Additional Funding for Family Members
A Tuition Waiver application for Chapter 35 dependents is available here. The waiver may not exceed 20 credit hours per term, and 180 credits in total.
Klamath Falls, Online, & Chemeketa students from Michelle Monteith in the Financial Aid Office (michelle.monteith@oit.edu)
Portland-Metro students from Kendal Marks in the Registrar's Office (kendal.marks@oit.edu)
Additional Funding for Active Duty and Reservists
There is also financial assistance for Army National Guard, Army active and Army Reserve through the Army National Guard Federal Tuition Assistance program. See your Unit Education Liaison for more information.
Navy, Marines and Coast Guard are encouraged to contact the Education Liaison for their branch.
VA students may only pursue a program approved by the Oregon Department of Education, the State Approving Agency (SAA). Approved programs are listed in the SAA's approval letter and in VA's On-Line Approval File (OLAF).
Change of Program
If a VA student changes from one program to another at Oregon Tech, the student must notify the Certifying Official to update with the VA.
Credit Allowed
Credit allowed for prior education and military training must be reported on a student's initial certification and following any change in program. Only credit that applies toward completion of the student's program should be reported as credit allowed.
If a student takes a course that does not fulfill a program requirement, it cannot be certified for VA purposes. i.e.: If 12 credits are certified, all 12 must apply to the degree pursued. If a student enrolls for 12 credits, but only 9 satisfy a degree requirement, we will only certify 9 credits.
There are two exceptions to the rule about course applicability:
- The last quarter before graduation, all credit taken can be certified if 1 or more of the credit satisfies a graduation requirement.
- If the college allows substitutions for program requirements, we will allow course substitutions if the college approves them and they are documented in the student's file.
Repeating Classes
Courses that are failed or for which the grade does not meet minimum requirements for graduation – may be certified for VA purposes if they are repeated.
Courses that are successfully completed may not be certified for VA purposes if they are repeated. If students must take additional courses in order to raise their GPA to graduate, the courses must be courses that have not already been successfully completed by the student.
Unsatisfactory Progress
Oregon Tech's "Veterans Satisfactory Progress Standards" are outlined in the General Catalog. If a student's term GPA falls below 2.00, the student is placed on probation. If the student's term GPA is below 2.0 the subsequent term, the student's progress is unsatisfactory and the student is suspended. If a VA student is suspended, the VA student must be terminated for "Unsatisfactory Attendance, Conduct, Or Progress". The effective date is the end date of the subsequent term the students term GPA is below 2.0.
If the VA student is placed on probation he/she is allowed the next term to bring up his/her GPA. If the student brings his/her term GPA above the 2.0 his/her benefits will continue with no problems.
If the VA student is suspended and brings his/her GPA above the 2.0 his/her benefits will resume and the benefits can be reimbursed for the terms of ineligibility.
For more information on this please see the VA Coordinator in the Financial Aid Office or call her at 541-885-1283.
Parent School Letters
A student may take courses at more than one school that apply to his or her degree. The school that will grant the degree is the students "primary" school. All other schools are "secondary" schools.
VA can pay benefits for courses taken at secondary schools. If the student is only enrolled at the secondary school (supplemental enrollment), VA will pay for the credits taken at the secondary school. If the student is enrolled at the primary school and the secondary school at the same time (concurrent enrollment), VA will pay for the combined credit, taking overlapping enrollment dates into account.
The VA student must contact their primary school and ask the VA Rep to send a parent-school letter to the secondary school in order to get certified at the secondary school. Each school must certify their own credits.
Undeclared Major
Students must declare a major before their junior year. The student cannot be certified beyond his or her sophomore year unless a major is declared.
Non-matriculated Students
Educational assistance benefits cannot be paid to nonmatriculated college or university students. Nonmatriculated students pending admission to Oregon Tech can be certified for two (2) quarters. The student may be certified beyond this two-quarter limit only if the student is admitted to Oregon Tech as a degree-seeking student, irrespective of the number of credits taken.