Chapter 33 (Post 9/11) benefits students who served in the military on active duty for at least 90 aggregate days after Sept. 10, 2001, or if the student was discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days. You must have received an honorable discharge.
This benefit provides up to 36 months of educational benefits, payable for up to 15 years after release from active duty. Some individuals can also transfer their Chapter 33 benefits to an eligible dependent.
TJC will provide a Do Not Drop indicator on your student account if all required documents are received by published payment deadlines.
Note: All required documentation for benefit consideration must be received by the Veteran and Military Services office no later than one week before classes start to guarantee certification of classes. Please allow up to 10 days after all documents are received to confirm eligibility for benefits.
Applying for Chapter 33 Benefits at TJC for the First Time
- To apply for benefits, visit the VA website and follow the instructions.
- Upload the following documents to your Veterans and Military Service Portal in Apache Access:
- VA Certificate of Eligibility
- DD 214
- Enrollment Certification Request Form
- Proof of FAFSA submission (Strongly Recommended, but Not Required)
- Visit your TJC Academic Advisor to confirm your major and provide an official academic degree plan after registering for classes through email to Veterans@tjc.edu (Strongly Recommended, but Not Required)
- Veterans only, please provide official military transcripts to both the Office of the Registrar at Registrars@tjc.edu and the Veteran and Military Services Office at Veterans@tjc.edu:
Returning or Continuing Chapter 33 Students – Required Each Term
- Submit An Enrollment Certification Request Form through your Veterans Portal inside Apache Access.
What Fees Are Not Covered Using Chapter 33 Post 9/11 Benefits?
Per the VA Guidance:
- For the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill “Fees” is defined as any mandatory charges (other than tuition, room, and board) that are applied by the institution of higher learning for the pursuit of an approved program of education. Fees include but are not limited to, health premiums, freshman fees, graduation fees, and lab fees.
- Fees do not include those charged for a study abroad course(s) unless the course(s) is a mandatory requirement for completion of the approved program of education.
- Examples of fees that are not allowed include, but are not limited to:
- Penalty fees (i.e. late registration, late course changes, returned checks, repeated courses)
- Add/drop course fees
- Fees for any food or lodging expenses, meal ticket fees
- Parking fees that are not required of every student
- Overload fees for course loads that require special permission
- Transportation/transit system fees that are not required of every student
TJC will have some courses with “Course Content Fees”. The VA does not cover these fees and can range in costs from an average of $20 to $120. Students can pay for these costs out of pocket or use federal financial aid. A business hold will be placed on the student’s account so they can continue with their class as financials are being worked out, but the hold will prevent the student from registering for future classes until paid. While we do not recommend opting out of Course Content requirements for academic reasons, students have the right to do so and have the charge removed from their account.
If you do not want to participate in Inclusive Access/Course Content Fees, you must opt out of the program until the census date. To opt out, please see your professor within the first few days of class. Your professor will then notify Business Services and your account will be adjusted.
Frequently Asked Questions
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs determines eligibility for benefits; TJC cannot make this determination. To apply, visit www.gibill.va.gov. In the ‘How do I apply?’ section, click the green, ‘Find your education benefits form’ button. Answer the questions on the screen. Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to fill out your application for benefits online.
The typical processing time by the VA is 30 days, after which a certificate of eligibility will be mailed to you providing information regarding your eligibility/ineligibility.
Please follow the steps listed on the individual pages for each benefit type:
No. The Yellow Ribbon Program allows schools to enter into an agreement with VA to fund the tuition and fees that exceed the basic amounts payable by the VA. Since TJC’s tuition and fees are low enough that the standard benefits cover expenses, we do not currently participate.
Generally, most paperwork submitted to our office is processed within 3-5 business days. After the certification is sent to the Department of Veterans Affairs, it takes an additional 30 days to process your certification and release the funds. If you are using your benefits for the first time, the expected processing time is typically longer for the VA. As a final note, VA processing times can increase greatly during the beginning of the term, so these timelines are only estimates.
If you have received an email from our office notifying you that you have been certified, and it has been more than 30 days, you will need to reach out to the VA directly (888-GIBILL-1).
Please note, the VA releases housing stipends for training that occurred the previous month. For example, if the first day of classes begins in August, the earliest a housing stipend would be released is the first of September.
Additionally, the VA pro-rates payments for the number of days in the month that a student is enrolled. For example, if the first day of classes is Aug. 25, the VA will pay for only a pro-rated number of days and the housing stipend will be less.
Finally, for book stipends, the VA will not release these funds prior to 14 days before the term starts.
When initially certifying students using Chapter 33 benefits, our office certifies students’ enrolled semester credit hours without a tuition and fees amount – meaning these certifications will be submitted with a $0 amount. After Census Day/Official Reporting Date each term, our office will update certifications to include students’ actual tuition and fees charges. Students will initially receive a letter from the VA that their enrollment has been certified at $0; processing in this way allows the VA to still release housing and book stipends to eligible students.
Again, this process will not prevent students from receiving housing and/or book stipends for which they are eligible. Payment from the VA will arrive after Census Day/Official Reporting Date when certifications are updated to include tuition and fees. This typically takes 2-4 weeks. Students will continue to see a balance due on their account while we wait for the VA to send tuition and fee payments to TJC. All students using Chapter 33 benefits, who have turned in an initial certificate of eligibility (COE), will have a “Do Not Drop” hold placed on their account that prevents them from being dropped and late fees from accruing.
Yes. Some of these fees include late registration fees, reinstatement fees, any fees associated with room and board or travel costs for a field trip or study abroad program, excessive-hours fees, late graduation application fees, parking permits (exception: if you are using Chapter 31 – Veteran Readiness & Employment and your Counselor approves the fee), and 3-peat fees.
Please note this list is not exhaustive. If you have a question about a fee you have been charged and whether or not the VA will pay it, please email Veterans@tjc.edu.
If you receive any scholarship that covers only tuition and fees and Chapter 33 (Post 9/11) benefits, then yes. Our office will deduct the amount reported to the VA from the amount of the scholarship received. This does not affect other benefits (housing stipend, book stipend, et cetera) as these are based on the number of hours you are enrolled in, not the tuition and fees reported to the VA.
The following course load tables show the number of hours necessary to maintain each enrollment status:
| TJC Terms | Full-Time Hours | 3/4 Time Hours | 1/2 Time Hours | 1/4 Time Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall or Spring 16-week semesters | 12+ | 9-11 | 6-8 | 1-5 |
| Fall or Spring 8-week terms | 6+ | 4-5 | 3 | 1-2 |
| Summer Long (10-week terms) | 7+ | 5-6 | 4 | 1-2 |
| Summer 1 and Summer 2 (5-week terms) | 4+ | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| May/Winter Mini-Semesters (3-week terms) | 2+ | NA | 1 | NA |
| For any other situation, contact the VA Office | NA | NA | NA | NA |
If you use Chapter 33 (Post 9/11) benefits, 50 percent or less enrollment will qualify for tuition and fees only.
Yes, as long as that course will fulfill a degree requirement for your degree at TJC. Our office will need to send your other school a Parent Institution Letter. In order to do so, you must submit a copy of your registration summary as well as the contact information at your secondary school that should receive the letter. You can submit these via email to Veterans@tjc.edu.
Once you have officially changed your major, you must submit the new academic degree plan to our office. You may do so via email to Veterans@tjc.edu or by dropping it off at the front desk located in the Rogers Student Center.
Yes. You must fill out the TJC VA Enrollment Certification Form.
You may contact the Department of Veterans Affairs (888-GIBILL-1). If you are using Chapter 33 (Post 9/11), you may also use the ebenefits website.
Contact the Department of Veterans Affairs to complete the appropriate paperwork, 888-GIBILL-1 (888-442-4551). Only Chapter 33 (Post 9/11) benefits are eligible for transfer, and the veteran must have been an Armed Forces member on Aug. 1, 2009. The veteran must also have transferred the benefits while on active duty. There are additional requirements to qualify, so ask the VA about their policies.
It depends. If you are receiving Post 9/11 (Chapter 33) benefits at 100 percent or using Chapter 31 (Vocational Rehabilitation), you are not eligible to use Hazlewood benefits simultaneously. However, you can typically apply for the Hazlewood Exemption if you are using any other type of federal VA educational benefit.
Tyler Junior College (TJC) acknowledges that military students may be temporarily unable to attend classes or be required to suspend their studies in order to perform military service. TJC encourages such students to resume their education once a military service obligation has ended and adopts this policy to ensure the timely readmission of such students.
In accordance with federal regulations, 34 C.F.R. 668.18 and the Department of Defense (DOD) Voluntary Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), TJC will promptly readmit service members who seek readmission to a program that was interrupted due to a uniformed service obligation.