The Veterans’ Affairs office of FAU is designed to act as a liaison between the student and Veterans Administration.  Although, we are not employees of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, we can still assist and counsel you on the following:

VA BENEFITS

Continuing FAU students planning to utilize their VA Benefits for SUMMER 2008 and FALL 2008 term(s) must submit their Certification Request Form ASAP.  First time students to FAU who plan to utilize VA Benefits should reference the FAU Veteran Affairs website menu link (located on the left side) according to their specific chapter.  If you have any questions, please contact the VA Representative in the Financial Aid Office. 

Monthly Certification:

Certification of Attendance MUST be verified monthly to receive payments.  Verification can be done one of two ways:

Almost everyone receiving MGIB-Active Duty  (Chapter 30) or MGIB-Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606), must verify their enrollment* each month to receive payment for that month.  Click here for more details on How to Verify Enrollment.

TUITION WAIVERS:  If you are a recipient of the Purple Heart or the Combat Decoration Superior in Precedence, a Florida resident the time that you entered and separated from the service, as stated on the DD214 and an undergraduate student, you may be eligible to receive tuition waiver.  The Combat Decoration Awards in Precedence include:

What is the “V” designation required on some combat decorations?

To be considered a “combat decoration superior in precedence to the Purple Heart,” the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit must include the “V” designation or device.  

Only these specific Combat Decoration Awards in Precedence, which must be present on the DD214, are eligible. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the FAU VA Representative in the Student Financial Aid Office.

HOT TOPICS: 

President Bush has signed into law the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. Click here to visit the G I Bill official website for more information.

Effective October 1, 2007, VA education benefit payment rates will be increasing.  Please click here for more information.  Click here to view new changes to the GI Bill.

REAP Participants Must Now Verify Their Attendance Monthly
Effective April 1, 2008 all REAP participants attending school must verify their attendance each month in order to receive payment. You can do this online by clicking on "Information for Benefit Recipients" on the left hand side of this page and then clicking on "Verify Your Attendance (WAVE)", or by calling our automated verification line at 877-823-2378 (877 VA-ECERT).

If you attended classes for the full month you cannot verify your attendance before the last calendar day of the month. If you attended classes for a partial month you can verify your attendance anytime after your enrollment ends.

For more information click HERE.

Military Spouse Resource Center
MilSpouse.org is your resource library for military spouse employment, education and relocation information. Here you will find links to employment related information and other resources for military spouses and military families.

New Education Benefit for Active Reservists
There is a new education benefit available to certain reservists who were activated for at least 90 days after September 11, 2001. We call this benefit the “Reserve Educational Assistance Program” (REAP) or Chapter 1607.  For more details, visit the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs website.

New Program reimbursing fees for National Testing:  Section 106 of PL 108-454 allows VA to reimburse claimants for the fee charged for:

For more information click HERE.

Palm Beach County Commissioners Show Support for Local Military Reservists Called to Active Duty. Click here for more details.

AVAILABLE SCHOLARSHIPS:

Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans and Servicemembers (website, application, more info)

For more information and general eligibility, click on the more info link above.

The Fund for Veterans Education Scholarship  (website, application, more info)

The fund for Veterans Education will provide scholarships up to $1,000,000 in the years 2008 and 2009 to meet the financial needs of veterans from all branches of the US Armed Forced who served in Afghanistan and Iraq since September 11, 2001 and who are now enrolled in college or vocational-technical school. Our pilot project will award up to $1,000,000 in scholarships. Recipients will receive an award for the Spring 2008 term which may be renewed for the 2008-2009 academic year. Application postmark deadline is October 15, 2007.  Click on website links above for more details and downloading the application.

The SMART Scholarship for Service Program  (website, app instructions, online application)

The Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation Defense Scholarship for Service Program (SMART).  This program is intended for U.S. citizens to support the education and recruitment of undergraduate and graduate students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. This program is used to recruit and to retain civilian scientists and engineers to work at DoD agencies and laboratories. Recipients are awarded full tuition, educational fees, and a stipend.  The application will close December 14,  2007.  For more information visit the website link above or email smart@asee.org.

Veteran Affairs information can be obtained from the partner campuses:       

Students:

Although, the Boca Raton location is the main campus for Veterans’ Affairs, Broward and Jupiter may be contacted for VA information as well.  All VA paperwork must be submitted to one of the above locations; however, your VA File is maintained at the Boca Campus.

CONTACT

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