Receiving federal benefits

We can only certify freshmen and sophomores who are undeclared and can only be certified for general education courses (note the foreign language requirement is not under “general education”). Because of these restrictions, we recommend that you declare your major as soon as you meet requirements.

Students can use their Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) to verify courses meet general education requirements. A DARS report can be reviewed in the Course Search & Enroll app or Student Center via My UW.

We can certify you for all courses that meet degree requirements, including general education and electives. A course is fine as long as it meets requirements of any major, certificate, or degree.

Per VA policy, only courses that satisfy requirements outlined by the curriculum guide or graduation evaluation form can be certified for VA purposes. If a student takes a course that does not fulfill a program requirement, it cannot be certified for VA purposes. Excessive free electives, for example, cannot be certified.

We can only certify you for two terms as a non-degree seeking student if you are pending admission to UW-Madison. (example: taking prerequisites for a graduate program after you have already completed an undergraduate degree).

Per policy, VA educational benefits cannot be paid to non-matriculated college or university students unless they are pending admission to your school. In that case they can be certified for two quarters or semesters. The student can be certified beyond this two-term limit only if the student is admitted to your school as a degree- seeking student, irrespective of the number of credits taken.

If you fail a class, we can certify it again. Classes that are successfully completed may not be certified again if repeated unless a higher grade is required.

Example 1: If a Nursing program requires a “B” or better in Biology, then that class may be repeated if a “B” or better was not earned.

Example 2: If a course is required for graduation, a student may repeat the course and be certified for it until it is successfully completed.

Example 3: If a student chooses to repeat a course that was successfully completed, just to improve their GPA, that course cannot be certified to VA.

Due to complex requirements, we recommend all students who are intending to study abroad to contact our office to determine if using benefits is a possibility. Please view the Study Abroad page on our website to get a head start on planning and review the steps for finding a study abroad program that is more likely to accept benefits.

In accordance with Title 38 US Code 3679 subsection (e), UW-Madison adopts the following additional provisions for any students using U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Post 9/11 GI Bill® (Ch. 33), Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Ch. 31), or Dependents Educational Assistance (Ch. 35) benefits, while payment to the institution is pending from the VA. This school will not:

• Prevent the student’s enrollment;
• Assess a late penalty fee to;
• Require student secure alternative or additional funding;
• Deny their access to any resources (access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities) available to other students who have satisfied their tuition and fee bills to the institution.

However, to qualify for this provision, such students may be required to:

• Provide Chapter 33 Certificate of Eligibility (or its equivalent) or for Chapter 31, VA VR&E’s contract with the school on VA Form 28-1905 by the first day of class. Note: Chapter 33 students can register at the VA Regional Office to use E-Benefits to get the equivalent of a Chapter 33 Certificate of Eligibility. Chapter 31 student cannot get a completed VA Form 28-1905 (or any equivalent) before the VA VR&E case-manager issues it to the school.

• Provide written request to be certified;
• Provide additional information needed to properly certify the enrollment as described in other institutional policies