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The certifying official will generally be certifying the student's entry into training by completing an Enrollment Certification, VA Form 22-1999. Certifying officials should note all of the certifications listed on the reverse side of the form. Entitlement to benefits administered by VA cannot be established nor award action taken until the Enrollment Certification is properly completed by the school's or training facility's certifying official and received by VA. In limited instances involving VAI (Veterans Assistance Inquiries) or special hardship cases, a verbal certification by the certifying official may be accepted. Written confirmation, however, should follow. If an Advance Payment is delivered to the student, a Form 22-1999v, Certification of Delivery of Advance Payment and Enrollment, must also be submitted within 30 days after the student begins training. It is recommended that the certifying official make a copy of any Form 22-1999v completed as evidence of having submitted that certification.

All enrollment certifications must be sent to the VA within 30 days of the start of the term or end of the drop/add period.  Exceptions may be given for specific programs or circumstances, but such permission must be received in writing from your ELR.

Supplies of Form 22-1999 are distributed to all institutional certifying officials by the VA regional office. Before the beginning of the fall and spring enrollment periods, institutions of higher learning are sent computer-generated enrollment forms, Form 22-1999-1, for each VA student under Chapter 35 who was enrolled for the previous period, has not completed his or her program, has not exhausted his or her entitlement, and is still within his or her period of eligibility for educational assistance benefits. It may be that no form will be produced for a student who withdraws before the end of the previously certified period of enrollment, and no form will be produced for the spring enrollment period if that period was certified together with the fall enrollment.

Forms 22-1999-1 are produced as a carbon set the same as Forms 22-1999. They should be used when the student under Chapter 35 reenrolls for the term, quarter, or semester specified on the form. Any change in the student's address may be shown on the form. To the extent possible, these certifications should be accumulated and submitted at the same time. This will help to save administrative costs for the institution and will facilitate the preparation of awards at the VA regional office. If for some reason the Form 22-1999-1 is not received for a Chapter 35 student, or cannot be used, Form 22-1999 should be used instead to certify reenrollment. Instructions for completion of the forms are included with the distribution of the forms.

The certifying official should not submit both Form 22-1999 and Form 22-1999-1 for the same student for the same enrollment period. Changes to data previously certified on Form 22-1999-1 should be submitted on Form 22-1999b or on Form 22-1999v for advance payment cases.

Item 3. File Numbers With few exceptions (such as for those eligible for Vocational Rehabilitation - Chapter 31 and Chapter 35 dependents), a student's Social Security number is assigned as the VA file number. When an eligible student is enrolling for the first time at an educational institution, every effort should be made to obtain the proper VA file number. The number may be copied from a VA document, if the student has one in his or her possession. Do not assume the VA file number is the Social Security number. The file number is listed on the individual's benefit check, the 22-1999v card, award letters, and may also be found by checking the computer-generated pay listing supplied to IHL's. If the student's file number is not known, do not place the Social Security number in the block on the form reserved for the file number.

VA receives many documents with incorrect file numbers each year. This causes delays in processing claims. It is better to provide as much identifying information as possible on the veteran, such as date of birth, active duty dates, branch of service, service serial number, and Social Security number than to show an incorrect file number when reports or forms are sent to the VA regional office.

VA assigns a prefix of "C" or "CSS" to a veteran's, serviceperson's, or reservist's VA file number. After a veteran is deceased, the prefix is changed to "XC" or "XSS." A dependent of a veteran (under Chapter 35) is assigned the veteran's file number with a suffix added. The spouse or surviving spouse of the veteran will have a suffix of "W" added to the veteran's file number (e.g., CSS 123-45-6789-W). A child of the veteran, however, will have an alpha suffix added beginning with "A" for the veteran's first child to apply for Chapter 35, "B" for the second, etc. (e.g., CSS 123-45-6789-A). If the file number is not known for a dependent, identifying information for the veteran should be included with the documents submitted to the VA regional office (e.g., the veteran's name, Social Security number, dates of service, branch of service, etc.). This additional information will assist VA in processing the dependent's claim.

Item 4. Addresses It is vital that the student's proper address be shown on an Enrollment Certification. The address shown on this certification will be considered as the student's most current address, and checks will be mailed to this address. If the student is using an institution's address to receive checks, the institution's name and address should be shown in Block 4A of the Form 22-1999.

The law prohibits assignment of educational assistance checks. VA will not mail checks to an institution's address unless the institution has certified that it has no Power of Attorney to negotiate VA checks or otherwise has no direct or indirect access to the proceeds of such checks except by direct payment from the eligible person.

When a student wishes to have his or her checks mailed to an institution, the student's home address should be entered in Block 22, "Remarks" of the Form 22-1999. This is necessary in the event VA needs to contact the student directly. If other than an Enrollment Certification is submitted to VA and there is a change in the student's home address, a separate Form 572 should be attached for the change of address.

Item 8. Name of Program The complete name of the program for which a student is currently enrolled must be shown on all Enrollment Certifications. Benefits will not be authorized without this information. Not all programs of education are payable under the various programs administered by VA. Therefore, it is essential that the certifying official be aware of the VA program under which the student may qualify.

If the student is pursuing either a graduate or undergraduate program, the name of the degree or certificate program must be shown. If the student has selected a major field of study, that field must also be shown, e.g., bachelor's degree in engineering. (Generally, a student will select a major field of study by the time half of the program is completed.) If either the school or the student indicates that the major field has not been selected, the name of the general degree program will normally be sufficient for the first two school years. However, in subsequent school years, the major field should be shown.

Institutions may encounter difficulty in certifying "special students" before they are reclassified as "regular students." The certifying official should enter the specific degree program for which a nonmatriculated student is in the process of completing formal admission requirements. For newly enrolled undergraduate students, entry of "Associate's Degree" or "Bachelor's Degree" is acceptable. The certifying official should check one block under the "Type of Training" (item 7) item on any Enrollment Certification submitted.

If the student changes his or her program, the certifying official must notify VA promptly of the change. This may be done by submitting an Enrollment Certification that specifies the student's new program and shows the credit which has been allowed by the institution toward the student's new objective for prior training, not only for credit for training at the present institution but also elsewhere. Based on the certifying official's report of credit allowed for prior training and on other information contained in the student's VA records, the VA regional office will make a determination regarding whether a material loss of credit or extension of training time has occurred requiring that the student be charged by VA with a change of program.

Note: A student must file Form 22-1995 or Form 22-5495 (Chapter 35) to apply for a change of program.

Item 9. Credit Allowed for Previous Training or Experience An Enrollment Certification submitted for a veteran, reservist, serviceperson, or eligible person initially enrolling in a school or training facility, or initiating pursuit of a program of education or training different from that previously pursued, must reflect the amount of credit allowed for previous education, training, or experience, including military training and experience. "Credit for prior training" is that which applies to the program of education currently being pursued and which shortens the program accordingly.

The amount of credit allowed, if any, should be shown in terms of the basic components of the current course or curriculum. For example, if the course is approved for operation on a semester-hour basis, credit for prior training should be shown in terms of semester hours; if operation is on other than a credit-hour basis, credit allowed should be certified in clock hours, lessons, or other appropriate divisions reflecting the amount by which course length is reduced.

If an official evaluation of transcripts has not been completed at the time the first enrollment certification is submitted for an undergraduate student, the notation "Pending" should be shown in item 9, Credit for Previous Civilian or Military Training and Experience, on the Enrollment Certification. The Enrollment Certification for any subsequent term(s) must include a report of credit allowed for previous training and experience.

Enrollment certifications for students enrolled in "open-ended" and "transfer" programs must indicate that fact and provide the specific title of the SAA-approved program. Certifying officials at institutions offering these programs should inform veterans and other eligible persons of the certification which must be obtained from the institution which will award the students' degrees before VA benefits can be authorized for the student's enrollment. If possible, the required certification from the degree-granting institution should be obtained before submission of an Enrollment Certification so that it can be attached to Form 22-1999 when it is submitted to VA. This procedure will greatly expedite a determination regarding the student's eligibility for monetary benefits. If an Enrollment Certification for a student enrolled in an approved "open-ended" or "transfer" program is received without the required certification from the degree-granting institution, monetary benefits to the student will be delayed until VA has written to the student advising him or her of the additional evidence which must be received before eligibility to benefits can be determined. Whenever "Pending" is indicated for the evaluation of credit allowed for previous education and training, VA must review the claims folder of degree-seeking students who transfer from one institution to another to ascertain whether the student has changed his or her program. An evaluation of previous education and training is also reviewed whenever a student changes programs. Some situations will require VA to make an initial, rebuttable determination that a change of program has occurred because of a probable material loss of credit in conjunction with the student's transfer. (For purpose of this initial determination, it must be presumed that none of the credits earned by a student who did not matriculate at the previous institution he or she attended will be accepted by the new institution.) In such cases, a student will be notified that he or she has been charged with a change of program. If this will represent a second or subsequent change of program, no monetary benefits will be authorized until VA has obtained additional information from the student to establish his or her continued eligibility.

Item 10. Enrollment Periods to Be Certified If a school offers training on a nonstandard term basis, or if there are nonstandard formats or terms within standard terms, the beginning and ending dates of each term must be shown separately from the standard semester or quarter.

For a serviceperson or a veteran training less than half-time, each semester, quarter, or term must be individually shown on the Enrollment Certification. The school must include the beginning and ending dates, credit hours, and total charges for each term. Separate certification of each term is necessary for VA to properly compute the training time for each term. Since servicepersons and veterans training less than half-time are not entitled to interval payment, only confirmed enrollments for these students may be accepted. An exception is made for requests for Advance Payment from servicepersons which may be submitted before the beginning of the term.

The exact beginning and ending dates (month, day, year) of the enrollment period(s) certified must be shown for each relevant category of instruction, e.g., "Residence Instruction."

If a student is pursuing an IHL or NCD course (other than flight or correspondence), the school should report the date classes begin or, (if not more than 14 days prior to the beginning of classes) the date all students were required to report in advance of the start of classes as well as the ending date of the period.

Fall Enrollment For non-Chapter 30 students, fall enrollments must be confirmed if there is a full calendar month break between summer and fall terms, unless an advance payment is requested. If a student has less than a full calendar month break between the summer and fall terms, the certifying official may certify the student's fall enrollment after the beginning of the student's summer term, but only after the student is actually registered or preregistered for the fall term. This same procedure should be followed for the "first" term whenever a school's academic year does not begin in the fall. If a student has a full calendar month break between summer sessions, the fall enrollment certification may be submitted no earlier than the beginning of the summer session which follows the full calendar break.

Item 11. Credit Hour Courses If remedial course hours are certified, the school must list each such course(s) by course name and catalog number in the remarks section of the certification document. If supplemental courses are designated as deficiency, a statement to that effect in the remarks section will suffice.

Students may choose to be paid for fewer hours than actually enrolled, in order to conserve entitlement. In such instances, the student must specify which individual unit subjects he/she wishes to have certified for VA education benefits. Only changes in those specified credit hours need to be reported to VA.

Item. 13. Charges for Period of Instruction For study under most programs administered by VA, the tuition and fees must be entered separately for each term for all servicepersons, and all other persons attending school on less than a half-time basis. (For Chapter 32, tuition and fees are not necessary.) In reporting tuition and fees, the cost of books, supplies, and other incidentals are not to be included.

Item 14. Training Time for Graduate or Advanced Professional Courses An entry is required in Item 14 of the Enrollment Certification only for veterans or eligible persons pursuing a graduate degree or postdoctoral certificate program. For such students attending accredited institutions, the rate of educational assistance will be based on the certifying official's statement of training time according to established policies of the institution. The institution must be able to verify that the graduate or professional student is in continuous pursuit of his or her objective during the period for which he or she has been certified. If the veteran, serviceperson, or eligible person is taking both graduate and undergraduate courses, the institution will give the credit-hour equivalent of the graduate courses so the VA can combine the credits to determine the rate of pursuit. Effective July 1, 1993, the training time for an individual in a graduate program and concurrently enrolled in an undergraduate course will be based upon the total number of credit hours or the training time certified by the IHL, whichever is greater. This provision does not apply to individuals in graduate programs who are only enrolled in undergraduate courses. Institutions, such as nonaccredited law schools, must report both the clock hours and credit hours pursued.  Under no circumstances should schools enter training time for undergraduate or vocational certificate students.  VA determines training time in all such cases.

Item 18. Advance Payment Request If an Advance Payment is requested, the student must have signed and dated the "Advance Payment Request." The certifying official may also accept a separate request signed and dated by the student and attached to the Enrollment Certification.  When a school is using VACERT, you can place the following statement in Remarks:  "Student requests advance pay.  Signature on file."  You then place the student's signed request in his/her school VA file to be available for review during compliance surveys.

Supplemental Enrollment Supplemental enrollment exists whenever a student's approved program of education involves training at more than one school. In such cases, the institution which will confer or grant the current degree sought will be the principal or primary institution. The other institution will be the supplemental institution. Generally, the student will be enrolled at the principal or primary institution for the majority of the program.

Supplemental enrollments are categorized in one of the following three ways:

(1) Concurrent Enrollment: A student is enrolled in more than one school at the same time (the dates of course pursuit at each school may overlap) and the primary institution certifies that supplemental school pursuit will be accepted at full credit toward the student's course objective.

(2) Contracted Out In Whole Or In Part: Instruction for a portion of the current course authorized is contracted to another school or entity for performance. The actual training need not be performed at the supplemental school site to fall within this category. It is sufficient that the supplemental school personnel actually do the instructing, even if performed at the primary school. NOTE: The contract school must also be approved by the appropriate state approving agency.

(3) Combination Residence - Independent Study: The primary school is providing residence instruction and the supplemental school, independent study, or vice versa.

If supplemental enrollment is involved, the primary school must furnish the following additional information in "Remarks": (1) The name and address of the supplemental school or entity; (2) training site location (if different from the supplemental school address); and (3) a listing of all supplemental courses identified by course title and course number. Certification responsibility depends on the form of supplemental enrollment.

When contracted training is involved, the primary school is the certifying school. As such, it is responsible for certifying not only the required information in "Enrollment Data" for the instruction it provides, but also certification for the supplemental instruction furnished at the school which is under contract.

Whenever a supplemental enrollment is to be certified, Item 17 of the Enrollment Certification is to be completed. This block should show the name and address of the supplemental or contract school. This block is also used whenever a course is taken at a branch location of a school's main campus. It is not used, however, to identify courses taken at an "additional facility" of a school which is in the same general locality and is being utilized because of space limitations on the main campus. These types of additional facilities are not considered to be subsidiary branches or extensions for VA purposes.

In other supplemental enrollment situations (i.e., noncontracted out), the primary school and the supplemental school must submit separate Enrollment Certifications. The primary school must also certify that it will give full credit for the specific subjects taken at the supplemental school and that the subjects taken apply to the student's degree. This certification may be included in the remarks section of the primary school's certification document or may be submitted as a separate document with the supplemental school's certification form. The primary school should certify the enrollment data applicable to supplemental school instruction in cases of study in a foreign country when the U.S. school assumes certification responsibility, e.g., "Junior Year Abroad" program.

If the supplemental school is preparing the enrollment document and is aware of its supplemental status, it should note its status in "Remarks." It would be helpful if the supplemental enrollment were forwarded to the primary school to be included as an "enrollment package" submitted to VA along with the primary school's enrollment certification. However, if this is not feasible, the certifying official at the supplemental school should forward the supplemental enrollment certification directly to VA.

Item 18. Certification of Enrollment Data by Certifying Official The date the school or training establishment completes and signs the Enrollment Certification must be shown. This date, when compared to the effective date of the enrollment period, helps VA determine how the Enrollment Certification will be processed.

Advance Payment Request If an Advance Payment is being requested by the student, the Certifying Official may sign the Enrollment Certification at least 30 days, but not more than 120 days prior to the beginning date of the term.

Confirmed Enrollments An enrollment certification is considered "confirmed" if it is signed and dated by the certifying official on or after the beginning of the enrollment period. If an Enrollment Certification is not signed and dated on or after the beginning date certified, confirmation will have to be requested by VA from the school if: (1) There is a full calendar month break between terms of standard length; (2) There is a break greater than 30 days between terms of nonstandard length; (3) The Enrollment Certification is for the student's initial term; or (4) There is less than a calendar month break between terms and the student is not preregistered. If an Enrollment Certification is submitted that is not "confirmed," VA will have to contact the school to verify the information. This not only makes extra work on VA and on the school, but also may cause a delay in payment to the student. For Chapter 30 cases, if an enrollment certification is signed and dated within 120 days of the beginning date of the term, confirmation of enrollment is not required.

Signature and Title of Certifying Official The designated official must sign the form and enter his or her title. Facsimile signatures may be accepted only when the school furnishes the VA with a completed VA Form 22-8794, Designation of Certifying Official(s), certifying that such signatures are genuine, that they are supplied on reports with the full knowledge and consent of such official, and that VA is authorized to accept all reports as authentic which bear the signature(s) so certified. The signature(s) so authorized must be illustrated in the certification.

Name and Address of School or Training Establishment The complete name and mailing address of the school should be entered, to include specifically the name of the state and the school's Zip Code. In addition, it would be helpful if the school were to indicate in the school's address block the VA Facility Code assigned to it and the telephone number of the school's certifying official.   Schools with multiple branches must specify the branch location.

Certifications When the certifying official signs and dates Form 22-1999, Enrollment Certification, items (1) through (15) on the reverse of the form are also being certified as having been met. Generally, the certifying official certifies that the school meets all applicable requirements of the law, and that any failure by the school to meet any of these will be promptly reported to VA. In addition, the certifying official indicates by his or her signature that the courses being certified to VA for the student are approved by the state approving agency and are acceptable toward meeting the graduation requirements in the program of study being pursued. The certifying official's signature also confirms that the course certified is not a repetition of any course previously satisfactorily completed by the student except as permitted by VA regulations.

The certifying official also is indicating that the school does not hold a power of attorney agreement authorizing the school to negotiate VA educational assistance checks. The signed Enrollment Certification also shows the educational institution's agreement to report promptly to VA any enrollment changes which will affect the educational assistance allowance, including any change due to unsatisfactory progress and/or conduct.

By signing the Enrollment Certification for Advance Payment cases, the school is agreeing that it will accept the initial check for this enrollment period when mailed to the school for delivery to the student upon registration but no earlier than 30 days before the commencement of training. The school also acknowledges that it must normally complete a certificate of delivery upon delivery of the advance payment.

Whenever noncredit deficiency, remedial, or refresher courses are certified, the signature of the certifying official verifies that the course(s) is needed by the student in order to pursue a program of education at the school.

For programs of vocational education, the signed Enrollment Certification verifies that the instruction provided will prepare a graduate for entry level employment in the designated occupational category.

For enrollments under Chapters 30, 32, and 1606, the certifying official is also certifying that all of the 85:15% ratio requirements have been satisfied.

For privately owned profit schools, the student certified may not be an owner or officer of the school nor may he or she be an official authorized to sign certificates of enrollment or monthly certificates of attendance.

85:15 Percent Ratio The law (38 U.S.C. 1673(d)) provides that no new enrollment or reenrollment in any program may be approved for an otherwise eligible veteran, not already enrolled, during any period when more than 85 percent of the persons enrolled in the program are having all or part of their tuition, fees or other charges paid to or for them by the educational institution or the VA. Grants from other Federal agencies (e.g., Pell Grants, SEOG) are not counted when computing the 85:15 percent ratio.

The percentage of VA and institutionally supported students must be computed for each program leading to a separately approved educational or vocational objective. Farm cooperative programs are excluded from this computation. The results of the computation must be submitted to the VA regional office no later than 30 days after the beginning of each regular term (excluding summer sessions) or 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter for programs not operated on a term basis. (Done by OMP)

When a computation establishes that the 85:15 percent ratio has not been satisfied, no benefits will be paid to a veteran or serviceperson whose enrollment begins on or after the date of the computation. Once a veteran or serviceperson is properly enrolled in a program, benefits will not be terminated solely because the 85:15 percent requirement is not met, provided that he or she remains continuously enrolled. Continuity of enrollment is not broken by failure to attend summer sessions.

If an institution can certify that 35 percent or less of its total student population receives VA educational assistance, the 85:15 percent computation may be waived by the VA Regional Office Director.

Conflicting Interests The law prohibits employees of the VA and the state approving agency from owning any interest in an educational institution operated for profit. In addition, the law prohibits these employees from receiving any wages, salary, dividends, gifts or services from private profit schools. These provisions may be waived if the VA determines that no detriment will result to the government or to veterans, servicepersons, reservists, and eligible persons enrolled.

The law prohibits the approval of the enrollment of any veteran, serviceperson, reservist, or eligible person in any proprietary school of which the veteran, serviceperson, reservist, or eligible person is an official authorized to sign certificates of enrollment or monthly certificates of attendance or is an owner or officer.
 
 

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