SNU Supports Military Students

You must apply for your educational benefits through the VA in Muskogee, OK online at gibill.va.gov. You can also call the VA Education Hotline for assistance at 1-888-442-4551. 

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.

If you are a veteran or service member with a service-connected disability and are interested in determining your eligibility for using the Chapter 31 Veterans Readiness & Employment (VRE) benefit while in school, you must apply for the benefit online through the VA website at https://www.va.gov/careers-employment/vocational-rehabilitation/how-to-apply. Once you apply, the VA will schedule a meeting for you with a VRE Counselor to find out if you are eligible for VRE benefits and services.

For information visit the following sites:

Chapter 35 Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Program at https://www.va.gov/education/transfer-post-9-11-gi-bill-benefits/

Chapter 33 Transfer of Eligibility for Dependents and Spouse at https://www.va.gov/education/transfer-post-9-11-gi-bill-benefits/

The VETS Center certifies students' enrollments to the VA in the order we receive the students’ Requests For Certification (RFC) forms for every term students are enrolled in during their time at SNU. Once we receive your RFC form at our office, it takes approximately 30 days to certify your enrollment with the VA. After we certify your enrollment with the VA, it takes the VA an additional 30 days to award your VA benefit money.

Remember, a change in your class schedule may impact your VA benefits. Frequent changes of schedule often can cause a student to have an overpayment of benefits where the VA will require you to pay it back. Notify the SNU VETS Center on all course schedule changes as you work with your Academic/Admissions Advisor. When you are adding a new course, a new course confirmation form, approved by your college/academic department leadership, is required before the course adjustment can be reported to the VA.

It is important that the military service members or DOD civilian employees who wish to apply for DOD tuition assistance to help pay for their classes, take these steps prior to enrolling to ensure there are DOD tuition assistance funds available and to get the application process moving forward to ensure DOD tuition assistance is approved prior to the start date of any class the military service member/DOD civilian employee wishes to use DOD TA towards.  The DOD will not approve tuition assistance for any class that has already begun.      

1. Immediately talk with your Education Services Officer at your respective military installation education office, or if a DOD civilian employee, speak with your DOD employer’s education liaison.  The installation education office/DOD employer education liaison will provide the necessary paperwork, status of funds, and information requirements respective to that military service branch for the service member to start the application process.
2. The service member/DOD civilian employee, to include National Guard/Reserve service members, will then access his/her military service branch’s respective education portal to complete and submit his/her application for requesting DOD tuition assistance and receiving DOD approval.  
   1. US Army Service Member:  AI portal for Army service members:  AI Portal website: https://aiportal.army.mil (Edge and Firefox are the preferred browsers).  If a user needs assistance, users may contact the BAM Helpdesk Email: army@bamtech.net or BAM Technical Issue Phone:  276-231-0938.  
   2. US Air Force Service Member:  Air Force Virtual Education Center at https://afvec.us.af.mil/afvec/public/welcome
   3. US Navy Service Member:  Navy College Program at https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/sailors/tuition-assistance-ncpace.htm
   4. US Marine Corps Service Member:  Marine Corps Voluntary Education Center at https://usmc-mccs.org/articles/how-do-i-apply-for-tuition-assistance
   5. US Coast Guard Service Member:  Education and Training Quota Command Portal at https://www.forcecom.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/FORCECOM-UNITS/ETQC/VOLUNTARY-EDUCATION/Tuition-Assistance
3. When applying for DOD tuition assistance through your military service branch education portal, make sure you are providing the correct course numbers (i.e., BIOL-3274, etc.), costs, and class dates for timely processing of the paperwork (for SNU professional and graduate studies students, class dates should be listed as per course/module and not by semester).  
4. Once the service member/DOD civilian employee receives his/her DOD TA approval letter, provide a copy of this approval letter to the following departments at SNU for required filing and for proper processing towards the student’s SNU account:
   1. SNU Bursar’s Office (if a Professional Graduate Studies student) or SNU Business Office (if a Traditional Undergraduate student) so the DOD TA funds will be applied towards the student’s account.  
   2. SNU Financial Aid Office at pgsfinaid@snu.edu for filing requirements with the student’s assigned Financial Aid Counselor.
   3. SNU VETS Center at veterans@mail.snu.edu for filing requirements with the VETS Center’s School Certification Official. 
5. All DOD tuition assistance requests must be submitted and approved 7 days prior to the start of any class the service member wishes to use DOD tuition assistance funds towards.  If the application is not received and approved 7 days prior to a class start date, the service member is at risk for not getting the TA approved by the DOD.

As soon as a military service member and/or DOD civilian employee decides he/she will want to take college level courses and use DOD tuition assistance to help pay for the course costs, the individual should immediately contact his/her military installation education office, or DOD employer if a DOD civilian employee, to begin the process for applying for DOD TA funds.  All DOD tuition assistance requests must be submitted and approved 7 days prior to the start of any class the service member wishes to use DOD tuition assistance funds towards.  If the application is not received and approved 7 days prior to a class start date, the service member is at risk for not getting the TA approved by the DOD.  The service member/DOD civilian employee will submit his/her DOD TA application through the appropriate military service branch education portal at one of the following:  

1. US Army Service Member: AI portal for Army service members:  AI Portal website: https://aiportal.army.mil (Edge and Firefox are the preferred browsers).  If a user needs assistance, users may contact the BAM Helpdesk Email: army@bamtech.net or BAM Technical Issue Phone:  276-231-0938.  
2. US Air Force Service Member:  Air Force Virtual Education Center at https://afvec.us.af.mil/afvec/public/welcome
3. US Navy Service Member:  Navy College Program at https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/sailors/tuition-assistance-ncpace.htm
4. US Marine Corps Service Member:  Marine Corps Voluntary Education Center at https://usmc-mccs.org/articles/how-do-i-apply-for-tuition-assistance
5. US Coast Guard Service Member:  Education and Training Quota Command Portal at https://www.forcecom.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/FORCECOM-UNITS/ETQC/VOLUNTARY-EDUCATION/Tuition-Assistance

For undergraduate students follow these guidelines:

• Ideally, if you are an Oklahoma resident, you should complete your FAFSA by December 1st of the year before you plan to start school (academic years beginning July 1st).  Some Oklahoma students qualify for the Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant (OTAG) and the state deadline falls around December 1st.  If you read this shortly after December 1st, complete the FAFSA as soon as possible, because the state has extended deadlines in the past.
• For students who miss the deadline, or are not from Oklahoma, completing the FAFSA about two to three months prior to your enrollment will best allow SNU to process your aid for the start of your program.  SNU generally begins processing aid about one to two months before your classes begin.  In months that have several programs starting, usually July, September, January, and March, we may start a little earlier for those whose FAFSA information is clean.
• The financial aid office cannot begin processing your aid until all of your admission requirements have been completed.  Transcripts can be the most time consuming, and the least controllable portion of the admissions process, make sure and request them as soon as possible.
• Filing the FAFSA is only the first step in the process.  You will need to monitor your SNU email address once you have received it for updates and document requests.
• Once your financial aid offer has been completed, you will receive notice via your SNU email with instructions on how to log into your my.snu.edu portal to view/accept/decline your awards.
• If you plan to use Federal Student Loans:
  • If you have not borrowed in the last five years, you may need to complete a new Loan Agreement/Master Promissory Note.  This can be done by logging into studentaid.gov with your FSA (FAFSA) ID, clicking on “Complete Award Process” in the top margin and clicking on Complete a Master Promissory Note. 
  • If you have never borrowed a Federal Student Loan, you will also need to complete Loan Entrance Counseling from the same page.
  • All students who have borrowed previously will need to complete an Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement (new in 2022-2023) from the same page.

For graduate students follow these guidelines:

• Graduate students should complete the FAFSA about two to three months before your enrollment begins to best allow SNU to process your aid in time for the start of your program.  SNU generally begins processing aid about one to two months before your classes begin.  In months that have several programs starting, usually July, September, January, and March, we may start a little earlier for those whose FAFSA information is clean.
• The financial aid office cannot begin processing your financial aid until all of your admission requirements have been completed.  Since getting transcripts can be the most time consuming, and the least controllable portion of the admissions process, make sure and request them as soon as possible. 
• The financial aid office cannot begin processing your aid until all of your admission requirements have been completed.   Transcripts can be the most time consuming, and the least controllable portion of the admissions process, make sure and request them as soon as possible.
• Filing the FAFSA is only the first step in the process.  You will need to monitor your SNU email address once you have received it for updates and document requests.
• Once your financial aid offer has been completed, you will receive notice via your SNU email with instructions on how to log into your my.snu.edu portal to view/accept/decline your awards. 
• If you plan to use Federal Student Loans:
  • If you have not borrowed in the last five years, you may need to complete a new Loan Agreement/Master Promissory Note.  This can be done by logging into studentaid.gov with your FSA (FAFSA) ID, clicking on “Complete Award Process” in the top margin and clicking on Complete a Master Promissory Note. 
  • If you have never borrowed a Federal Student Loan, you will also need to complete Loan Entrance Counseling from the same page.
  • All students who have borrowed previously will need to complete an Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement (new in 2022-2023) from the same page.