Social Media Language (Enrollment Guide)

The Bureau of State Approving Agency for Veterans Training has approved many of the certificate training programs offered at oTECH. Visit one of the VA Certifying Officials located in the Financial Aid Office to apply for or re-activate your VA educational entitlements. All required application forms are available in the Financial Aid Office. Upon completion of the necessary forms, the student must bring them to the VA Certifying Official with certified copies of the veteran's DD214.

The documentation is then forwarded to the Department of Veteran's Affairs (DVA) for processing. Upon completion of the first day of class, the enrollment certification is reported by the VA Certifying Official to the DVA for processing. Allow a minimum of 4-8 weeks to activate benefits. The DVA will send the benefit check directly to the entitled individual. The student must pay all fees upon registration.The student is eligible for educational benefits for the length of the program as approved by the DVA. The student must check with the school's VA Certifying Official to verify the DVA approval of his/her program length. All veterans receiving educational benefits while attending oTECH are subject to the policies and procedures of the school.The following regulations apply:​

Standards of Progress and Attendance

All students receiving Veterans’ Educational Benefits must maintain satisfactory progress in accordance with regularly prescribed standards and policies of the institution in which the student is enrolled.  If the student is not making satisfactory progress according to the standards and policies, educational benefits will be discontinued for the student.  Veteran and non-veteran students alike will be referred to Student Services for counseling for a program that may offer the possibility of success. 

• Attendance and Academic reports must be submitted monthly to the schools’ VA Certifying Official. 
• Students must attend classes regularly; all absences will be recorded and maintained by the school.  All absences count.  There are No Excused absences.  A Student must maintain an 85% attendance rate monthly to be considered in compliance. 
• Satisfactory attendance is defined as compliance with existing school attendance policy and the VA attendance policy.  One may be stricter than the other.  It is the students’ responsibility to adhere to both, to continue the educational program and receive monetary VA benefits. 

• Satisfactory academic progress is defined as mastery of at least 70 percent of assigned program competencies (the LPN and LEO programs must maintain 80 percent) for the specific evaluation period and an overall performance rating of average or above.  Academic progress will be reviewed by a VA Certifying Official at the end of each monthly marking period. 
• The Department of Veterans’ Affairs will be notified by the school’s VA Certifying Official if the veteran does not maintain satisfactory academic progress or satisfactory attendance for the monthly period being evaluated. 

Reinstatement of Veteran Educational Benefits

VA Educational benefits discontinued due to unsatisfactory attendance may be reinstated upon completion of one calendar month of satisfactory attendance. VA Educational benefits discontinued due to unsatisfactory academic progress may be reinstated upon completion of one calendar month term of satisfactory academic progress. Documentation must be in the student's file before VA benefits are reinstated.

Credit for Remediation

A VA benefited student may receive additional hours toward a program length for basic remediation that is required for program completion. The student may receive up to an additional 300 hours credit if the student is attending a program of 750 hours or greater in length. The student may receive up to an additional 150 hours credit if the student is attending a program less than 750 hours in length.

Credit for Previous Training

A VA benefited student is required to transfer previous training credits from an accredited institution to oTECH. Credit for previous training will be evaluated by the instructor and granted, if appropriate. Upon acceptance of the transfer credits, the training time may be reduced. The DVA and the student will be notified if previous training credit is granted. The evaluation will be performed within the first 90 days of enrollment.

Deferment of Fees

Any veteran or other eligible student who receives VA benefits may be granted a deferment, if warranted, once per academic year. If, however, there is a break in training or a delay in the receipt of VA benefits, an additional deferment may be granted. The veteran will make a partial payment based on oTECH's established procedures at the time of registration and the balance as scheduled by the Business Office. Failure to meet this obligation will result in the student being withdrawn from classes. For short term programs, balance is due no later than the last day of enrollment prior to receiving a completion certificate. Deferments will not be granted when there are outstanding fees on a student's account.

Shopping Sheet for Veteran Students

A Financial Aid Shopping Sheet is available and is being given to every student at oTECH.