Overview

If you are a student receiving veteran education benefits, the VA will determine your payment rate based on the type of benefit for which you are eligible and how many hours in which you are enrolled.

The basic payment rates are listed on the VA website. These are basic rates of pay for MGIB, REAP and Dependents Education Assistance and do not include kickers, buy-up or any other additional programs.

Under the Post 9/11 GI Bill® you may receive:

  1. A tuition and fees payment (paid directly to the school) not to exceed the in-state cost of the educational institution. Please note that SATC is not a Yellow Ribbon school and the student is responsible for the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition costs.
  2. A monthly housing allowance based on the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents. This amount is based on the ZIP code of the location of the school you are attending. You can determine the BAH for your ZIP code online.
  3. An annual book stipend of up to $1,000 paid proportionately based on enrollment.

The only benefit that pays tuition directly to the school is the Post 9/11 GI Bill®. You can get more information online about benefit comparisons.

It can take the VA several weeks to process your initial application and anywhere from six to 10 weeks to process enrollment certifications.

Generally, VA education benefit payments are made at the end of each month you attend school. For example, if classes start in August and your claim has been completely processed by the VA, the payment for that month will normally be received in the first 10 days of September.

*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 Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.

(Fall and Spring semesters only)

  1. Eligible students (Air National Guard, Army National Guard) must complete an online application from the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR). All applications are submitted directly to KBOR and will include an application fee of $12. The priority date to apply is May 1 for the following Fall and Spring terms, but all online applications must be submitted to KBOR no later than their published deadlines for Fall and Spring.
  2. Students must complete the form and obtain the signature of the commander. KBOR suggests students check their online KNG Educational Assistance Program account to make sure the complete application was received.
  3. KBOR advises the institution when the application process is complete., and at that point the institution will enroll the student in a Military Payment Plan (MPP) in order to prevent late fees or holds from being applied.
  4. Grants, loans or scholarships disbursed to the student account will apply to the account balance in the order they are applied. When the KNG award is received (usually November for the Fall term and April for the Spring term), a refund will generate if the balance is zero or below the amount of the KNG award. At that time, the setup fee for the MPP will be reversed for students whose balance is cleared by the KNG award.
  5. Students whose balances are not cleared by the KNG award must pay the remaining balance by the single installment date in the MPP (December 1 for Fall and May 1 for Spring). The $30 setup fee for the MPP will not be reversed for these students.
  6. IMPORTANT: The program does not pay for courses that are dropped or retaken, or any courses from the Summer term.

To use your VA education benefits, you must enroll in classes at Salina Tech and then be certified by the  School Certifying Official (SCO).Follow these steps if you are a new or transfer student:

1. Apply to the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish your eligibility for education benefits. Once the VA has processed your application, it will send you a Certificate of Eligibility. This is your official notification that you are eligible to use your benefits. How to Apply

2. Apply for admission and enroll in classes at Salina Tech.

The VA will only pay for approved degree/certificate programs.

3. Once you are enrolled in classes, submit the following forms to the college’s Financial Aid Specialist at Rachael.Galvan@salinatech.edu for enrollment verification:

When you submit paperwork to our office, you will receive an email confirmation of receipt of your forms from the Salina Tech Veteran Services office.

Your course schedule will be reviewed by the Student Services office. To be certified to the VA, your classes must be required for your Salina Tech educational objective.

When your enrollment is certified to the VA, you will receive an e-mail confirmation of receipt from the Veterans Administration.

All email notifications will go to your Salina Tech address. It is your responsibility to check this account regularly.

Salina Tech has a free learning resource center on campus to assist you with tutorial services. If you find that you need additional assistance, the VA has a tutorial assistance program that can reimburse you for a private tutor.

Short for “Synchronous Training and Credit,” STAC is a partnership between the Kansas National Guard and Salina Tech, launched in 2017.

STAC allows soldiers to earn college credit through Salina Tech for some portions of their Military Occupational Specialty training and apply those credits towards an Associate of Applied Science Degree through the college. Soldiers would still have to take several electives and general education classes to earn the degree.

You can read more about the STAC program here.

The STAC program currently applies to:

However, work on expanding the program to additional MOSs is underway.

2. Apply for admission and enroll in classes at Salina Tech.

The VA will only pay for approved degree/certificate programs.

3. Once you are enrolled in classes, submit the following forms to the college’s Financial Aid Specialist at Rachael.Galvan@salinatech.edu for enrollment verification:

When you submit paperwork to our office, you will receive an email confirmation of receipt of your forms from the Salina Tech Veteran Services office.

Your course schedule will be reviewed by the Student Services office. To be certified to the VA, your classes must be required for your Salina Tech educational objective.

When your enrollment is certified to the VA, you will receive an e-mail confirmation of receipt from the Veterans Administration.

All email notifications will go to your Salina Tech address. It is your responsibility to check this account regularly.

Salina Tech has a free learning resource center on campus to assist you with tutorial services. If you find that you need additional assistance, the VA has a tutorial assistance program that can reimburse you for a private tutor.

Salina Tech accepts military training and experience for prior learning credit at no cost to the student.

In order to have your prior military credit evaluated, you must be enrolled in classes at Salina Tech. Credit for prior military training and experience is posted to the student academic transcript once six credit hours have been completed at Salina Tech. Be aware that any credit awarded by us for prior learning experience will not be transferable directly from your Salina Tech transcript to other colleges and universities.

We offer two methods of evaluation of military training. Your education goals will determine which evaluation will be of most benefit to you:

If your objective at Salina Tech is to earn general education credits to transfer to a four-year institution or to complete pre-requisites for a Salina Tech selective admissions program, we recommend that you choose to have your DD214 evaluated. You will be granted one hour of physical education credit. A half credit for first aid and a half credit for CPR for completion of basic training. To apply for additional credit, provide a copy of your DD214 (member 4 copy) to the Student Services office.

If your objective at Salina Tech is to pursue a degree or certificate in a field of study that is related to your military training and experience, we recommend a full evaluation of your Joint Services Transcript.  To apply for a full evaluation, request your Joint Services Transcript online and contact our Director of Financial Aid at Rachael.Galvan@salinatech.edu to inform us of your request.  Requests that are received without a Salina Tech application on file cannot be accepted.

Please contact Veteran Services for more information on prior learning credit for prior military credit.

Resources

U.S. Department of Veterans Affair – Make The Connection Information