FAQs

No. All courses taken during a term for which you have been certified for VA benefits must apply towards your degree program. Veterans can be charged with an overpayment for any course taken which are not applicable toward their degree program. If you are in doubt as to whether certain courses are required for your program, please contact your academic advisor, your academic dean's office, or the Office of Veteran Services immediately as this could affect your VA benefits.

Once a student has received a passing grade of D or better in a course, she/he is typically no longer eligible for VA benefits for repeating that course. You can only repeat a course if the catalog requires a grade of C or better to continue to the next level or use rounding out in your last semester.

A VA student can round out a schedule with non-required courses to bring his/her course load up to a full-time schedule in his/her last term only. This allows students to continue to receive benefits at the full-time rate, even though fewer credits are required to complete the program.

This procedure can be done only once per program.

VA students may use any credit hour unit subject, including a subject that has previously been successfully completed (received a passing grade)

If you fail a class you receive what is called a "punitive grade" for that class. A punitive grade is a grade that doesn't count as earned credit but is used in determining a student's progress toward graduation requirements. Depending on the LDA we may have to report this grade to the VA. This means that the grade you receive counts in your overall degree progress, albeit negatively. Since this grade counts towards your graduation progress you are not required to repay any GI Bill money you received for that class. You may take the class again in an attempt to receive credit towards graduation or raise your grade for it and you may receive GI Bill payment for the retaking of the class.

If you withdraw from Reynolds, we are obliged to report that change to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Depending on the date of your withdrawal, the VA might contact you to repay a portion of your Monthly Allowance for Housing and a portion of your tuition and fee payment. After this debt is paid, you will retain the months of eligibility during which you did not attend

First, verify that payment has been issued by contacting VA (you can use the " Ask VA" link or call 888-GIBILL-1 [888-442-4551]). This process could take up to 6 weeks. If, there is no information at the VA about your payment then contact Reynolds Community College at 804-523-5656

If you are receiving Montgomery GI Bill benefits you can enroll in Direct Deposit by logging into the WAVE system and then clicking on "Direct Deposit Enrollment Form."

Each certification has 2 parts: credits and tuition. We are able to certify credit hours earlier in the term. For students receiving the Post 9/11 GI Bill, this will generate Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) payments. We certify tuition and fees later in the semester.

This may also be to the fact that you received the Commonwealth Grant in which case we have to subtract that amount from the amount we send to the VA.

As of 8/1/2011, the VA regulation for certifying tuition has changed. If you receive any scholarships or the Virginia Commonwealth Grant that are specified for tuition and fees only, these scholarships and grants must also be deducted from the total amount reported to the VA.

The financial aid disbursement process begins after the drop date of your latest starting class of the semester. This process can take approximately 14 business days. Financial aid is used to pay for your tuition/fees and bookstore charges. We must ensure the correct amount of financial aid is disbursed based on your actual enrollment.

To be eligible for a refund of tuition and fees, students must drop classes they do not wish to take by the published drop deadline. Refunds are processed after the Last Day to Drop with a Refund (see the Academic Calendar) and take up to three weeks to be received

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEVE) administers the stipend benefit in conjunction with DVS and participating Virginia public institutions of higher education. The stipend funds cannot be requested until attendance is confirmed for  all students in the VMSDEP portal. For more information about the VMSDEP stipend please click the fact sheet.

It is important that this application process is completed and approved prior to enrolling in courses. Reynolds Community College does not apply for waivers retroactively. Eligible waivers are applied to current and or future terms only.