Path To Getting Certified

All military personnel seeking to use their educational benefits must go through a certification process in order to access those benefits. We are here to help you navigate the waters of certification and get on your path to expanding your career horizons through higher education. Please call or come in to the MSSC and speak with a counselor who can help guide you through the entire process.

Important Information

First time using an education benefit? You are responsible for providing all documentation to the MSSC to verify eligibility prior to census date of each term . You can find the parts of term at: https://www.utep.edu/vpba/student-business-services/ . This allows for your account to be coded and to ensure that your courses are not dropped for non-payment.
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.
Any classes dropped or withdrawn from after the drop date will be your responsibility with regard to a possible debt or restriction for the upcoming semester.
Early registration is available to you as a military-affiliated student using any type of benefit. Military affiliated students are able to register a week prior to their current classification (i.e Senior, Sophmore) pending they meet all the registration requirements.
If you are participating in an internship, practicum, etc. that is off-campus, you must submit a memorandum from your academic advisor (on department letterhead) that identifies the facility, zip code you will be in, along with expected number of hours worked per week and (ex. Education majors conducting student teaching hours)

Concurrent Enrollment

A student receiving VA Education Benefits may take courses at more than one school that apply to his or her degree (the school that will grant the degree is the student’s “parent/primary” school--all other schools are "secondary").

Students receiving VA Education Benefits must obtain a Parent Institution Letter from the “primary” school in order to receive VA benefits at the “secondary” school. The Parent Institution Letter gives the receiving school assurance that the class, if completed successfully, will apply to the student’s intended academic program.

VA can pay benefits for courses taken at both the primary or parent school and secondary schools concurrently and will pay for the combined credit, taking overlapping enrollment dates into account. If the student is only enrolled at the secondary school (supplemental enrollment), VA will still pay for the credits taken at the secondary school. However, the student will still need to get a PIL from the parent school.

After you have completed the Parent Institution Letter, upload document to your applicable certification request.