Eligibility and Benefit Processing

Students must be approved by the Department of Veteran Affairs to use VA benefits prior to submitting a certification request to our office.

The application for VA benefits and other educational benefits is available online. After the VA has processed your request, you will receive a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) by mail indicating the chapter benefit you are eligible for, the percentage, and the length of time you have to use it. All new students at Broward College will be required to provide a COE prior to requesting certification of enrollment. Students who used their GI Bill^® at another institution or provided it in the past can provide proof of eligibility by taking a screenshot of the remaining entitlement through your eBenefits portal.

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website.

The VA has instituted an Enrollment Verification process where Veterans using Post 9/11 (Chapter 33) MUST verify their enrollment each month before they will receive their BAH payment. The VA will send you a text each month asking if you are still enrolled in your classes prior to your BAH payment being processed.

If you have not already opted into receiving text messages or if you are not sure your current phone number is on file with the VA, you will need to contact them as soon as possible. Call 888-442-4551 and choose the option to speak with someone and they can confirm your information.

If you change your phone number, contact the VA right away to update your information.

We begin processing certifications 60 days before the semester begins. As a Veteran or Veteran dependent, you are eligible for Veterans' Preference (early registration) so you can choose your classes before we are able to certify your enrollment.

**NEW Policy from the VA**
Beginning with the Fall 2022 semester, the VA instituted a new policy, which allows benefit recipients to choose which classes they wish to have certified. With that change, VA beneficiaries now have a requirement to specify the course numbers for all classes they wish to have certified. You can now choose to only have a portion of your classes certified to save some of your benefits for a later date. You must manually enter all course numbers you wish to have certified on the Certification Request form.

Fall 2024

Spring 2025

**If you are enrolled in an ATF course (with the exception of ATF1100) use the Aviation form**

Certification requests must be submitted 14 business days prior to start of each semester.

Starting with the Summer 2022 certification request form, you will be required to upload a copy of your current Certificate of Eligibility with your certification request each semester. Each time you are certified, the VA sends an updated letter with your remaining entitlement. Veterans receiving Chapter 31 (VR&E) benefits are exempt from this change.

Please be advised that your courses must be required for your program of study. It is strongly advised you speak with an Academic Advisor to ensure any courses you are registered for are applicable to avoid delays in your enrollment certification being processed

Anyone using VA benefits must complete an electronic certification request form for VA Benefits to be processed at Broward College. This certification request process allows Veterans to upload all necessary documents, from anywhere using the Broward College website. The certification request must be completed each term for benefits to be certified with the VA.

The certification request form can only be submitted once per term. If there is any change in your enrollment after your initial certification request has been submitted, please submit a ‘Veteran Benefit Certification Schedule Change’ form.

Please review the charts below as a guide to help you maximize your BAH each semester. You must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits during the Fall and Spring terms, and 9 credits during the Summer term to be eligible for full-time enrollment. This applies to VA benefits only. If you are eligible for the Pell Grant, you would still need to be enrolled in 12 credits to be considered for full-time Pell.

The remote learning exception expired on June 1, 2022. All Zoom classes will now be certified as online. If there are no other classes on your schedule that meet the resident class criteria, you will be certified as online only and receive BAH at an online-only rate.

**Fall and Spring Semesters**
Option 1	Option 2	Option 3
12 credits Session 1	6 credits Session 1 3 credits Session 2 3 credits Session 4	6 credits Session 2 6 credits Session 4

One class must be on campus from the beginning to the end of the semester to receive BAH at the standard rate. Taking all online courses (including Zoom classes) will result in BAH paid at the online-only rate, which is $938.50 per month for full-time enrollment.

**Summer Semester**
Option 1	Option 2	Option 3
9 credits Session 1	3 credits Session 1 3 credits Session 2 3 credits Session 3	4 credits Session 2 4 credits Session 3

The online rate can be found on the GI Bill® Comparison Tool.

Out-of-State Tuition Waiver for Veterans & Dependents

In accordance with 38 United States Code § 3679(c), and effective July 1, 2015, Florida Statute 1009.26(13) was established to provide out-of-state tuition and fee waivers to veterans and eligible dependents who attend Florida public, post-secondary institutions and who physically reside within the state of Florida. The Florida Statute, known as the Congressman C.W. “Bill” Young Veteran Tuition Waiver Program, waives out-of-state fees for a person who is:

1. An honorably discharged veteran of the United States Armed Forces, the United States Reserve Forces, or the National Guard who physically resides in this state while enrolled in the institution.

OR

2. An individual who is entitled to and who is using educational assistance provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs [this could include veterans who do not have an honorable discharge] for a quarter, semester, or term, and who physically resides in Florida while enrolled in the institution.

If you do not qualify for Florida residency, you may be eligible for an out-of-state tuition waiver for Veterans and Dependents. If you are an honorably discharged veteran, National Guardsman, or Reservist seeking approval for the waiver under category #1, above, you must provide a copy of your DD Form 214 (Member 4) or DD Form 256, indicating your honorable discharge status. If you are a veteran or a veteran dependent (spouse or child) seeking approval under category #2, above, you must provide your VA Certificate of Eligibility, a VA Statement of Benefits, or a Chapter 31, Tungsten Authorization form. Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, National Guard, and Reserves, as well as veterans and veteran dependents receiving and using educational assistance form the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs must provide proof of physically residing within the state of Florida while enrolled at Broward College. This may include but is not limited to a copy of a Florida driver’s license, a Florida identification card, or a copy of a lease. Please note the documents do not have a minimum issue date.

*All documents must be dated before the semester start date for the term in which you’re seeking the waiver of out-of-state fees.

This Out-of-State Tuition Waiver for Veterans and Dependents must be submitted each semester by the student.

To access and complete the form for the "Out of State Tuition Waiver for Veterans & Dependents", students should visit the Student Forms page.

Out-of-State Tuition Waiver for Veterans & Dependents

(a) Is enrolled as a full-time, part-time, or summer-school student in a program that terminates in an associate or a baccalaureate degree, a college credit certificate, or a career certificate;
(b) Is currently, or was at the time of the military action that resulted in the awarding of the Purple Heart or other combat decoration superior in precedence, a resident of this state; and
(c) Submits to the university, institution, or center the DD-214 form issued at the time of separation from service as documentation that the student has received a Purple Heart or another combat decoration superior in precedence. If the DD-214 is not available, other documentation may be acceptable if recognized by the United States Department of Defense or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as documenting the award.

Veteran students must provide a copy of their award orders, or the DD-214 form issued at the time of separation from service as documentation that the student has received a combat decoration listed below:

Purple Heart
2. Bronze Star (must be “V” designation or device)
3. Distinguished Flying Cross
4. Legion of Merit (must be “V” designation or device)
5. Silver Star
6. Air Force Cross
7. Navy Cross
8. Distinguished Service Cross
9. Medal of Honor

The Admissions office will apply the Purple Heart waiver for tuition after verification that the veteran has received the decoration and is a Florida resident.

Disabled Veteran Waiver

Under House Bill 45, disabled veterans who are enrolled in a postsecondary program AND receive educational assistance under the GI Bill, but do not qualify for the 100 percent eligibility are eligible to receive a waiver for the remaining cost of tuition and fees at Broward College.
The waiver will be granted if the following criteria can be met:

The individual is a resident of the state of Florida and can provide proof of residency. This may include but is not limited to a copy of Florida driver’s license, Florida identification card, or copy of lease, electric bill, or water bill.
The individual can provide proof they have a service-connected 100% total and permanent disability rating for compensation. This would include a valid identification card by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Request the Disabled Veteran Waiver Tuition and Fee Waiver Form.

Each benefit provides different funding based on enrollment status and is updated each year by the VA.

It is important to pay attention to the sessions you are enrolled in since it will affect your monthly payments from the VA. For example, if you are enrolled in 6 credits for Session 1 and 6 credits for Session 4, your monthly housing allowance will not be at the full-time rate until Session 4 courses begin.

The VA requires we report when a veteran withdraws from a course, graduates from a program, or fails to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress. Any of these changes can impact the payments made to you by the VA and may result in an overpayment of benefits. If you receive an overpayment notification from the VA, it is your responsibility to pay the debt owed to them directly.

Did you know you may be eligible to receive financial aid in addition to your VA benefits? All veterans are encouraged to utilize both VA benefits and financial aid while attending school. For more information please review the application process on the financial aid webpage.

Post-9/11 GI Bill^® students who receive Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) payments are required to verify their enrollment to continue receiving their payments.

Students who receive Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) payments will have their payments withheld if they fail to verify or report that they are no longer enrolled in their courses or training. To streamline the process, the VA is providing the option to verify enrollment easily and securely via text message.

How do I verify enrollment?

You can verify enrollment using the following methods:

Via Text Message

Opt-in: Students with a U.S. mobile phone number can use text messages as a simple, quick option for verifying monthly enrollment. As your enrollment approaches, you will receive the following opt-in text: "Post-9/11 GI Bill housing payments now require monthly enrollment verification. Would you like to submit yours via text? Please reply YES or NO." Reply "YES" to opt-in. The text message link will expire 14 days after receipt, so please respond within that time frame.
Verify: After opting in, you can verify your enrollment every month simply by responding to the following text message from VA: "Did you remain enrolled in your courses in MON YYYY as certified? Please reply YES or NO. If you have dropped all your courses, you must reply NO." Reply "YES" to verify enrollment for the previous month.

If you are unable to verify via text, you will need to contact the ECC at 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551) and ask a representative to verify your enrollment. Read more information regarding enrollment verification.

Notifications

Notifications

Future Students

Current Students

Faculty/Staff

Eligibility and Benefit Processing

Step 1 - Apply for benefits with the VA

Step 2 - Apply for benefits with the College

Step 3 - Veterans Fee Waivers

Step 4 - Learn the VA process

Step 5 - Apply for financial aid

Step 6 - Enrollment Verification

Have Questions?