Veteran and Military Student Welcome

Veteran and Military Student WelcomeDaniel Ryan, PhD – Director Veteran ServicesMaureen Kanaley, Certifying OfficialJohn – Gottardy – Director of Financial AidTommie Babbs – Senior Academic

Advisor/Military Credit EvaluatorEd Draper – Veteran Support Services

CoordinatorNick Manfredi – SVA President

Dedicated Team Behind You

Jim Bowman – Wellness ServicesGrace Clark – Veteran ServicesDave Emhof - AdmissionsBrian Hagerty – Campus LivingHolly Justice – Career ServicesSusan Mann Dolce – Accessibility ResourcesAmberly Panepinto – Counseling Services

Veteran’s Lounge

Quiet study spaceGroup Study Area24/7 Access via UBCard (see Grace to activate)CoffeeWaterMicrowaveFoosball – Beat the Director and win a prize!Help navigating the University and its programs

and services

CERTIFYING VA BENEFITS

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·Students who may be eligible for VA educational benefits must go to the GIBILL.va.gov website and file online.

·The VA will notify the student of his or her eligibility.

·Student can then apply for the school of their choice.

·Once a new student is registered for classes, they need to come to the VA office at UB to begin the certification process. In order for this process to begin, they are required to provide their social security number because the VA certifying program uses it to identify students. ·Students are required to complete a G.I. enrollment form every semester they want to utilize their benefits. Failure to do so will cause the benefits to stop for the semester.

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·Using the information from the enrollment form and the information on the hub (academic information for that current semester) certifier enters the information into VAONCE. ·If it is a new student, then a file has to be created. The BIO screen will provide all the current information about the student. Each semester, the new terms for all the levels (undergrad, grad, law etc.) must be inputted manually. All of the university programs must also be entered and updated on the bio screen.

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·The next step is to go to the CERTS page. This is the section where the information for the academic term is inputted.

What is put on this page varies according to the type of chapter the student is eligible for.

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·For chapters 1606 (reservist), 1607 (reservist who was deployed), chapter 30 (out of the service and part of the old Montgomery GI bill), chapter 31 and chapter 35, the number of credits must be entered.

-For chapter 31, tuition and fees are billed directly to the VA. For this chapter, the VA will pay tuition and fees minus any tuition based grant/scholarship (i.e. TAP and VTA-veterans

tuition award). ·For chapters 1606, 1606, 30 and 35, no money is sent to the school. The students get stipends from the VA each month they attend school. Students under these chapters must certify attendance with the VA each month using the W.A.V.E program. 9

·Under this chapter, student can be eligible for up to 100% in-state tuition and fee coverage. Students using the benefit for the first time are asked to provide their certificate of eligibility which they received from the VA.

· Information is entered or updated on the BIO screen. Using the hub, look up student’s academic information and their student account for the current semester.

Chapter 33

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Chapter 33

·In the CERTS section, the total credits must be broken down into residency and distance hours.

-housing (BAH) is based upon the number of credits the student is taking.

-If taking all distance learning classes, the BAH will be different from the general BAH rate for our zip code.

·Next the tuition and fees are entered-in state only.

·Tuition based grants or scholarships have to be deducted from the total tuition and fees. In this case, TAP and VTA can be decertified and not be deducted from the total tuition and fees submitted to the VA. VA is the last payer.

· The VA will (usually) use direct deposit and pay the veterans a book stipend per semester and BAH (housing) at the end of each month the student is attending school. BAH entitlement and book money are based upon their enrollment status.

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·Tuition and fees for the student to the school are sent via EFT.

·BPR will placed on student’s account. This is to prevent any duplication of payments from being refunded to the student.If a student’s initial tuition and fees need to be adjusted thena correction is done on VAONCE, creating an overpayment that is sent to the school to return to the VA.

· The number of credits a student is taking must be adjusted accordingly based on enrollment changes.

· If a student withdraws or goes below full time, then what is entered into VAONCE has to be adjusted. For example: student who drops to 10 credits then tuition and fees for that number of credits must be entered into VAONCE. This will create an overpayment for the student (goes directly to the student not the school).

Chapter 33

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TIPS FOR FINANCING YOUR

EDUCATION

For the 2015-2016 Academic Year

Types of Financial Aid

• Scholarships• Grants• Loans• Employment

Sources of Financial Aid

• Federal government• State aid• Private sources (civic organizations, churches,

employers, etc.)

FAFSA on the Web

• Website: www.fafsa.ed.gov• 2015-16 FAFSA on the Web available after

January 1• FAFSA on the Web Worksheet:

• used as “pre-application” worksheet• questions follow order of FAFSA on-line

• Make corrections or updates to processed FAFSA

Filing for NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)• New York State residents file the TAP

Application on-line once you read the “Confirmation Page” of the FAFSA on the web.

• Have both yours and your parents’ NYS tax returns

• On the “Confirmation Page” look for the link in red “NEW YORK RESIDENTS ONLY”

• This link will allow you to file the TAP Application electronically or visit https://www.tapweb.org/totw/ You will need to create a HESC-specific user name and personal identification number called a HescPIN.

Special Circumstances

• Special Circumstances are significant changes that occurred since you filed the FAFSA; these changes cannot be reported on the FAFSA

• Each college will review these unique cases according to their institutional policy• Contact your college directly to acquire

additional information regarding their Special Circumstances policy

• Decisions are final and cannot be appealed to U.S. Department of Education

Important Reminders!

• DO NOT pay anyone to file your FAFSA• Free help is always available at any:

• Financial aid office• School counselors office• Financial Aid Nights• SUNY Financial Aid Day

• Remember you need to file for federal and state financial aid every year

• Complete FAFSA and TAP applications by March 1st

UB’s School Codes

• Federal School Code is: 002837• NYS TAP School Code is: 1010

UB’s Office of Financial AidNorth Campus: • Walk-in for general questions – SRC - 232 Capen

HallMon- Fri: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm

• Advisor appointments – 115 Porter 2, Ellicott Complex

Mon-Thurs: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Fri: 10:30 am-5:00 pm

Phone: 716-645-8232Email: UBFA@buffalo.eduWebsite: www.financialaid.buffalo.edu

Questions and Answers (Q & A)

Student Advising Services

Tommie L. Babbs Senior Academic Advisor/Military

Credit Evaluator109 Norton Hall North

Campus

Student Advising Services

Get the Credit you deserveUB values your military experienceConvert time served into credits for graduationSubmit the following information:(A). ARRTS Transcript (B). SMARTS Transcript(C). DD214(E). DD 295(F). Foreign Military Transcript

Student Advising Services

The Process:Submit your transcript to 12 UB Admissions12 Capen Hall North CampusReceive a maximum of 60 credits towards

graduation onlyDepartment exemptions possibility

Student Advising Services

Questions????

Veteran students bring great diversity, knowledge, and experience to our campus

Establishment of Veteran’s Group on Campus  

 

Why A Student Veteran Association

To increase Student Veteran awareness of the facilities and resources at University at Buffalo and in the surrounding area that will help them succeed in their academic career and achieve their goal of graduation.

Further, based on feedback from the entire Student Veteran population, we will create initiatives and make proposals through appropriate University at Buffalo channels that are considered essential to their academic success.

WHO ARE THE STUDENT VETERANS

Student Veteran Traits

Have strong leadership skillsWill become leaders and persons of

influence in societyAre responsible citizensKnow how to manage their timeMany are the first in their family to go

to college

Developing a Culture of Appreciation and SupportKey Points

Identifying the student veteran as a unique population.Understanding what makes a student veteran unique.Developing strategies of engagement so the organization can

immerse these strategies into the campus culture. Assessing the effectiveness of the strategies within the

organization .Return on Investment and student club retention benchmarks

Come and Join Us !

UB’s Student Veteran program is only as strong as the student veteran association within it!

Join us today!Contact:

Nicholas Manfredi, nmmanfre@buffalo.edu

Thank you!

Questions?

Thanks for attending!

Please join us for refreshments and the chance to mingle with service providers.