§16131a Accelerated Payment of Educational Assistance

Summary

Eligible students can choose to get their education benefits paid up front instead of monthly if they meet certain rules. To qualify, a student must be getting benefits under this chapter, be in an approved program that is two years or shorter and does not lead to an associate, bachelor, master, or other degree, and be charged tuition and fees that work out to more than 200 percent (twice) the normal monthly benefit rate. The up-front amount will be the smaller of 60 percent of the program’s “established charges” or the student’s remaining benefit balance. “Established charges” means the tuition and fees that similar students who do not get benefits would pay; it does not include fees for buying a vehicle. The school must tell the VA the enrollment and the established charges. The VA must pay the accelerated amount by the last day of the month after it gets the school’s certification. The VA will reduce the student’s remaining months of benefits by dividing the accelerated payment by the full-time monthly benefit rate in effect at the start of the enrollment; if that monthly rate rises during the enrollment, the VA will prorate the charge. The VA will make rules about how to request, give, track, and recover accelerated payments. Total accelerated payments for these short programs cannot exceed $4,000,000 in any fiscal year.