!!!!IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!!

Effective April 1, 2008, individuals receiving benefits under MGIB Chapter 1607 will be required to certify their enrollment in order to receive payment. Chapter 1607 recipients will be able to certify their enrollment through the Web Automated Verification of Enrollment (WAVE) found on the www.gibill.va.gov site or from a touch-tone phone (1-877-823-2378) in the same manner as persons eligible for benefits under chapters 30 and 1606.

Source: DVA RPO Education - St. Louis

DMACC Veterans Services

Welcome to the DMACC Veterans Services Web Site!

Veterans Educational Benefits at DMACC
DMACC is a Service Members Opportunity College (SOC) where career, degree and diploma programs are approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) for VA educational benefits. Monthly benefit rates are set by Congress and the DVA and vary according to students’ benefits categories and credit hour enrollment for each term.

The DMACC Veterans Services office assists students in applying for veterans’ educational benefits, acts as a liaison between the student and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) and serves as a resource to other DMACC departments and services. The office of Veterans Services, is located on the Ankeny Campus, Bldg. 1. The phone number is 515-964-6284, or toll-free 1-800-362-2127. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Students who could be eligible for veterans educational benefits through the VA are:

• Former full-time-active-duty U.S. military veterans – Ch. 30
• Current members of the Iowa National Guard-CH. 1606/1607
• Current members of U. S. military reserve units-CH. 1606/1607
• Participants in the VA vocational rehabilitation program-CH. 31
• Surviving dependents/spouses of service related disabled or deceased veterans.-CH. 35

You can receive veterans benefits all three semesters at DMACC, and you do NOT have to enroll for full time to receive those benefits.

Application for veteran benefits should be completed when applying for admission to DMACC. Forms are available from the veteran’s office on the Ankeny campus. The application process for new claims takes a minimum of 60 to 90 days to complete by the DVA. Therefore, appropriate paperwork should be completed as early as possible.

Iowa National Guard
The Iowa National Guard Educational Assistance Program may pay up to 100 percent of an eligible student’s tuition (not additional class fees or books) Fall and Spring semesters at DMACC. Eligible students must be active drilling members of the Iowa Army or Air National Guard. The Iowa Adjutant General (TAG) determines eligibility for this tuition assistance program and funding for it is determined annually by the Iowa General Assembly. Individuals must apply for this grant through their Guard unit commander each spring for the coming academic year. TAG notifies the Iowa College Student Aid Commission (ICSAC) of approved application. That agency notifies DMACC of the student’s eligibility and authorizes payment of the funds to DMACC.

Things to Know
Here are some things you need to know to prepare to receive Veterans Educational Benefits here at DMACC. Elsewhere on this site you will find a form to fill out and e-mail to the Veterans Office to start the ball rolling. Or, if you will be on the Ankeny Campus in the course of getting enrolled in classes at any DMACC campus, stop in to the Veterans Office located in Bldg. 1 in the Financial Aid department. The certifying official will be happy to get you squared away. You can also reach the Veterans Coordinator by phone at 515-964-6284, or regular e-mail at pbutin@dmacc.edu.

Before you can begin receiving VA educational benefits here at DMACC, you will need to do the following things;

• You must apply to the DVA for the category of benefits you qualify for.
• You must to be enrolled in a degree or diploma program.
• You need to inform the veterans coordinator of actual enrollment and provide them with pertinent paperwork, i.e. VA application, DD-214, NOBE, certificate of eligibility, etc., depending on your category.

Be advised that if you are a new applicant for veterans benefits, the processing of your claim by the VA will take a minimum of 60 to 90 days from when you submit your paperwork. You do not need to be approved for those benefits before registering for classes. If you are transferring from another college where you received VA benefits, if you notify the veterans coordinator in a timely manner (30 plus days before the term starts) your semester certifying process will go much faster.

Finally, veterans benefits, for all categories except Chapter 31 – VA Vocational Rehabilitation – do NOT pay for your schooling. They pay you directly while you are attending school. Therefore, be prepared to pay your bill with DMACC when it comes due each term. If you are a Chapter 1606 or 1607, you may be eligible for tuition assistance through your military component. These payments are made to the college, but applications for this assistance must be done through your units.

We welcome you to DMACC and hope these preliminary comments will assist you in getting started with your VA benefits here. We look forward to meeting you and assisting you in getting your benefits in a consistent, timely manner as you pursue your educational goals here at DMACC.

Click here to e-mail information to the Veterans Services coordinator’s office.


What you will find on this site:

• Information about the Department of Veterans Affairs Educational Benefits for US veterans, reservists and survivors and dependents.  
• How to determine your eligibility for these benefits. 
• How these benefits work. 
• Other benefits available.
• An interactive site to allow you to inform the DMACC VA office of semester enrollments, withdrawals, and changes. 
• Telephone and Internet resource links to VA, National Guard and Reserves web sites. 

Are you a former full time active duty US military veteran, a member of the selected Reserves or Iowa National Guard, a survivor or dependent of a veteran who is either one hundred percent disabled, or deceased, due to a service related condition? If you can answer yes to any of the above, you may be eligible for Veterans Affairs educational benefits while attending DMACC. 

DMACC’s Veterans Services office can assist you in determining your eligibility, applying for benefits, making sure you get those benefits while you are attending DMACC, and in assuring that those benefits continue when you transfer to the next educational institution. 

Want to do it on the Web?

Many of DMACC’s VA services can be accessed through this site. Click here to interact with the VA office. 

To identify your eligibility for VA educational benefits, or to find the answers to other VA education benefit questions, click here.

General Information

Regardless of the DMACC campus you are attending, to apply for VA benefits, contact the Veterans Services office at 515-964-6284 or stop in Bldg. 1, Ankeny Campus. The application process can be done by phone and mail if it is not convenient to come to Ankeny in person. New applications are sent by mail to the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) upon receipt in the DMACC VA office. Enrollment certifications are filed electronically once you have registered for semester classes. Click here if you have received VA education benefits at another institution. 

Education benefits from the VA are paid a month in arrears and therefore will not be available to you at the time of the college’s official payment due date for each semester. Click here for more information about VA educational benefits payments.

If you have enrolled under a VA program and want to continue to receive your benefits, you are required to inform the DMACC VA office each semester of registration for a new term, changes in credit hours (drop/adds), Click here to do this electronically, call-up to active duty in times of national crises, (click here for procedures for deployment notification), change of program of study (click here to request form to change program), Such notification must be made in a timely manner to insure efficient continuance of receipt of VA benefits.