VA Benefits

The VA requires that we have military transcripts on file for every veteran or active duty service member receiving benefits at this institution. Please submit your transcripts electronically to the Office of Admissions. For students that have not submitted an official copy of their military transcripts to UTEP, a hold will be placed on your account and will be removed by the Office of Admissions once your transcripts have been received and evaluate.

Classes that are successfully completed (at UTEP or any other institution) may not be certified again for VA purposes regardless if the VA paid for the course or not.

Courses that are failed, or if a program requires a higher grade than the one achieved in a particular class for successful completion, may be repeated and certified to the VA again.

1. If a Nursing program requires a "B" or better in Biology, then that class may be repeated if a "B" or better was not earned. That requirement must be in the school catalog.
2. If a course is required for graduation, a student may repeat the course and be certified for it until it is successfully completed. No further information needs to be provided to VA regarding those courses.
3. If a student chooses to repeat a course that was successfully completed, just to improve their GPA, that course cannot be certified to the VA

Any courses dropped or withdrawn could result in a debt owed to the VA or the University. Courses dropped after the first day of classes will be your responsibility with regard to any debt.

Please be as definite as possible when selecting majors and classes. Try to choose classes limited to your degree plan to avoid wasting time and benefits with changes and drops. Changes in schedule slow the certification process considerably and limiting those changes will allow our staff to provide you with your educational benefits faster and more efficiently.

It is your responsibility to notify us of any changes made to your schedule. These changes could result in changes to your benefits, including overpayments which you may have to pay back to the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). All schedule changes must be reported to the DVA within 30 days of the change.

Any aid or assistance that is designated for the sole purpose of reducing a student's tuition and fee cost will be deducted from the net in-state charges reported to the VA. If a student is being charged $1500 tuition and fees, but is offered and accepts $500 in tuition spefic aid, the amount reported to the Department of Veterans Affairs will be $1000.

The official degree plan accepted will be the Degree Evaluation which can be found on your Goldmine Account. Please note, we will not accept any handwritten degree plans or advising forms.

If you are seeking Commissioned Officer status (ROTC program) and are registered for courses that do not appear as requirements on your degree plan, you will need to submit a current and signed 104-R (Form 48 for Air Force) that displays all the courses you are registered for during the specified semester.

Study Abroad courses can only be certified to the VA if courses taken are required for graduation.

• VA will not pay:
  • Costs related to travel (airfare, lodging, and meals)
  • Third party charges

In order to be certified, students re-enrolled after being dropped for academic suspension must submit a copy of the Petition for Reinstatement received by their advisor to the MSSC.

Examples of fees not covered by the VA for students using Ch. 33 benefits are: course repeat fees, course add/drop fees, parking fees, reinstatement fees, late registration fees, and traffic fines.

VA educaton benefits cannot be paid to non-matriculated students unless they are pending admission into a university program. For this reason, a student who is non-degree seeking may be certified for a maximum of two semesters. To be certified beyond the two semester limit, a student will need to be admitted to the school as a degree-seeking student. For those students who have not declared a major, be advised that you cannot be certified beyond your sophomore year unless a major has been declared.

The VA WILL NOT cover the following tuition charges

The UTEP EMBA program may have fees that the VA will not cover. The fees are reviewed each academic year. Please review with your EMBA Director/Advisor.