Streamlining VA benefits certification

Owned by Denise Kidd
Apr 08, 2024
2 min read

National Guard, Reserves, Active Duty, dependents, Veterans

  1. Apply for certificate from VA (golden tickets)

  • outlines benefits, months, percentage

    • Post 9/11 based on time in service on active duty (4 years 100%)

  1. Student notifies institution they want to use their VA benefits

  2. Institutions submits enrollment certification

  3. VA disburses funds

Maybe use graphic on our website to demonstrate this.

Certification dimensions

Tracking

  • how do we identify who is using beneifts

Documents

  • Orders, certificate of eligibility

Use declaration

  • Frevvo form

Transparency

  • tracking system to ensure students know when their benefits are certified

  • establishes trust and loyalty

Temple’s system/process

Student portal > Student tools > GI benefits > certification information

Start here

Links, SCO contact information, declaring benefits for first-timers, declaring benefits for returning, notes about dropping/cancellation of benefits

Student information

screen shot

Servicemember/dependent info

A profile (service member vs dependent)

Info from certificate of eligibility (any way we can get this data to auto-populate?)

  • Creates awareness for users to engage with their benefits if they have to type it in

  • Allows staff to verify to catch anyone who uploaded wrong cert or entered incorrectly

Upload documents

  • One-time upload

  • Can declare for a previous term

  • COE or eBenefits snapshot

  • Must be registered in order to declare yes

Request assistance

  • Form (can this be sent to SN or can we embed Frevvo?) to request help.

Student activity log

Digitized log of every action taken for and by the student for their benefits

Logs sent reminders (can we use Ocelot to text this?)

Certification IDS number - gives them a reference number if they need to call the VA

Staff view

Looks like SSB

Send automated comments and ad hoc

VA-ONCE information

Notes

820 benefits, 1900 military connected. May not be applicable to smaller schools

Makes compliance surveys easier

Q&A

At what point are the tipping point for advocating for a portal?

Depends on university

Where are you?

In the registrar’s office

Tips

Use DocuSign to provide information, upload docs, ask them to list courses

Rate of pursuit

Institution full time may differ from VA full time

SIS

Banner, app is in-house, integrated with SSB, integrates with SalesForce

Pulling courses registered by term, and registration status?

Can see course schedule in benefits portal. Want to add a function to add a parent letter in the event of taking courses elsewhere.

Linking degree audit to portal for course applicability?

DARS, linking would be a nice upgrade

Smaller schools

Build your own within your own infrastructure. Get away from paper. Build within infrastructure, but automate as much as possible.

Does your portal feed into enrollment manager?

No, Entering into portal for the activity log

Do you find them requiring them to do this every semester a barrier for some students?

They only need to do is give consent to process benefits. Some students who are eligible may not want to use them. Some students don’t want to use it for undergrad but would want to defer benefits to grad program.

Activity log - disbursed information

The amount reflected is the amount disbursed to institution

Interaction with advisors?

Only involved when there’s trouble with courses or for parent institution letter

How many policies do you have that surround VA benefits eligibility and processes?

Not much policy. Staff can upload/declare with written consent via email on behalf of students.

SCO?

SCO is in Registrar’s Office. (One school has it in Financial Aid). SCOs get questions that they can’t answer.

Buffer between students and SCOs. Answer the “where is my money”