VETERANS ADMINISTRATION EDUCATION BENEFITS POLICIES

Title 38 of the United States Code and regulations of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) require that specific policies be in place for those receiving VA education benefits for enrollment in paramedic training. Veterans should be familiar with these policies and understand their academic and attendance responsibilities.

VETERAN ATTENDANCE POLICY

Veterans* enrolled in the paramedic program will be interrupted for unsatisfactory attendance when accumulated absences, tardies, and class cuts exceed twenty (20) percent of class contact hours in any module of the curriculum. The interruption will be reported to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) within 30 days of the veteran’s last date of attendance using VA Form 22-1999b.

A veteran may be re-enrolled for benefits at the beginning of the module following interruption because of unsatisfactory attendance only when the cause of unsatisfactory attendance has been removed.

Veterans interrupted a second time for unsatisfactory attendance shall not be allowed to re-enroll for VA education benefits in the absence of mitigating circumstances.

Mitigating circumstances are issues which directly hinder a veteran’s pursuit of a course/program of study, and which are judged to be beyond the student’s control. General categories of mitigating circumstances include but are not limited to:

Serious illness of the veteran
Serious illness or death in the veteran’s immediate family
Emergency financial obligations or change of place of employment or work schedule that preclude pursuit of the program/course
Active duty military service, including active duty for training

STANDARDS OF PROGRESS FOR VETERANS

Academic progress will be measured at the end of each module. Failure by a student to achieve a score of at least 70% for any evaluation period will result in that student being placed on academic probation for the following module. Failure by the student to achieve a score of at least 70% during the probation term will result in academic suspension (termination of veteran’s benefits) for one module. The interruption will be reported to the Veterans Administration within 30 calendar days of the change in status using VA Form 22-1999b.

Veterans who are reinstated for benefits after academic suspension who fail to achieve a score of at least 70% during that module will be placed on academic dismissal for 2 modules. Reinstatement after dismissal will be granted only if mitigating circumstances exist.

Mitigating Circumstances: Mitigating circumstances are those which directly hinder pursuit of a course and which are judged to be beyond the student’s control. The following are some general categories of mitigating circumstances. This list is not all-inclusive.

Serious illness of the veteran
Serious illness or death in the veteran’s immediate family
Emergency financial obligations or change of place of employment or work schedule which preclude pursuit of the course
Unanticipated changes in child-care responsibilities
Active duty military service, including active duty for training

VETERANS REFUND POLICY

The Lowcountry Regional EMS Council has and maintains a policy for the refund of the unused portion of tuition, fees, and other charges in the event the veteran:

Fails to enter the program/course
Withdraws, or
Is discontinued therefrom at any time prior to completion of the program/course

This policy provides that the amount charged to the veteran for tuition, fees, and other charges for a portion of the program/course shall not exceed the approximate pro-rata portion of the total charges for tuition, fees, and other charges that the length of the completed portion of the course/program bears to its total length, within the following limitations

Registration Fee – An established registration fee in the amount not to exceed $10.00 need not be subject to proration. When the established registration fee is more than $10.00, the amount in excess of $10.00 will be subject to proration.

Prompt Refund – Refunds will be made promptly (within 40 days). Veterans are not required to file application for refund

* Wherever the word “veteran” is used, it is intended to include all persons receiving VA education benefits.