Application for Ch. 33 VA Education Benefits

You can apply online  via VA Form 22-1990 (if you have already applied skip this step).

If you are a veteran/service member/reservist and have not used your education benefits, complete Form 22-1990. You will need to create an ID.me or LOGIN.GOV account

 Save a copy of the confirmation page and email it to us at mvrc@uwf.edu. Example of required form: 

Form 22-1990

This is the confirmation page page provided at the end of the application. Email it to us at mvrc@uwf.edu. Example of the required form: 

Certificate of Eligibility (COE)

You will receive this document in the mail a few months after completing the application. We will need a copy for our records.  Please send it to mvrc@uwf.edu.  

ALL VETERANS AND SERVICE MEMBERS may check for their Post 9/11 GI Bill Statement of Benefits:

• Go to VA.gov. Under VA Benefits and Health Care, select Education and Training. Under Manage your Benefits select 'Check Post 9/11 GI Bill Statement of Benefits' 

• You will need to sign in with an existing Login.gov, ID.me, DS Logon, or My HealtheVet account. If you don’t have any of these accounts, you can create a free Login.gov or ID.me account now.
• This Statement of Benefits will work as a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). Please send it to mvrc@uwf.edu. 

Register for Courses 

Meet with your academic advisor to get registered for classes.  After registering for classes, you will need to upgrade your MYUWF account to full access.  To do this, type My account in your search bar on my.uwf.edu account.  Click on Upgrade.  This can be done at least 2 hours after registering for classes.  Once the account has been updated, click the log-out button.  Once you log back into your account, you will have full access.  For additional information on this, go to:  https://confluence.uwf.edu/display/public/Upgrading+your+MyUWF+account+to+a+full-access+ArgoNet+account 

VA Enrollment Certification Form (ECF)

You will need to fill the ECF out through your my.uwf.edu account after you have registered for classes. The ECF must be completed every semester and whenever your class schedule changes.  To locate the form, type VA Enrollment Certification Form (ECF) in the search bar of your  my.uwf.edu account.  We cannot submit your certification to the VA until we receive this form from you.

Monthly Enrollment Verification

All Chapter 33 students are required to verify their enrollment with the VA at the end of each month to continue receiving your Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA).  This can be done by calling GI Bill Customer Service monthly via email or text.  The VA strongly recommends using text messaging as a simple, quick, and safe option for verifying enrollment to receive your MHA uninterrupted.  When your enrollment is processed, you will receive the following text message, "Post 9/11 GI Bill housing and kicker payments now require monthly enrollment verification.  Would you like to submit yours via text?  Please reply Yes or No."   The text will come from a number with an (855) area code. Reply "YES" to opt into text message verification.  The text message link will expire 14 days after receipt. On the last day of each month, you will receive a text message requesting enrollment verification for that month.  Reply YES to verify your enrollment if your classes have not changed. If they have changed and you are no longer enrolled in the amount of credits the recording states, contact the MVRC to update your records. 

If you respond NO for text messaging verification and have a valid email address on file, you will be opted into email verification.  On the last day of the month, you will receive an email requesting enrollment verification for that month.  Select YES; my enrollment is the same to verify your enrollment.

If you fail to verify for two consecutive months, your MHA will be placed on hold.  You need to contact GI Bill customer service (1-888-442-4551 ) to verify your enrollment and release your payments.

Read more on verifying your enrollment here: https://www.va.gov/education/verify-school-enrollment/

If you didn't receive the text message/ email or accidentally deleted it and would like to opt into text verification, please call the Education Service Center at 1-888-442-4551 to opt-in for text messaging. When you call, do NOT press 1; wait on line to speak to a representative.

Post 9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) Pay rates

• Chapter 33 students will be responsible for making all payments to the school for housing fees and meal plans, as the VA will send their funding directly to the account listed when the VA application is completed. The VA will send tuition & fees directly to the school (if your benefit % is lower than 100, the student is responsible for paying the remaining amount owed directly to the school).
  • Be advised, if your benefits percentage is lower than 100% the deferment on file will be until the end of the term. Payment will be due at the end of the term. It will be your responsibility to cover the remaining balance and check your TransAct under MyUWF. 
• Students will be responsible for making all payments to the school for housing fees and meal plans. 
  • Any outstanding housing fees and meal plans will be the students responsibility to pay. A payment plan will need to be set up, read more here: https://uwf.edu/finance-and-administration/departments/controllers-office/student-accounts-and-cashier/tuition-and-fees/payment-plan/
• Monthly rate vary depending on training time enrollment, read on training time requirement for VA Benefits and deferment dates here: https://uwf.edu/academic-affairs/departments/military-veteran-resource-center/tuition--funding/training-time-requirements-for-va-benefits/
• To find your benefit rate, go to: https://www.va.gov/education/gi-bill-comparison-tool/
  • Type West Florida and select University of West Florida

• • Under 'Which GI Bill benefit do you want to use?' select Post 9/11 GI Bill (Ch 33)

• •  Then select 'School costs and calendar' under Enrolled select your training time

• On the right hand side, under Housing Allowance would be your expected Monthly Rate
• Note: Active duty service members are not eligible for a MHA but are eligible for a book stipend.