• Front-Desk MapWhat the student said, the checks, and who gets it next
• The student pagesWhat students see: their next step and who to contact
• Semester Pay PlannerWhat VA would pay each month this term
• Which Benefit Am I OnEach benefit’s rates, with VA’s dates
• QR cards and scan sheetFor the counter and the lounge