Eligible veterans, service persons and their dependents or survivors enrolled in approved courses may receive educational benefits from the Department of Veterans' Affairs. The Financial Aid and Veterans' Affairs Office assists such persons through the following services:

Students who wish to take advantage of educational benefits to which they may be entitled should plan well in advance to ensure that the necessary VA approvals can be obtained prior to registration. Only those students who participate in the Vocational Rehabilitation Program (Chapter 31) will be allowed to charge registration with receipt of VA FORM 28-1905 submitted to the Financial Aid and Veterans' Affairs Office, Business Office and Bookstore at RCC. Additional information may be obtained through the Financial Aid and Veterans' Affairs Office or the student's veterans' benefits counselor.

G.I. Bill Benefits:
A veteran of at least 181 days' continuous active duty who was released from active duty within the past ten years or who was released from active duty for a service - connected disability may be entitled to Veterans' Administration Educational Assistance. (The period of active military service must have terminated under conditions other than dishonorable.) The veteran must have enlisted before January 1, 1977. Veterans entering after that date come under a different program.

Please see the Department of Veterans Affairs website for additional information: www.gibill.va.gov.

Veterans' Information:
Application forms for VA benefits are available in the Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs Office. To apply for benefits, veterans who are using their benefits for the first time must complete an application for educational benefits (VA FORM 22-1990) and provide a court-certified original or court-certified copy of their discharge papers (DD-214). Also, the following (if applicable): marriage license, divorce decree, and birth certificates for dependent children. Veterans who are new to RCC but who have used their educational benefits at a previous school must complete a request for change of program or place of training (VA FORM 22-1995). Applications for VA benefits should be received at least 60 days prior to the beginning of the semester. The student is responsible for advising the college and Veterans' Administration of any change in enrollment status or curriculum. This is an important responsibility and one which has direct bearing on the level of payment.

NOTE: In order for the college to certify enrollment, a veteran must be officially accepted into a curriculum and must provide a receipted copy of the registration form to the Financial Aid and Veterans' Affairs Officer each term of enrollment.

To contact VA Regional Office: (800) 827-1000 or (888) 442-4551.