How does the LMU Certification Process Work?
When submitting enrollment certifications, LMU certifies the units in which the student is enrolled and the resulting tuition and fees. LMU does not certify eligibility to receive VA funds; only the VA can do that. In order to prevent gaps in benefit payments, LMU follows the dual certification process recommended by the VA.
Pre-certification: LMU submits a preliminary certification in advance of the term which allows benefits to continue or begin. Submit the SBE form immediately following registration for a term.
Certification: LMU certifies your enrollment data (term dates, hours, enrollment status, tuition and fees) beginning on the first workday after the close of the first week of school.
Submit the Semester Benefits Enrollment (SBE) Form to Use Benefits Each Semester
You must submit the form every semester in which you want to use your benefits. We do not assume you want to use them every semester. If we do not receive the enrollment form, we will not send certification to the VA.
Additional Reporting Requirement for those with Chapter 33 or 33 YR Benefits
Enrollment verification is a requirement for Post-9/11 GI Bill® (Chapter 33) students to verify every month that you are still enrolled in the same courses or training that your school certified to VA. It’s not about verifying that you are attending classes, but whether your certified enrollment has changed.
Attendance
It is important to understand that the VA pays you for being in and completing courses, not just registering for them. The VA expects you to remain enrolled through the end of the term and earn a passing grade. When using benefits, it is the student's responsibility to notify the University's SCO of all enrollment changes to your schedule as soon as they occur during the semester. This may be done in-person and/or by email from your LION email account only to VA.Certification@lmu.edu. Failure to do so may result in delayed payment and/or VA debt.
Students with benefits under Chapter 33 Ch 33 YR: the VA requires that you report your enrollment on a monthly basis to them using one of two methods. See the information here: https://benefits.va.gov/gibill/isaksonRoe/EV_FAQs.asp
Full-time or Part-time Enrollment Status
- An undergraduate student enrolled for 12 or more semester hours in a Fall or Spring semester, or 6 or more semester hours in a single Summer session, is considered a full-time student.
- A graduate student enrolled for 6 or more semester hours in a Fall, Spring, or a single Summer session is considered a full-time student.
- Doctoral students who have completed course requirements and are working solely on the dissertation are considered full-time when enrolled in 2 or more semester hours in a Fall, Spring, or single Summer session.
Which Courses are certified?
Only courses required by the degree program can be certified. Electives cannot be certified if they are not needed to reach the minimum number of credits for your program.
- Courses that you are taking in hopes of adding or changing to a different major and/or degree program cannot be certified. For example, if you wish to change your degree program, you may not take courses intended or required for the new program if you have not been admitted to the program.
- Undeclared majors can only be certified for courses meeting specific college lower-division requirements.
- Undeclared majors cannot be certified after earning 60 credits.
- Audited courses cannot be certified.
- Continuing Education courses or programs cannot be certified.