Quick Reference Library

This library collects the five cheat sheets a School Certifying Official reaches for most during a term: certification deadlines by term type, training time calculation, the VA benefit rate structure, housing allowance (MHA) rules, and common Enrollment Manager errors. Select any sheet to open it, then use Print to keep a copy at your desk. Rates change every year, so the sheets point to the current VA rate tables (opens in a new tab) instead of repeating dollar amounts that go stale.

Rules worth knowing by heart

• Deadlines: certify within 30 days of the term start date, and report drops, adds, and withdrawals within 30 days of the change.
• Training time: divide certifiable credits by the full-time load your school sets for the program level. The training time sheet shows the undergraduate semester bands and the graduate exceptions.
• Housing threshold: Chapter 33 housing requires a rate of pursuit greater than 50%, so a student at exactly half-time receives none.
• Housing rate: based on an E-5 with dependents at the campus ZIP code. An all-online schedule gets half the national average instead, and one in-person course switches the student to the campus rate.
• Books: the Post-9/11 books and supplies stipend is $41.67 per credit, up to $1,000 per academic year.
• Courses: only courses on the student's degree plan count, and audits never do.
• Units: certify quarter terms in quarter hours against the school's full-time standard; the 1.5 to 1 ratio is for transfer credit. Clock-hour courses use weekly clock hours under 38 CFR 21.4270(a), such as 22 hours full-time where shop practice is integral or 18 where classroom theory predominates.

Go deeper in the Help Center

• When should I certify enrollment?
• How do I calculate training time?
• What is rate of pursuit?
• Why is a student's MHA amount wrong?
• How do I fix a rejected certification?
• How do I fix a student not found error?

A note on accuracy

These sheets summarize VA rules the way a working certifying official applies them. They are not official VA guidance. For unusual cases, confirm with your Education Liaison Representative and the VA resources for school officials (opens in a new tab), and check terms you do not recognize in the VA education benefits glossary.

Regulations: 38 CFR 21.4203 (opens in a new tab); 38 CFR 21.4270 (opens in a new tab); 38 CFR 21.4272 (opens in a new tab); 38 CFR 21.9640 (opens in a new tab); 38 CFR 21.9750 (opens in a new tab)