Military Services VA Certification

Using VA Benefits

Students using VA benefits need to submit a copy of their Certificate of Eligibility (COE) after being approved for benefits to the Financial Aid Office. This can be emailed to veterans@iwcc.edu.

Students who are registered and submitted their COE by the dates below will be certified with the VA before classes start:

Fall Semester: July 1st

Spring Semester: November 1st

Summer Semester: April 1st

Students who register or submit paperwork after these dates may not be certified before the start of the term. After the start of term enrollment will be certified within two weeks of receiving the paperwork and the student is enrolled.

Processing the enrollment certifications can take the VA some time. Therefore, you will be granted deferred billing on your student account until the end of the semester to avoid any late fees or withdrawal for non-payment. However, you will need to have your account balance paid or a payment plan in place in order to register for future classes.


     Course LoadFall or Spring Summer*
    Full-time126
    3/4 time9-115
    1/2 time6-83-4
    Less than 1/21-51-2
    **Student status for summer is based on a combination of course meeting dates and credits enrolled as defined by the VA.

    Please Note:

    • 11.5 credits will not be certified as full-time.
    • Courses meeting for only part of a term (i.e., Accelerated Session I or II, 8-week classes) count for benefits only for the portion of the semester in which the course is being taught.
    • Repeating a course that was taken either at Iowa Western or another institution may result in a retroactive loss of benefits.

    Special Considerations

    1. Students in the following categories must contact the School Certifying Official for special instructions:
      • Repeating a course in which the previous grade was a D or better.
      • Enrolled in any zero-credit course.
      • Enrolled in accelerated courses (certification will only be for the actual duration of the course).
      • Concurrently enrolled at two educational institutions.
    2. Veterans enrolled at less than 1/2 time receive subsistence allowance for tuition and fees only, not housing, etc.
    3. Withdrawal from the College or a course drop may result in retroactive loss of benefits. The reduction in training time reverts back to the beginning date of enrollment for that semester unless VA finds mitigating circumstances in the case of withdrawals and drops. VA benefits recipients who drop or withdraw will be responsible for providing any documentation of mitigating circumstances to the VA.
      • Mitigating circumstances as defined by VA include:
        • Serious illnesses or death in the immediate family.
        • Immediate family or financial obligation that requires a change in terms, hours, or place of employment.
        • Discontinuance of a course by a school.
        • Active military duty.
        • Veteran or eligible person demonstrates good faith pursuit in the course to point of withdrawal and submits evidence that, through counseling, an attempt was made to remedy the unsatisfactory work with withdrawal.
        • Any other circumstances hindering progress that are out of the student’s control.
    4. Incomplete (I) grades must be converted to credit grades within one calendar year or benefits for that course will be terminated which may result in an overpayment liability.