Veteran & Military Resource Center

Programs and Courses

Following VA regulations, you may only receive benefits for courses leading towards an approved Kapi’olani CC degree or certificate. Only courses listed in WEAMS are required to obtain your declared degree and will be certified.

If a course is “recommended” or “highly recommended” but not required, it is not eligible for VA certification.

NON-CREDIT programs are not approved for VA Certification.

Visit VA’s Web Enabled Approval Management System (WEAMS) and search for Kapi’olani CC Approved Programs.

What is WEAMS?

The WEAMS is a central web-based application which combines the functionality of two (2) Veterans Affairs (VA) approval systems – OLAF (Online Approval File) and LACAS (Licensing and Certification Approval System) – and adds functionality for NEXAS (National Exam Approval System). WEAMS is used to store VA and State Approving Agency (SAA) approval information. That information may be entered by VA Central Office (VACO) personnel, Education Liaison Representatives (ELRs), Education Compliance Survey Specialists (ECSSs), and, in some instances, SAAs. The information is viewed by Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) personnel (e.g., Veterans Claims Examiners (VCEs) and Vocational Rehabilitation and Education (VRE) case managers) and public users. VBA personnel use this approval information to determine claimant eligibility to benefits for education and training offered by schools and job training establishments – and is what is reviewed when a certification of enrollment (VA Form 22-1999) is received by VA for processing.

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website

You must verify*  your enrollment each month to receive your monthly payment.

• Post-9/11 GI Bill® Chapter 33: Students using their Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits at Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) and Non-College Degree (NCD) facilities who receive a Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) and/or kicker payment are required to verify their enrollment each month to continue receiving their payments. Students now have the option to verify enrollment via text message or email. Students who opt out of text messages will be automatically enrolled in email verification as long as they have a valid email address on file. VA strongly recommends using text or email, but if these options are unavailable to you (student), you may call the Education Call Center (ECC) at 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551) to verify enrollment. Please be advised that calling the ECC may result in long wait times.

• MGIB-Active Duty (Chapter 30), REAP (Chapter 1607), or MGIB-Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606), must verify their enrollment* each month to receive payment for that month. Your enrollment can be verified starting on the last calendar day of the month by using our Web Automated Verification of Enrollment (WAVE) at https://www.gibill.va.gov/wave or by calling toll-free Interactive Voice Response (IVR) telephone line at 1-877-823-2378. 

• Survivors' and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA - Chapter 35),  if you’re getting DEA benefits and enrolled in a non-college degree (NCD) program, you’ll need to verify your enrollment every month to keep getting benefits.  Please visit the VA website to verify your enrollment at https://www.va.gov/resources/verify-school-enrollment-for-dea-benefits/

*Please note that “verifying” and “certifying” your enrollment are two different procedures. “Certification” is done by a school certifying official and lets VA know how many hours or credits you will be enrolled in so we can determine your payment rate. “Verification ” is done by you at the end of each month and lets VA know that your enrollment information has not changed. 

• Enrollment Certification Request (ECR) Form

• Yellow Ribbon Program

• Transcript Evaluation Request (TER) Form

• Graduation/Diploma Application

• Change of Major

• Change of Home Institution

• Understand that you must submit ECR form if you want to use your VA education benefits and that you must promptly report any changes in your academic program (major, degree, etc.), courses, graduation date, or address to the Veteran & Military Resource Center.

• Understand that the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) determines eligibility for educational assistance in all cases and you must call (888-442-4551) to report a change of address and direct deposit.

• Must submit Kapi’olani Community College’s (Kapi’olani CC) Transcript Evaluation Request (TER) form and have all official transcripts (of all course work taken beyond the high school level, including Military Transcripts – AARTS, SMARTS, etc.) sent to Kekaulike Center – Ilima 102.  You understand that Kapi’olani CC will determine the number of credits allowed for previous training and/or course work and report that information to the DVA.

• Understand that you must have all majors and concentrations declared in order for any courses applicable to those programs to be paid for by the DVA. For example: if a course is listed for a concentration, the concentration must be declared or be in the process of being declared before DVA will pay.

• Understand that remedial course(s) can be certified as part of your approved program, but only verifiable need has been established (e.g. placement test result).  Remedial courses are taken below your placement level and/or self-reported cannot be certified for VA education benefits. Also, online remedial courses are not approved for VA certification.

• Must report ALL changes in enrollment (i.e. add, drop, course cancellation, etc.) at the Veteran & Military Resource Center. Changes in course enrollment after the last day to drop courses may result in the retroactive loss of benefits unless DVA finds mitigating circumstances involved in the change. Loss of benefits could revert back to the first day of the term and may result in VA debt.

• Understand only repeatable courses and courses that are failed or for which the grade does not meet minimum requirements for graduation may be certified for VA purposes if they are repeated. Contact VA Coordinator at Veteran & Military Resource Center for policy explanation.

• You understand the course requirements for your Kapi’olani CC program and that only classes listed in the Kapi’olani CC catalog as “required” to obtain your declared degree program will be certified. Classes listed as “recommended” or “highly recommended”, etc., will not be certified.

• You understand that the VA allows Kapi’olani CC to certify only those courses necessary to complete the graduation requirements for the approved Kapi’olani CC degree or certificate and that Kapi’olani CC cannot certify courses that are not required for Kapi’olani CC programs.

• understand that enrollment in modular term (block or eight‐week and summer session) courses may be paid at a different rate as determined by DVA based on the number of credit hours and the length of the course unless your enrollment includes 12 semester credits (the amount considered full time for undergraduate students during a regular semester). Contact VA Coordinator at Veteran & Military Resource Center for policy explanation.

• understand that you can only receive benefits for courses required for your degree or certificate program and that you must make satisfactory progress toward graduation/completion. You understand that withdrawal from courses and subsequent grades of ‘W’, ‘NC’, or ‘NP’ will likely result in student debt with the DVA. You understand that DVA will not pay for courses that you audit, take without credit, do not attend, or do not successfully complete and that VA will hold you responsible for any education benefit debt.

• understand that grades of ‘incomplete’ must be completed by the end of the subsequent semester or VA benefits may be reduced or interrupted.

• understand that if you are using Tuition Assistance / Tuition Assistance Top‐up and the GI BILL® concurrently for the same courses that this may constitute a duplication of federal benefits which is prohibited by law. It is your responsibility to ensure that there is no duplication of federal benefits.

• understand that to keep your GI BILL® education benefits, you must maintain satisfactory academic progress (2.00 GPA) as detailed in the Kapi’olani CC catalog.

• understand you must notify the Veteran & Military Resource Center if your eligibility for GI BILL® education benefits has exhausted/expired.

• understand that if you are eligible under Chapters 30, 1606, or 1607  you are required by the DVA to verify your enrollment on the last calendar day of every month in which you attend courses. This can be accomplished by visiting http://www.gibill.va.gov/wave or by calling their toll free number: 1‐877‐823‐2378. Failure to perform this step will result in delayed payment by DVA.

• Chapter 30, 35, 1606 & 1607 only: you understand that if a change in enrollment causes your enrollment to drop below 12 credits (full time status), your benefits will be affected and if you dropped or attended less than ½ time, DVA will only pay your tuition and fees.

• Chapter 33 only. you understand that if all your classes are exclusively distance learning training (Online, Cable TV, ITV, etc.) you will be entitled to half (1/2) the national average BAH rate.  You understand that VA pays public in‐state or resident tuition and fees only.  You understand that if a change in enrollment causes your enrollment to drop below full‐time status, your benefits will be affected and if you are attending at the half time (1/2) or less rate or on active duty or your spouse of an active duty member, you will not receive BAH. you understand that Kapi’olani CC will submit tuition and fees to VA after the last day to withdraw from full‐semester classes with 50% tuition refund.

• understand that if you do not comply with VA guidelines your GI BILL® education benefits may be discontinued and you may be subject to VA debt.

• understand that in accordance with FERPA, School Certifying Officials and VA Coordinator can review and discuss your academic record with DVA representatives.

VA Counselor/Coordinator:

Kapi’olani CC VA Counselor/Coordinator acts as a liaison between your school and the Department of VA to provide information on Veterans’ and their dependent’s academic records. VA Counselor is responsible for providing program advising, academic planning, transfer planning, career exploration and planning, learning assistance, and personal counseling to help you attain your educational, career, and life goals, and to promote self-development and personal awareness.  Kapi’olani CC VA Counselor/Coordinator is not an employee of the Department of VA,

Teri Mitchell, VA Counselor/Coordinator; Office: iliahi 112; Phone: 808.734.9290; Fax: 808.734.9876; Email: teri.mitchell@hawaii.edu

VA School Certifying Official (SCO):

VA SCO acts as a liaison between your school and the Department of VA to provide information on Veterans’ and their dependent’s academic records. SCO is responsible for certifying and monitoring enrollment and changes in enrollment for students eligible for VA benefits.

Angie Ocampo,  VA School Certifying Official; Phone: 808.734.9583; Fax: 808.734.9876; Email: kccva@hawaii.edu

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA):

VA is the government agency responsible for determining eligibility for VA education benefits and for authorizing payment for the benefits. Veterans who have questions regarding their eligibility, or new students who need to apply for education benefits for the first time should contact the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs at:

V.A. Regional Office
P.O. Box 8888
Muskogee, Ok 74402-8888
V.A. Toll Free Education Line: 1.888.442.4551

State Approving Agency (SAA):

SAA is responsible for reviewing the training facility and the courses and programs of education to determine if they can be approved for the payment of VA education benefits.

Curtis Washburn, PhD Director,

Hawaii State Approving Agency

3949 Diamond Head Road

Building 300, Room 14

Honolulu, HI 96816-4495

Phone: 808-369-3559

Email: curtis.washburn@hawaii.gov