Using Benefits and Financial Assistance
Using Benefits and Financial Assistance
Follow the checklists for students and families to utilize your benefits. Please remember that although the University as a whole may be approved for benefits usage, your individual program may not be. If your program is not approved, the VA will not pay for your courses.
We recommend you also file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine what federal financial aid is available to you.
Prepare
- Find out if you're eligible for VA education benefits.
- Gather these documents and information.
- Social Security Number
- Bank account direct deposit information
- Education and military history (or that of your parent/guardian)
- Basic information about the University of Delaware
- Learn about your benefits with the GI Bill® Comparison Tool.
Apply
It normally takes around 30 days for application to be approved and processed. Once complete, you should be issued a certificate of eligibility. This form is what the University will need to process your request for benefits usage.
Chapter 31 and Chapter 36 Applications
To apply for Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31) or educational and career counseling through Personalized Career Planning and Guidance (Chapter 36), you'll need a to use the specific application below.
Financial Aid and Scholarships
Even if you plan to use VA or DOD education benefits to fund your education, we recommend you file a FAFSA. This will determine what federal financial aid and/or grants are available to you.
Federal Financial Aid
How do federal financial aid, grants, scholarships and other awards intersect with VA benefits?
Any tuition-based scholarship or award will get applied directly towards tuition and will be deducted from the tuition prior to charging the VA. If the scholarship or grant can be used for non-tuition purposes, it will not be deducted.
If you have questions about your individual aid package, please contact Student Financial Services online or via telephone.
Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship
The Edith Nourse Rogers Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) Scholarship allows eligible Veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill® or dependents using the Fry Scholarship to get added benefits. This scholarship provides up to nine months (or $30,000) of benefits for training in high-demand fields.
As a reminder, usage of this STEM scholarship requires you to verify your enrollment each month.
Department of Defense (DOD) Tuition Assistance (TA) Program
DOD TA provides financial assistance to service members for voluntary off-duty education programs in support of professional and personal self-development goals. TA is available for courses that are part of an approved academic degree or certificate program.
Students may use tuition assistance in conjunction with their GI Bill® or they may use it independently. In most cases, usage of multiple benefits will impact funding received from each.
This benefit is primarily processed at the unit level. It is best to check in with your education liaison as soon as possible if you would like to use this benefit.
Please contact us directly for more information about using this benefit at UD.
Transferring Benefits to Dependents
Eligibility
You may be eligible to transfer some of your educational benefits to a spouse or dependent. To learn more and determine your eligibility, visit Veterans Affairs.
Privacy and Benefits Transfers
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.
FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18, or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have been transferred are "eligible students."
Once a student who has received transferred benefits starts classes, we can no longer discuss their academic record with parents and guardians, regardless of the parent or guardian's use of VA benefits to fund the student's education.
Should questions arise throughout the school year regarding VA benefits, we are happy to speak with families about general policies and practices and can also schedule time with your student to speak more in depth about their account.
Book Stipend
Post-9/11 GI Bill® (Chapter 33)
You may be eligible for a stipend of up to $1,000 each academic year, which pays for books and supplies, based on your eligibility percentage and the number of credits in which you are enrolled. The stipend is paid directly to you from the VA using the payment method you've set up with them.
Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31)
You are eligible to have your required books and supplies paid for up to the amount approved by your Veteran Readiness Counselor (VRC). Please purchase these from the University bookstore and charge them to your student account.
Save an itemized receipt for these purchases and send a copy to the following emails. If you do not submit these receipts, the expenses will not be covered.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Visit the VA website for more information about VA education benefits.
Taking Courses at University of Delaware
If you are interested in taking courses at UD to fulfill degree requirements elsewhere, and you are using VA education benefits to do so, please complete the following steps to ensure timely processing of your request.
- From your parent institution (the institution from which you intend to get your degree), request a parent letter, clearly stating the courses you plan to take at UD and how they would transfer back to your parent institution.
- Email a copy of this parent letter to vabenefits@udel.edu along with a copy of your certificate of eligibility.
Once we receive both of these, we will process the request for the term in question.
Taking Courses at Another College or University
If you are interested in transferring courses from another college or university to fulfill degree requirements at UD, and you are using VA education benefits to do so, please complete the following steps to ensure timely processing of your request.
- Carefully review the instructions on How to Transfer Credits to UD. Review UD policies and check if your course is in the Transfer Credit Matrix.
- If the course you would like to transfer is in the Transfer Credit Matrix, complete a TCE web form. At the end of the form, add the email of the VA contact (clammey@udel.edu) to receive a “copy.”
- If the course you would like to transfer is not in the Transfer Credit Matrix, send an official syllabus to an academic department for review. After reviewed, complete a TCE PDF and email it along with department approval to your assistant dean’s office for review and approval. Once approved, email the TCE PDF to vabenefits@udel.edu. (Include the name and contact information for the university or college where you will be taking courses.)
Once those steps are complete, we will generate a parent letter on your behalf and email it to your host institution.