Veteran Benefits
Ruth Carlson
Director of Financial Aid
SC 509
(906) 217-4032
ruth.carlson@baycollege.edu
Rudi Raab
Assistant Director of Financial Aid
Remote
(906) 217-4096
rudi.raab@baycollege.edu
Bay College is approved to train veterans and others who qualify under the educational benefits programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs by the Michigan State Approving Agency. Bay College is committed to offering veteran students necessary information and helpful resources to support academic and personal success.
Veteran Assisted Programs
After the application is processed, the VA will issue a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) for individuals who qualify for benefits. The COE will include information about your number of months of entitlement, period of eligibility and benefit level. This process can take up to six weeks.
Chapter 30
Montgomery GI Bill® Active Duty Program—For active duty members who enroll and pay $100 per month for 12 months and are then entitled to receive a monthly education benefit once they have completed a minimum service obligation.
Chapter 31
Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E)—This program provides educational benefits to eligible disabled veterans.
Chapter 33
Post September 11 GI Bill® —This program is for students who have served on active duty after September 10, 2001 for a minimum of 90 aggregate days (excluding entry level and skill training) and at least 30 continuous days if discharged for a service-connected disability.
Chapter 35
Survivors’ & Dependent’s Educational Assistance—This program provides educational benefits to children between the ages of 18 and 26, spouses, and widows/widowers of totally disabled or deceased veterans.
Fry Scholarship
The Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship is available for children and spouses of service members who died in the line of duty after September 10, 2001.
Chapter 1606
Montgomery GI Bill® Selected Reserves—This program provides educational benefits to persons who entered a six-year selected reserve obligation after July 1, 1985 and completed Active Duty Training. This includes the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Reserves, as well as the Army National Guard and the Air Guard.
Federal/State Tuition Assistance or MYCAA
Students planning to use Federal or State Tuition Assistance (TA) must first consult their respective branch/unit Education Services Officer (ESO) or education counselor for program approval prior to requesting TA through the respective service portal.
‘‘GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill."
Affiliations
The Bay College Financial Aid Office has the VA Certifying Officials and are the point of contact and will assist veterans, service persons, and their spouses and dependents with the process of applying for VA Education Benefits. The Certifying Official certifies enrollments of eligible students within the VA system, monitors the Standards of Progress for VA Education Benefits, and assists in finding resources to meet student veteran needs.
Consortium of Michigan Veteran Educators
Bay College is a member of the Consortium of Michigan Veteran Educators. This network is comprised of twenty-eight community colleges and fifteen four-year public universities. Its mission is to improve the support available to student veterans and their family members, to increase the number of individuals who take advantage of their educational benefits, and to provide staff with professional development opportunities to better support student veterans.
Department of Defense Memorandum of Understanding
Bay de Noc Community College’s application for participation to the Department of Defense Voluntary Education Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was approved on July 1, 2014. In accordance with the MOU, eligible service members at Bay may receive funds from the Department of Defense Tuition Assistance (TA) Program.
Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA)
The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) is the central coordinating agency for Michigan veterans and their families, providing advocacy and connecting veterans to earned benefits. As a state agency, the MVAA is not part of the federal VA, but we work closely with the VA and other entities to serve veterans. Bay de Noc Community College is considered a Michigan Veteran Connector school. With this program, we are committed to providing resources to veterans and their families.
Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency
Michigan Veteran Connector
Have you or a member of your houshold served in the military? There may be benefits and resources available to help you through your current situation. Call 1-800-MICH-VET or visit Michigan.gov/MVAA.
Policies
The law requires veterans and other eligible persons receiving educational assistance benefits make satisfactory progress toward completion of his or her training objective.
It is the policy of Bay College that students must make satisfactory academic progress toward completion of their degree or certificate. A 2.0 grade point average is required for graduation. Students are considered to be making satisfactory academic progress if, after completing at least 12 credit hours at Bay College, they maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher.
- Satisfactory Academic Progress will be reviewed at the end of each fall and winter semester.
- The first time a student’s cumulative GPA falls below 2.0, they will be placed on veteran’s probation. A student on veteran probation will have two semesters of enrollment to bring their cumulative grade point average up to 2.0 or above.
- Failure to bring the cumulative GPA up to a 2.0 or better within two semesters of enrollment will result in suspension of veteran educational benefits and will no longer be certified for veteran’s educational benefits and the College will inform the U.S, Department of Veterans Affairs that the student is terminated from receiving educational benefits.
- A student will be recertified for educational benefits once they have attained the minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA.
- A student has the right to appeal the termination of educational benefits to the Director of Financial Aid. The appeal must be in writing and provide reasons why satisfactory academic progress was not maintained. Supportive documentation may be required of the student. The Director will review the appeal and inform the student in writing of the decision.
Educational costs at Bay College are shared by students, the taxpayers of Delta and
Dickinson counties, and the state of Michigan. Because property taxes paid by residents
of Delta and Dickinson counties supplement student tuition and state aid, tuition
charged legal residents of Delta or Dickinson counties is lower and tuition charged
to out-of-state students is the highest.
Bay College Board of Trustees Policy 4002 includes a residency policy for military
persons as follows:
- A student currently serving in the military or who has been discharged within one year of the start of the semester will be classified by their residence at time of enrollment.
- The following individuals will be charged the in-state tuition unless he/she qualifies as a Delta or Dickinson County resident as described above:
Any individual using educational assistance under either Chapter 30 (Montgomery GI Bill®--Active Duty Program), Chapter 31 (Vocational 4002 STUDENT RESIDENCY POLICY Policy Origin Date(s): 03/11/1981 Procedure Origin Date: 03/11/1981 Policy Revision Date(s): 01/20/2002 Procedure Revision Date(s): 01/20/2002 02/15/2012 02/15/2012 05/20/2015 05/20/2015 02/20/2019 M:\Board Policies and Procedures\CURRENT Board Policies and Procedures\Student Services\4002 Student Residency Policy.docx Edited for Accessibility 12.5.18 Rehabilitation, Chapter 35 (Survivors’ and Dependents Educational Assistance Program), Chapter 1606 of Title 10 U.S.C. (Montgomery GI Bill – Selected Reserve), Chapter 33 (Post-9/11 GI Bill®), of title 38 United States Code, and/or the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship (38 U.S.C. § 311(b)(9)) who lives in the State of Michigan while attending Bay de Noc Community College (regardless of his/her formal state of residence).
If at any point a student drops credit hours or withdraws from class(es), the Certifying Official must inform the VA. If, by dropping credit hours, a veteran changes his/her enrollment status, the result may be an overpayment that the veteran will be required to repay to the VA unless there are mitigating circumstances such as prolonged illness, severe illness or death in the immediate family, or an unscheduled change in your employment or work schedule. If mitigating circumstances exist, the veteran will need to contact the VA to establish, in writing, that he/she withdrew for a reason that was beyond his/her control.
Eligible students can receive their VA education benefits only when the college certifies their enrollment to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Eligible students that wish to receive their benefits must submit a VA Registration Certification Form (myBay login required) to the Director of Financial Aid/VA Certifying Official every term. Students will receive their educational benefits only for the terms for which they request certification. This form is available in the Bay College Financial Aid Office or online.
A veteran can receive benefits only for courses that are required for graduation. The Certifying Official cannot submit for certification a repeated a course in which the veteran has previously earned a satisfactory grade.
Resources
Bay College offers Academic Support Services for students including Tutoring, Office of Accessibility (Accommodations), Supplemental Instruction, TRiO, and more.
A Veterans Lounge is available on both campuses for a quiet place to study, there are computers, comfortable seating, microwave, and other resources for our military students to use.
- Escanaba Campus: Room 516A
- Iron Mountain Campus: Room 111
Buddy-to-Buddy is a peer-to-peer outreach program that trains veterans to provide peer support and linkage to needed resources for Michigan service members and veterans.
301 N 30th St
Escanaba, MI 49829
(906) 233-0244
The Escanaba Veterans Center offers readjustment counseling services free of charge to eligible veterans, their families, and significant others.
The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency serves as the central coordinating point for
Michigan veterans, connecting those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, and
their families, to services and benefits throughout the state. MVAA was created by
Executive Order 2013-2 and began operations on March 20, 2013, the 10th anniversary
of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
MVAA is a state government agency and is housed within Michigan Department of Military
and Veterans Affairs.
The agency works to identify and break down barriers veterans face in employment,
education, healthcare and quality of life, making Michigan a great place for veterans
and their families to call home. The agency aggregates veterans services currently
found in 14 state agencies as well as hundreds of community-based veteran programs
to create a ‘no wrong door’ access to benefits and services.
Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency
3423 N Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Lansing, MI 48906
800-642-4838
OGJVAMC is a primary and secondary level care facility with 17 acute care, general
medicine beds. The main facility has an Urgent Care Center, and collaborates with
larger VA Medical Centers in Milwaukee and Madison, WI, as well as local community
health facilities to provide higher-level emergency and specialty care services. OGJVAMC
also provides rehabilitation and extended care, including palliative and hospice care,
in its 40-bed Community Living Center.
OGJVAMC also offers a Veteran Peer Support Program designed to improve social functioning
and quality of life, increase access to resources outside the VA, improve employment
outcomes, provide comfort and support, improve recovery skills, and advocate for the
homeless veteran.
Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center
325 E H Street
Iron Mountain, MI 49801
Phone: (906) 774-3300
Toll Free: 800-215-8262
VA Health Connect
Phone: (833) 933-1107
Mental Health Care
Toll Free: 800-215-8262
Ext. 32451
It shall be the policy of the Bay de Noc Community College Board of Trustees to assure the provisions of equal opportunity and equal access in educational acts. These provisions apply in all areas of employment, student services, and instructional programs. Discrimination because of any legally protected status, which includes but is not limited to, race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, political affiliation, age, height, weight, disability, marital or veteran status is prohibited.
Ruth Carlson
Director of Financial Aid
SC 509
(906) 217-4032
ruth.carlson@baycollege.edu
Rudi Raab
Assistant Director of Financial Aid
Remote
(906) 217-4096
rudi.raab@baycollege.edu