Military & Veterans Benefits
Sentara College is proud to accept military benefits
Sentara College of Health Sciences appreciates our armed forces and their service. Military Education Benefits are available to those who qualify and they come in many forms.
The Office of Financial Aid can assist you in determining your eligibility and how to access your benefits.
College Finance Plans for Veterans and Dependents
Section 1018 of Public Law 116-315, Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, requires educational institutions to make certain disclosures to students using federal military and/or VA education benefits. To ensure compliance with the law, we have developed the College Financing Plan, which was previously referred to as the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet, for Student Veterans/Veterans’ Dependents. The College Financing Plan is a consumer tool that participating institutions use to notify students about their financial aid package. It is a standardized form that is designed to simplify the information that prospective students receive about costs and financial aid so that they can easily compare institutions and make informed decisions about where to attend school. The form is available here.
Using Your GI Bill®
The College honors: Chapters 1606, 1607, 35, 30 (Montgomery GI Bill®), Chapter 31, Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E), and Chapter 33 (Post 9/11 GI Bill®), VEAP, and REAP.
If you are using any form of the GI Bill®, your enrollment will be certified with the VA electronically two weeks prior to the start of classes. Your enrollment cannot be certified until all required paperwork has been turned in to the VA Certifying Official. You do not have to submit anything further. Your enrollment will automatically be certified with the VA every semester that you have classes scheduled unless you instruct us otherwise.
Note: For Nursing students enrolled in the Patient Care Technician Program, it is your responsibility to notify the Office of Financial Aid when the Program starts and that you want your enrollment certified.
To use your Montgomery GI Bill® (Chapter 30) or your Post 9/11 GI Bill®, you will:
- Apply to use your benefits
- Obtain a copy of your Certificate of Eligibility from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and send it to the College
- Note that this process can take 6-8 weeks
To transfer benefits from another school, you will:
- Complete a VA Form 22-1995 for a Change of Program or Place of Training.
- Visit gibill.va.gov to access this form
To transfer your Post 9/11 benefits from an active duty member to a spouse or other dependent, follow these steps:
- The active duty member must be eligible for benefits and must apply for the benefits in his/her own name. This can be done through the VoNapp website.
- After the benefits have been approved for the active duty member, the active duty member must then apply to transfer his or her benefits to a spouse or dependent
- After the transfer is approved, the student who will be using the benefits must apply for the benefits in their name
- Once approved, the student will receive a Certificate of Eligibility in their name. The College will need a copy of this as soon as possible
- Please note that Post 9/11 benefits cannot be transferred once the military member has retired or has been discharged
Military Tuition Assistance
Each of the armed services establishes tuition assistance rates. A Tuition Assistance (TA) document from the appropriate service may be submitted for payment of tuition at Sentara College. You are responsible for paying the portion of tuition not covered by the TA, and submission of the TA document signifying that you accept liability for payment of any tuition not covered.
Federal Tuition Assistance
You will be responsible for entering the course schedule, class enrollment, and other information on the GoArmyEd web portal. Once the classes are approved through the GoArmyEd portal, the Sentara College VA Certifying Official will invoice the military for the classes. Payment will come from the military directly to the College.
State Tuition Assistance
You are responsible for obtaining a tuition assistance payment voucher from your Education Office and submitting it to the VA Certifying Official at Sentara College. State tuition assistance may also include an amount for books. Because books are not purchased directly through a Sentara College bookstore, any book stipends you receive will be either applied to any book voucher they may have received, or refunded as a reimbursement for your out of pocket book purchases.
Learn More About Military & Veteran Tuition Assistance
For more information about tuition assistance, contact your Education Office at your base.
If you have specific questions for the College, contact our VA Certifying Official/Financial Aid Advisor, Sharon Crockett at 757-388-6351 or [email protected].
More helpful information for active-duty military, military dependents, and veterans:
- Obtain information and complete the application for benefits here.
- Search for military or military dependent scholarship opportunities here.
- For information about the Travers Scholarship and Loan Program, visit the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society website.
(GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website. This institution is approved to offer GI Bill® educational benefits by the Virginia State Approving Agency.)
