Veterans Agreement

Veterans seeking educational benefits must sign a Veterans Agreement and return it to the Veterans Affairs Office before receiving benefits. This form is located at the VA office.

OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS

The Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) Veterans Service will request from student OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT(S) from all colleges/universities you have previously attended before certification at OCCC will be forwarded to the Veteran's Affairs Regional Office (VARO).

Transcript(s) will be evaluated and equivalent credit applied to a major degree program I have selected at OCCC. I understand that I WILL NOT receive VA benefits for a course I have completed and a grade received, regardless of when the course was completed and/or who paid for the course. The ONLY exception is when a higher grade is required to meet the degree objective.

If a REPEAT COURSE is detected before certification is mailed, I will be notified by the Veterans Affairs Office that I am enrolled in a REPEAT COURSE and will be required to adjust my enrollment accordingly. Adjustments in my training time will be made if I enroll in a REPEAT COURSE when my certification has been forwarded to VARO.

MAJOR DEGREE

A OCCC degree plan will be selected and I will pursue ONLY COURSES OR PREREQUISITES WHICH LEAD TO THE PREDETERMINED OBJECTIVE.

Any changes in the degree plan MUST BE documented and approved before certification can be completed and forwarded to VARO.

Adjustments will be made in my training time if I enroll in course(s) NOT REQUIRED by the degree objective and/or supported by documentation.

If I am substituting a course, a copy of my OCCC course substitution form, with appropriate signatures, will be on file in the OCCC VA office. If this is not done, the substituted course WILL NOT be certified to Veterans Affairs Regional Office (VARO).

REMEDIAL TRAINING

Prerequisite courses

All VA students must provide placement testing scores indicating a remedial "0" level course is required before VA will approve the course for payment.

VA will pay for remedial courses provided the course is needed. VA will not pay to take a remedial course in which the placement scores indicate the student tests for a higher level course than the course the student enrolled in.

VA will only pay for college level prerequisites provided the prerequisite course is listed in OCCC catalog required for students objective.

The student lacks general elective course then VA will pay for credit if approved by the students advisor.

UNSATISFACTORY PROGRESS

Once you start receiving benefits, you must maintain Satisfactory attendance, conduct, and progress. If you do not meet the standards set by the school, if you are reported, by an instructor, as NOT MAKING Satisfactory PROGRESS DUE TO NON-ATTENDANCE OR EXCESSIVE ABSENCES, the VA will be notified.  Not maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress will result in training time being adjusted and could result in potential debts with the VA and/or OCCC.

WITHDRAWAL FROM A COURSE

Benefits are terminated as of the first day of class for any student drawing VA educational benefits who withdraws or is withdrawn by the college from a course after the scheduled ADD/DROP period unless mitigating circumstances exist. Mitigating circumstances are those which directly hinder pursuit of a course and are judged to be beyond the student's control. A student in this category will correspond directly with VARO who will review the student's case on an individual basis and determine what date VA benefits will be terminated for the course.

CHANGES IN ENROLLMENT

If you change your enrollment, IMMEDIATELY notify this VA office. Failure to do so could create a reduction in your benefits. You could then be liable for an overpayment of benefits. If this occurs, you must deal directly with VARO.

"I" GRADE

If you receive an "I" grade, you have one year from the date you receive it, to convert it to a credit grade. If this is not done, benefits for that course will be terminated and you will have to pay back to the VA any money received for that course. When the "I" is changed to a letter grade on your transcript, YOU MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF THE TRANSCRIPT TO THIS OFFICE so that notification can be made to the VARO.

"U" GRADE

If you receive a "U" grade, this WILL BE REPORTED to the VARO. A "U" grade does not count toward graduation nor is it used to compute the GPA. Therefore, you may have to repay all benefits for that course unless you can prove mitigating circumstances.

TUTORIAL ASSISTANCE

If you feel you are failing a course, tutorial assistance may be available through the Veterans Administration. Ask for details in the OCCC VA office.

*** Chapter 31 students must contact their case manager.