Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E or Chapter 31) provides services to assist eligible and entitled Veterans and Service Members with service-connected disabilities that limits your ability to work or prevents you from working. Please note VR&E is not a VA Education program.
Services provided help eligible students:
- In transition – through services to support transition back to civilian life
- At work – through services resulting in suitable employment
- On campus – through services to support them during education and training
- At home and in the community – through services to maximize independence in daily living
VR&E Eligibility
Veterans
Eligible veterans must meet the following to be eligible:
- Honorable or Other than Dishonorable Discharge
- VA service-connected disability rating of 10% or more; or memorandum rating of 20 percent
- Apply for Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) benefits
Active Duty Service Member
Eligible active duty service members must meet the following to be eligible:
- Expect to receive an honorable discharge
- Obtain a VA memorandum rating of 20 percent or more
- Are participating in the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) process or awaiting discharge due to a medical condition resulting from serious injury or illness in the line of duty
- Severely injured active-duty service members can automatically receive VR&E benefits before VA issues a disability rating; Sec. 1631(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act (PH 110-181)
- Apply for Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) benefits
VR&E Application Process
Eligible veterans and active duty service members who are enrolled at UT San Antonio and would like to request VR&E services must:
Apply for VR&E services at va.gov
The first step is to submit a VA Form 28-1900, Application for Veteran Readiness and Employment with the VA (not UT San Antonio).
You can find your local VR&E office by calling the Veterans Benefits Administration Toll Free Number: 1-800-827-1000
Meet with your VR&E Counselor
After submitting an application, a local VR&E counselor (VRC) will contact you to schedule an initial appointment and conduct a comprehensive evaluation to determine if eligible for, and entitled to VR&E.
If found entitled, VRC will work to develop a plan of services to fit the Veteran’s specific needs (which may include training as part of a comprehensive plan of services).
Complete your Admissions Process with UT San Antonio
Please go to future.utsa.edu/apply/ and complete the admissions process for the program you want to pursue.
Plan Development with Your VRC
Once you have been admitted to UT San Antonio, your VRC can begin writing a plan for your UT San Antonio degree plan. Once the plan is complete, your VRC will send authorizations for your tuition & fees, and books & supplies directly to UT San Antonio and the bookstore.
While using VR&E, you do NOT need to submit a certification request form to CMAS.
Buying Books and Supplies
You can either buy your required books and supplies online or in-person. To order online, please follow the online ordering instructions on our website.
To order in person, please go to the bookstore on Main Campus and go to the customer service desk. Inform them that you are using VR&E and provide your name (and authorization number if needed).
Changes to Plan/Enrollment
If you need to make any changes to your degree plan or to your semester enrollment (ex: dropping/adding classes), please let both CMAS and your VRC know prior to making any changes.
After Graduation
Once you have graduated and degrees have been conferred, you will need to provide your final UT San Antonio transcript to your VR&E case manager. Learn more on how to request transcripts.
VR&E Approved Courses
Enrollment Requirements
It’s important to understand that the way Veteran Readiness Employment (VR&E) benefits count enrollment hours is slightly different than just looking at the exact number of credits you register for. It’s not a direct one-to-one relationship. Two factors can alter what your total enrollment hours are for military education benefit purposes:
- Courses you enroll in that are not part of your Program of Study and VR&E Authorization (PO)
- Courses you repeated too many times
VR&E coverage may differ from financial aid regulations, and some courses that are eligible for coverage under specific benefits may not be eligible under other benefits or under financial aid.
Enrollment Status and Benefit Proration
To receive the max amount of VR&E benefit stipends, you need to be enrolled full-time in courses that are part of your program of study and are eligible for VR&E benefits. If you are not full-time, applicable stipend payments will be prorated for a given term.
Undergraduate Rate of Pursuit and Graduate Rate of Pursuit
More Info on how these will differ:
Program of Study
A Program of Study is the list of predefined courses/credits you must successfully complete in order to earn your degree in the major/program you’ve declared. You may also see it referred to as a “course Program of Study” (CPOS) or degree plan.
How can I view my Program of Study?
You can view your Program of Study on DegreeWorks. Some tips for using DegreeWorks when registering for courses:
- Ensure your VR&E Authorization (PO) is written for the correct program you intend to enroll in.
- Look at your DegreeWorks plan before you register to know what courses you need to register for your approved VR&E program of study.
- After registering for a course, check DegreeWorks to make sure it does not fall in the “Extra Course” section. If it does show up there, and if you truly need that course, you must see an academic advisor to have that course count towards your Program of Study. Academic advisors can email [email protected] to inform our office if a course is approved for your Program of Study, but is not reflecting as approved on your DegreeWorks yet. You can also request that your VR&E counselor (VRC) provide approval through an authorization (PO) for courses not included in your Program of Study.
- If our office finds that you are registered for course that are not a part of your Program of Study and cannot be covered by your benefits we will process your certification for courses that can be covered by your benefits, and notify you by email of what cannot be covered.
- Students enrolled in a graduate program or certificate may refer to their graduate degree plan provided by their academic advisor. They may need to supply a copy of their degree plan to our office in order to verify degree requirements for certification.
For VR&E benefits honors courses, dual degrees, and minors will be considered as a part of the Program of Study if approved on the VR&E authorization (PO) and will be certified. Additional fees like honors course fees are not covered under VR&E benefits.
Pre-requisite Courses
Students who need to take a course that is a prerequisite to attend Graduate or Professional School (i.e., medical school) can take these courses as long as they have an available “free elective” slot in their Program of Study. Courses may require additional advisor approval if they are not listed in a required section of the Program of Study, or VR&E authorization (PO).
Last Semester Before Graduation
Students can “round out” a schedule with non-required (additional) courses to bring their course load up to a full-time schedule during their final term only. This allows beneficiaries to continue to receive benefits at the full-time rate in their final term of enrollment, even though fewer credits are required to complete the program. However, the non-required classes must contribute to the VR&E participant’s employment goal as outlined in his or her Individualized Written Rehabilitation Plan (IWRP). The VRC must approve the additional non-required classes prior to the VR&E participant’s enrollment. VR&E Case Managers may submit an updated VR&E authorization (PO) listing the approved course or email our office with their approval.
Repeated Coursework
You cannot receive VR&E benefits for taking a previously passed course. Courses may be repeated if you have not earned a previous passing grade. There may be limitations on how many times a course without a passing grade can be repeated under VR&E benefits. Additionally, students should be aware of extra fees not covered under VR&E standard tuition and fees such as well as academic requirements. Students may contact their academic advisor on how to apply for any charges not covered under benefits such as third repeat fees and excessive 30/45 credit limitation hour fees.
Ordering Books
As a Chapter 31, VR&E student, you can obtain a book voucher to order your books online at the UT San Antonio bookstore. Before ordering, you must work with your VR&E counselor to create an authorization which will be transmitted to the bookstore, who will create an account for you. » view online ordering instructions
VA VetSuccess on Campus
VetSuccess on Campus (VSOC) supports Veterans and service members who are transitioning from military to college life, and certain qualified dependents. We have two vocational rehabilitation counselors, called VSOC counselors, located on campus within the Center for Military Affiliated Students. To meet with a VSOC counselor, please make an appointment.
Mrs. Wendy Foster
[email protected]
Mr. Matthew Farnham
[email protected]
