When you enroll in school and take classes, you enter into an agreement with the school to pay for your classes and the associated fees. VA pays the tuition and fees to the school on your behalf when the School Certifying Official (SCO) certifies that you are enrolled in classes. By law, you are responsible for any debt incurred while receiving benefits under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill ®. VA is required by law to recoup any debt.
If you decrease your training time (i.e. drop classes, leave school, etc.) and we have already processed a payment for tuition and fees, an overpayment will occur. When the School Certifying Official (SCO) notifies us of a change, a debt is created against your account. The school will issue any refunds in accordance with their internal policy, which may not fully cover the debt with the VA. If the amount refunded by the school does not satisfy the debt, you are responsible for the remainder.
- If the school refunds money directly to the VA, we will credit your account any amount the school refunds.
- If they refund money directly to you, you must clear the debt with us.
A decrease in your credit hours could also result in changes to your housing allowance and books & supplies stipend. If VA has already issued you a payment for the term a debt will be created on your account.
You are responsible for keeping track of your tuition and fee account balance and payments. Visit your schools' financial office regularly to review your account, ensure the charges are correct and that payments and refunds are processed correctly, contact your SCO to ensure the certification information they send to us matches your schedule.
Please contact the Debt Management Center if you receive a debt notification from the VA. The Debt Management Center is the authoritative source of debt collection information . You can reach them at 800- 827-0648 or e-mail them at dmc.ops@va.gov.