VA Benefits Eligible Students, Enroll for Spring by Dec. 16

The Veterans Administration (VA) has informed school officials that VA ONCE, the platform used to submit students' enrollment to the VA, will shut down Jan. 13, 2023, according to the Military & Veterans Service team at Virginia Peninsula Community College. The VA is transitioning to a new processing system it aims to launch in January.

School Certifying officials encourage those eligible for VA education benefits to enroll in spring semester classes and submit Certification Request on or before Thursday, Dec. 16, which is VPCC's tuition and fee deadline. This will guarantee that all requests meeting enrollment requirements be submitted to the VA by Jan. 13.

The Military & Veteran Services team cannot guarantee requests submitted after Dec. 16 will be processed before the Jan. 13 VA ONCE shutdown as processing time during peak enrollment is 30 days.

Additionally, the College is closed Dec. 23 through Jan. 2 for winter break limiting the processing time frame. In the event a request is received after Dec. 22 and is not processed by Jan. 13, a student may not receive their first benefit payment (i.e. housing stipend or book stipend) until February or March.

Military & Veteran Services officials further advise when the College reopens Jan. 3, staff will be limited in the amount of time available to process due to significant student traffic in the office.

The team assures students that while the VA's change may delay the receipt of spring benefits, they are working to mitigate any impacts.

After submitting a request, they stress, students should monitor their college email for updates or notifications of additional information that may be needed to process the request.

Students may contact Military & Veteran Services at va@vpcc.edu or (757) 825-3442 with questions or concerns.