Chapter 36, Subchapter III, Section 3680, Subsection (a) · 38 U.S.C. Chapter 36 — ADMINISTRATION OF EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS

Contents

(a)

(1)Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), payment of educational assistance or subsistence allowances to eligible veterans or eligible persons pursuing a program of education or training, other than a program by correspondence, in an educational institution under chapter 31, 34, or 35 of this title shall be paid as provided in this section and, as applicable, in section 3108, 3482, 3491, or 3532 of this title. Such payments shall be paid only for the period of such veterans’ or persons’ enrollment in, and pursuit of, such program, but no amount shall be paid—

(A)to any eligible veteran or eligible person for any period when such veteran or person is not pursuing such veteran’s or person’s course in accordance with the regularly established policies and regulations of the educational institution, with the provisions of such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (g) of this section, and with the requirements of this chapter or of chapter 34 or 35 of this title, but payment may be made for an actual period of pursuit of one or more unit subjects pursued for a period of time shorter than the enrollment period at the educational institution;

(B)to any eligible veteran or person for auditing a course; or

(C)to any eligible veteran or person for a course for which the grade assigned is not used in computing the requirements for graduation including a course from which the student withdraws unless—

(i)the eligible veteran or person withdraws because he or she is ordered to active duty; or

(ii)the Secretary finds there are mitigating circumstances, except that, in the first instance of withdrawal (without regard to withdrawals described in clause (i)) by the eligible veteran or person from a course or courses with respect to which the veteran or person has been paid assistance under this title, mitigating circumstances shall be considered to exist with respect to courses totaling not more than six semester hours or the equivalent thereof.

(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary may, pursuant to such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe, continue to pay allowances to eligible veterans and eligible persons enrolled in courses set forth in paragraph (1)(A)—

(A)during periods when educational institutions are temporarily closed under an established policy based on an Executive order of the President or due to an emergency situation, except that the total number of weeks for which allowances may continue to be so payable in any 12-month period may not exceed 4 weeks; or

(B)solely for the purpose of awarding a monthly housing stipend described in section 3313 of this title or a subsistence allowance described in section 3108, during periods following a permanent closure of an educational institution, or following the disapproval of a course of study described in section 3699(b)(1)(B) of this title, except that payment of such a stipend or allowance may only be continued until the earlier of—

(i)the date of the end of the term, quarter, or semester during which the closure or disapproval occurred; and

(ii)the date that is 120 days after the date of the closure or disapproval.

(3)

(A)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in the case of an eligible veteran or eligible person who is pursuing a program of education on less than a half-time basis during a period that is the last semester, term, or academic period the veteran or person will be enrolled in the program of education because the veteran or person will complete the program of education at the end of that semester, term, or academic period, the Secretary may, pursuant to such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe, provide to the veteran or person educational assistance under chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, or 35 of this title or under chapter 1606 of title 10 on the basis of the total number of credits or courses in which the veteran or person is enrolled, if—

(i)the number of credits the veteran or person needs to complete the program of education is less than the number of credits that would constitute enrollment on a more than half-time basis for that last semester, term, or academic period; and

(ii)the veteran or person—

(I)is enrolled in, or has completed, every course offered by the program of education during the last semester, term, or academic period in which the veteran or person is enrolled in the program of education; and

(II)enrolls in an additional course that is not required for the completion of such program of education and the enrollment in the non-required course in addition to the required course or courses in which the veteran or person is enrolled constitutes enrollment on more than a half-time basis.

(B)For purposes of providing a monthly housing stipend described in section 3313(c) to an eligible veteran or eligible person for whom the Secretary is providing educational assistance under chapter 33 of this title during a period that is the last semester, term, or academic period pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall treat the veteran or person as pursuing a program of education on a full-time basis.

United States Government work; public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.

Defined terms · 28

Show every defined term

approved third-party auditor
means an independent third-party auditor that is approved by the Secretary for purposes of third-party audits under this section.
College Navigator website
has the meaning given that term in section 132 of the Higher Education Act 2 (20 U.S.C. 1015a).
covered education
means a course of education—
covered educational assistance
means educational assistance under chapter 30, 33, or 35 of this title, or section 3699C of this title.
covered individual
means an individual who is pursuing a course of education at an educational institution under chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, or 35 of this title, or chapter 1606 or 1607 of title 10.
covered member
means a member of the Armed Forces (including the reserve components) enrolled in covered education.
covered officer or employee of the Department
means an officer or employee of the Department who—
covered reason
means any reason related to an emergency situation, including—
covered service
means—
covered study-abroad course
means a course that—
emergency situation
means a situation that—
entrepreneurship course
means a non-degree, non-credit course of business education that enables or assists a person to start or enhance a small business concern (as defined pursuant to section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a))).
fails to complete 120 hours of training
means, with respect to an individual, that during any month, the individual completes at least one hour, but fewer than 120 hours, of training, including in a case in which the individual is unemployed for part of, but not the whole, month.
high technology program of education
means a program of education—
individual
means— as the case may be.
institution concerned
means, with respect to a covered member, the institution of higher education where the covered member is enrolled in covered education.
institution of higher education
has the meaning given such term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
institution of higher learning
has the meaning given that term in section 3452(f) of this title.
matching program
has the same meaning provided in section 552a(a)(8) of title 5.
minority serving institution
means any of the following:
misleading statement
includes any communication, action, omission, or intimation made in writing, visually, orally, or through other means, that has the likelihood or tendency to mislead the intended recipient of the communication under the circumstances in which the communication is made.
misrepresentation
means any false, erroneous, or misleading statement, action, omission, or intimation made directly or indirectly to a student, a prospective student, the public, an accrediting agency, a State agency, or to the Secretary by an eligible institution, one of its representatives, or any person with whom the institution has an agreement to provide educational programs, marketing, advertising, recruiting or admissions services.
multi-State apprenticeship program
means a non-Federal apprenticeship program operating in more than one State that meets the minimum national program standards, as developed by the Department of Labor.
period of covered service
means the period beginning on the date on which a covered member enters covered service and ending on the date on which the covered member is released from covered service or dies while in covered service.
postsecondary education and training opportunities
means any postsecondary program of education, including apprenticeships and on-job training, for which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs provides assistance to a veteran or member of the Armed Forces.
risk-based survey
means a risk-based survey developed under section 3673A(a) of this title.
substantial misrepresentation
means misrepresentation in which the person to whom it was made could reasonably be expected to rely, or has reasonably relied, to that person’s detriment.
unemployed
includes being furloughed or being scheduled to work zero hours.