Veterans Benefits

Summer 2024 Deadline: Certification Requests need to be submitted no later than May 10, 2024 for submission before the Summer Term begins. Certification Requests made after the deadline date may not process until after the semester begins.

VA Certification Request Form

Welcome to Calhoun Community College – veterans, national guard/reservists, and dependents/survivors are eligible for VA education benefits.

Remedial and deficiency courses offered as an independent study (online) cannot be approved and cannot be certified by VA.

Students receiving VA education benefits must submit a REQUEST FOR CERTIFICATION FORM to the Veterans Affairs Office each semester in order to receive benefits. Any changes in enrollment must be reported to the VA Certifying Official by email immediately to avoid payment problems.

Veterans and National Guard/Reservists (Chapter 30, Chapter 1606) must verify their enrollment on the last day of each month through WAVE (Web Automated Verification of Enrollment) website https://www.gibill.va.gov/wave or by calling 877-823-2378.

Veterans must be enrolled in a degree or certificate program to be eligible for benefits. You may pursue only the required courses for your particular degree as outlined in the college catalog.

Remedial courses will be paid for if they are prerequisites to courses or are required by the school. (Alabama GI Dependent Scholarship doesn’t pay for remedial courses.)

Only those courses in which you received a grade of “F” may be repeated one time and paid for by the GI Bill®.

Veterans who withdraw from a course(s) which alter their benefits after the college’s official Add/Drop period, will be charged by the VA with an overpayment dating from the first day of the class unless there is a “mitigating circumstance”. The VA will consider such reasons as illness, new job, altered work hours, transfer, etc.

Students are encouraged to speak with their Educational Services Officer (ESO) or counselor within their military service branch prior to enrolling at Calhoun Community College.

Students planning to use Tuition Assistance (TA) must have approval from their respective military service branch prior to the first day of classes.

Students must have a completed Admissions file. For transfer students, all previous transcripts (including military transcripts) must be evaluated by Calhoun before submission of enrollment to the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Students are required to speak with an academic advisor and be familiar with their DegreeWorks to ensure all courses they register for are included in their current degree plan. The VA will not cover courses that are not required for the student’s program of study.

All students need to meet with an academic advisor to discuss test results, degree plans, and course requirements. In following NACADA standards, the academic advisors at Calhoun Community College are full-time professionals for whom advising is a primary or secondary function and possess an appropriate combination of educational credentials and related work experience. Login to your MyCalhoun account to search for classes and build your class schedule. Academic Advisors are available to meet with current students, new students, transfer students, and nontraditional students for degree planning.

Service members requesting disability services may contact the Director of Student Disability/ADA, Dr. Brandon R. Brown, at 256-306-2635 or brandon.brown2@calhoun.edu.

Calhoun Community College will promptly readmit any student who could not attend school due to military service*. Students will have the same academic status they held when last attending or accepted for admission following the provision below. The student will be enrolled into the next classes in his/her program of study.

*Military service is defined as service (voluntary or involuntary) in the armed forces. This includes: service by a member of the National Guard or Reserve on active duty and active duty for training or full-time National Guard duty under federal authority for a period of more than 30 consecutive days under a call or order to active duty of more than 30 consecutive days.

For more information about VA benefits programs and assistance with completing the application for benefits contact:

Lena Bray
(Financial Aid office is on 2nd floor of Chasteen Student Center)
Decatur
Phone: 256-306-2627
Email: lena.bray@calhoun.edu
Karen Riggins
Huntsville
Phone: 256-890-4794
Email: karen.riggins@calhoun.edu

Alabama GI Dependent (AGIDS) – Nikka Shaneyfelt 256-306-2543Army Tuition Assistance (TA) – Carla Larry 256-306-2540AL National Guard Education Assistance Program (ANGEAP) – Pamela Thurman 256-306-2629

Off-Campus Resources for Veterans

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 Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.