Veterans and Eligible Dependents

Utilizing Your Veterans Benefits Georgia Military Order of the Purple Heart Logo

If you are an active-duty member or Veteran, a member of the National Guard or Reserves, or a qualified survivor or dependent, you may qualify for educational assistance through the VA. You may be able to determine your status through the link provided below: https://www.va.gov/education/eligibility/

You may also speak with the VA directly at 1-888-442-4551. They have counselors available to answer questions that are specific to your benefits and service information. Unfortunately, School Certifying Officials (SCO) do not have the ability to determine eligibility, as they are not employed by the VA and do not have access to your records.

After you have determined which benefits you will be using, you will need to complete the Application for Education Benefits. (Please allow time for processing—if you have not heard anything or received any documentation from them within 2-3 weeks, you will want to follow-up with their office, as sometimes there is additional documents that must be provided or completed): https://www.va.gov/
You will receive your "Certificate of Eligibility" (COE) from the VA directly. Once you have this document, it is your responsibility to get LTC a copy. The VA does not provide the school with any information directly on your behalf. We must have that document on file in order to secure your schedule or get you certified *depending on the benefits. If you have used education benefits in the past, we will also accept a screenshot/copy of your eBenefits Education Information in lieu of the COE.

Make Returning the COE to LTC a Priority.

Once the SCO has received your COE, you will receive a corresponding packet of information specific to your chapter of benefits.
Once you receive the packet, read it fully. Discuss any questions or concerns you have with the SCO. Then, return the "Contact Information Sheet" and the "Statement of Understanding". The ‘REQUEST FOR CERTIFICFATION’ is filled out and returned each semester you want to use benefits.
Once you have submitted those items, your file will be complete. If you make any changes to your information with Admissions after that, please be sure to contact the VA SCO as well.
It is your responsibility to complete a REQUEST FOR CERTIFICATION each semester once you register for courses. Failure to do this will result in your schedule not being certified.

What to do while you wait for your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) to arrive?

Complete the Admissions Application to LTC. If the Admissions Office determines that you are an "Out-of-State" student, please provide their office with a copy of your DD-214 (member copy 4) for review. You may qualify for "military-out-of-state" status.
Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid)—this will determine if the student is eligible for state and/or federal aid, in addition to VA education benefits./
Submit a copy of your "Official Military Transcript" (if applicable), so that the Registrar’s Office may fully review your transcripts for credit evaluation: https://jst.doded.mil/jst/

Transferring Your Military Transcripts to LTC

Veterans, reservists, service persons, etc. applying for VA Educational Benefits must provide Lanier Technical College with a copy of their DD-214--member copy 4 (if applicable), prior course completion certificates, official college transcripts from all previous colleges, and official military transcripts so that the transcripts can be evaluated.

LANIER TECHNICAL COLLEGE IS UNABLE TO CERTIFY YOUR ENROLLMENT PAST THE SECOND SEMESTER UNLESS THE TRANSFER CREDIT PROCESS IS FINALIZED.

To request your Official Military Transcript, please log-on to the Joint Services Transcript web-site at: https://jst.doded.mil/jst/

Select the OKAY button at the bottom of the screen.
Press "Register" at the top and follow the steps.
Create your unique User Name and Password.
(Please note the special character requirements for the password).
You will then "Request an Official Transcript" for "Lanier Tech".

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Financial Aid Office at 770-533-7058 or email va@laniertech.edu.

Office hours are typically Monday-Thursday 7:30am-5pm, Friday 8-12pm, and by appointment at all campus locations.

Lanier Technical College is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia.

Title 38

In accordance with Title 38 US Code 3679 subsection (e), this school adopts the following additional provisions for any students using U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Post 9/11 Veterans Benefits (Ch. 33) or Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Ch. 31) benefits, while payment to the institution is pending from the VA.
This school will not:

Prevent the student’s enrollment;
Assess a late penalty fee to;
Require student secure alternative or additional funding;
Deny their access to any resources (access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities) available to other students who have satisfied their tuition and fee bills to the institution. However, to qualify for this provision, such students may be required to:
Provide Chapter 33 Certificate of Eligibility (or its equivalent) or for Chapter 31, VA VR&E’s contract with the school on VA Form 28-1905 by the first day of class. #Note: Chapter 33 students can register at the VA Regional Office to use E-Benefits to get the equivalent of a Chapter 33 Certificate of Eligibility. Chapter 31 student cannot get a completed VA Form 28-1905 (or any equivalent) before the VA VR&E case-manager issues it to the school.
Provide written request to be certified;
Provide additional information needed to properly certify the enrollment as described in other institutional policies.

§3679. Disapproval of courses (a)(1) Except as provided by paragraph (2), any course approved for the purposes of this chapter which fails to meet any of the requirements of this chapter shall be immediately disapproved by the Secretary or the appropriate State approving agency. An educational institution which has its courses disapproved by the Secretary or a State approving agency will be notified of such disapproval by a certified or registered letter of notification and a return receipt secured. (2) In the case of a course of education that would be subject to disapproval under paragraph (1) solely for the reason that the Secretary of Education withdraws the recognition of the accrediting agency that accredited the course, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, and notwithstanding the withdrawal, may continue to treat the course as an approved course of education under this chapter for a period not to exceed 18 months from the date of the withdrawal of recognition of the accrediting agency, unless the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the appropriate State approving agency determines that there is evidence to support the disapproval of the course under this chapter. The Secretary shall provide to any veteran enrolled in such a course of education notice of the status of the course of education. (b) Each State approving agency shall notify the Secretary of each course which it has disapproved under this section. The Secretary shall notify the State approving agency of the Secretary's disapproval of any educational institution under chapter 31 of this title. (c)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter and subject to paragraphs (3) through (6), the Secretary shall disapprove a course of education provided by a public institution of higher learning if the institution charges tuition and fees for that course for covered individuals who are pursuing the course with educational assistance under chapter 30, 31, or 33 of this title while living in the State in which the institution is located at a rate that is higher than the rate the institution charges for tuition and fees for that course for residents of the State in which the institution is located, regardless of the covered individual's State of residence. (2) For purposes of this subsection, a covered individual is any individual as follows: (A) A veteran who was discharged or released from a period of not fewer than 90 days of service in the active military, naval, or air service less than three years before the date of enrollment in the course concerned. (B) An individual who is entitled to assistance under— (i) section 3311(b)(9) of this title; or (ii) section 3319 of this title by virtue of the individual's relationship to— (I) a veteran described in subparagraph (A); or (II) a member of the uniformed services described in section 3319(b) of this title who is serving on active duty. (C) An individual who is entitled to rehabilitation under section 3102(a) of this title. (3) If after enrollment in a course of education that is subject to disapproval under paragraph (1) by reason of paragraph (2)(A), (2)(B), or (2)(C) a covered individual pursues one or more courses of education at the same public institution of higher learning while remaining continuously enrolled (other than during regularly scheduled breaks between courses, semesters or terms) at that institution of higher learning, any course so pursued by the covered individual at that institution of higher learning while so continuously enrolled shall also be subject to disapproval under paragraph (1). (4) It shall not be grounds to disapprove a course of education under paragraph (1) if a public institution of higher learning requires a covered individual pursuing a course of education at the institution to demonstrate an intent, by means other than satisfying a physical presence requirement, to establish residency in the State in which the institution is located, or to satisfy other requirements not relating to the establishment of residency, in order to be charged tuition and fees for that course at a rate that is equal to or less than the rate the institution charges for tuition and fees for that course for residents of the State. (5) The Secretary may waive such requirements of paragraph (1) as the Secretary considers appropriate. (6) Disapproval under paragraph (1) shall apply only with respect to educational assistance under chapters 30, 31, and 33 of this title. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Secretary or the applicable State approving agency shall disapprove a course of education described in paragraph (14) or (15) of section 3676(c) of this title unless the educational institution providing the course of education— (1) publicly discloses any conditions or additional requirements, including training, experience, or examinations, required to obtain the license, certification, or approval for which the course of education is designed to provide preparation; and (2) makes each disclosure required by paragraph (1) in a manner that the Secretary considers prominent (as specified by the Secretary in regulations prescribed for purposes of this subsection). (e)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a State approving agency, or the Secretary when acting in the role of the State approving agency, shall disapprove a course of education provided by an educational institution that has in effect a policy that is inconsistent with any of the following: (A) A policy that permits any covered individual to attend or participate in the course of education during the period beginning on the date on which the individual provides to the educational institution a certificate of eligibility for entitlement to educational assistance under chapter 31 or 33 of this title and ending on the earlier of the following dates: (i) The date on which the Secretary provides payment for such course of education to such institution. (ii) The date that is 90 days after the date on which the educational institution certifies for tuition and fees following receipt from the student such certificate of eligibility. (B) A policy that ensures that the educational institution will not impose any penalty, including the assessment of late fees, the denial of access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities, or the requirement that a covered individual borrow additional funds, on any covered individual because of the individual's inability to meet his or her financial obligations to the institution due to the delayed disbursement of a payment to be provided by the Secretary under chapter 31 or 33 of this title. (2) For purposes of this subsection, a covered individual is any individual who is entitled to educational assistance under chapter 31 or 33 of this title. (3) The Secretary may waive such requirements of paragraph (1) as the Secretary considers appropriate. (4) It shall not be inconsistent with a policy described in paragraph (1) for an educational institution to require a covered individual to take the following additional actions: (A) Submit a certificate of eligibility for entitlement to educational assistance not later than the first day of a course of education for which the individual has indicated the individual wishes to use the individual's entitlement to educational assistance. (B) Submit a written request to use such entitlement. (C) Provide additional information necessary to the proper certification of enrollment by the educational institution. Rule of Construction Pub. L. 115–407, title I, §103(c), Dec. 31, 2018, 132 Stat. 5370, provided that: "In a case in which an individual is unable to meet a financial obligation to an educational institution due to the delayed disbursement of a payment to be provided by the Secretary under chapter 31 or 33 of such title [title 38] and the amount of such disbursement is less than anticipated, nothing in section 3679(e) of such title, as added by subsection (a), shall be construed to prohibit an educational institution from requiring additional payment or imposing a fee for the amount that is the difference between the amount of the financial obligation and the amount of the disbursement."

Lanier Technical College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age or disability. The following person(s) has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies : For nondiscrimination information, please contact Nancy Beaver, Title IX Coordinator, Lanier Technical College, 2535 Lanier Tech Drive, Gainesville, GA 30507, 770-533-7001 or nbeaver@lanietech.edu and Veronica Bowermaster, Section 504 Coordinator, Lanier Technical College, 2535 Lanier Tech Drive, Gainesville, GA 30507, 770-533-7003, or vbowermaster@laniertech.edu.