Financial Aid Office increases knowledge of VA claim processing
by Sean Wilson
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

The process of receiving financial aid can be stressful for anyone, but here at UH-Clear Lake, military veterans are faced with significant obstacles.

Rather than receiving their checks before the semester starts when payment is due, some veteran students receive them as late as the second month of each semester.

"We are focusing on improving our customer service across the board," said Steve Sutton, associate dean of students and interim director of financial aid and veterans affairs. "We would like to get students processed sooner to allow them to receive their payments prior to the beginning of each semester."

Several factors contribute to delays in processing claims.

"Because there is such a small number of veterans at UH-Clear Lake," said Sutton, "these stud-ents have not been made a priority."

On average, there are only 50-52 student claims for Montgom-ery GI Bill benefits per semester compared to 3,000 claims for general financial aid.

In order for a student to receive benefits under the GI Bill program, he or she must have a signed Candidate Plan of Study on file with the Financial Aid and Veteran's Affairs office. Each semester the office must evaluate each studentıs class schedule to ensure that classes taken are necessary for graduation under his or her CPS. Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs specialist Treanell Walters certifies the claim and sends it to the Veteran's Affairs Office for processing.

Problems in a student's claim arise when course numbers change or class titles are renamed in the course roster. If a class on a studentıs schedule does not precisely match one on the CPS, that class is not certified and payment cannot be processed.

Class schedule changes and adding or dropping classes can also delay the processing of a claim. Walters said that one of the biggest roadblocks has been the lack of timely communication between Enrollment Services and the Financial Aid Office.

"It can sometimes take up to two weeks for Financial Aid to find out about a change to a student's class schedule," said Walters. "PeopleSoft will hopefully remedy this, but it will take some work."

PeopleSoft is data management software that provides connectivity between administrative, transactional and academic functions.

The emphasis on accuracy is a result of guidelines placed on schools by the Veteran's Affairs Regional Office.

"VA gives us 28 days from the date of a schedule change to notify them, and if this is passed, we get written up by VA," said Walters.

Too many reprimands could lead UH-Clear Lake to lose its accreditation by VA. Because of the average two-week lapse in notification of these changes from Enrollment Services, the Financial Aid Office feels it is better to wait until the add/drop period ends to process claims in order to avoid the possibility of encroaching on the 28-day limitation.

"It is common for schools to wait to process claims until after the add/drop period," said Connie Jacksits, program manager at the Texas state approving agency for veterans education. "There may be a 30-day limitation imposed by the Texas Veterans office, [but] it is not official, not in the records."

A lack of staff also contributes to the delays students are experiencing, according to Sutton.

"We donıt have the luxury of assigning one person to handle VA students," said Sutton. "The average school our size has one more person [on staff] than we do."

Currently, Walters is the only VA certifying official at UH-Clear Lake, and all veteran benefit claims are funneled through her.

There may also be a shortcoming in the training of Financial Aid staff on veteran claims.

According to Walters, the current staff received their initial training from a previous staff member in-house rather than training from Veterans Affairs.

Financial Aid is working to remedy this lack of training. In Jan-uary 2002, staff members who currently work on veteranıs claims attended a one-day training class at the Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Victoria, Texas.

This semester, Walters has implemented a process of notification letters that lets students know their status and if there are any issues needed to be addressed in order to receive their benefits. This has expedited the processing of several student claims.

Prior to this semester, students did not receive notification of discrepancies with their claims from Financial Aid. Financial Aid hopes to introduce more advancements in its customer service ­ like these letters ­ in the near future.