With classes being cut or shifted to online due to low enrollment, veterans can be at risk of losing the necessary amount of units to continue to receive their benefits for attending college.
The GI Bill, specifically, requires veterans to attend a full-time class load to obtain the maximum benefit possible.
Veterans must verify their enrollment status on a monthly basis for these programs. If a class is cut unexpectedly, their amount of units could fall under the necessary quota for that month.
The Veterans Success Center has taken the steps to make sure that their students are prepared if a class is ever in danger of being dropped.
Although the Admissions office controls the class schedule, the Veterans Success Center has the ability to track when a class might be cut.
Maria Buffo, director of the Veterans Success Center, said they contact student veterans as soon as they see a class might be in danger of being dropped due to low enrollment numbers.
She said they use the live schedule tool on Wingspan to track potentially at-risk classes.
Student veteran and accounting major Anthony Avila said the Veterans Success Center contacted him well ahead of the spring semester.
“They called me like a month, maybe three weeks before (spring semester) started,” Avila said. “And just told me to reconfirm with my professors that classes weren’t canceled.”
After his professors said the classes were good to go, the Veterans Success Center reached out to the professors a week beforehand for finality, Avila said.
If a class is dropped, Buffo said they have backup plans ready. She said the professor from the cut class will offer another course they are teaching and fit them in.
“We try to be very proactive on making sure that we jump ahead of our students and prepare for what could be just in case,” Buffo said.
Veterans can find more information about enrollment and GI Bill status at VA.gov.
