Frequently Asked Questions

Aviation Science is not an approved program. Certain classes within the Aviation discipline might be able to be certified under a different, approved program. Please consult with the veteran counselor for confirmation and review the list of approved programs.

Students using VA benefits can only be certified for courses that are required for their current Student Education Plan from the Veteran Counselor. Students can review their current program via the most recent "Notes" section from the Veteran Counselor at the bottom of their DegreeWorks on MyCoast.

Degreeworks serves as a guide for required courses; if you have further questions about your program, you may also refer to the Course Catalog (for OCC programs) and ASSIST (for articulation to CSU/UC transfer programs).

Students who are using VA benefits and need to change their major must meet with the Veteran Counselor. A Change of Major form will be emailed to you at your student email after your appointment, which you must complete prior to additional certifications. 

An educational objective must be declared by the end of your second term in order to continue receiving VA benefits. Future certifications will not be made without an official Student Education Plan from the Veteran Counselor on file.

Students using CH31/VRE benefits will need approval from VRE, in addition to meeting with OCC's Veteran Counselor if they would like to switch programs.

If you add a course that you would like to be certified for after you have initially been certified for the term, you are required to report this change via the Add/Drop Notification. Failure to submit this form will result in the course not being certified to the VA.

If you reduce units during the term, you must submit an Add/Drop Notification after you complete the drop on your MyCoast account. Students are encouraged to meet with the Veteran Counselor prior to dropping, in order to confirm the full impact it may have.

A reduction in units may cause a change in the amount of my monthly benefits. Dropping with a "W" will result in the student owing back money (please see the Financial FAQ section for more information).

If you drop a course, and have not already made the maximum three attempts within the district, you will be able to repeat the course in a future term. The VA will approve you to re-take the course as long as it is still required for your program at the time you re-take it.

​​Students needing to drop or withdraw due to medical reasons or extenuating circumstances should withdraw from their courses on MyCoast and may petition for a non-refundable Excused Withdrawal ("EW") by emailing the Dean of Enrollment Services office. Students may call the Dean of Enrollment Services Office at (714) 432-5773 during normal business hours for more information about the Excused Withdrawal Petition.

Student petitions must be accompanied by verifiable documentation demonstrating that the extenuating circumstances were beyond their control and prevented them from completing their courses.

The VA will not cover EW courses, so you will be subject to pay back any money received for tuition/housing; however, you may submit mitigating circumstances to the VA if you do receive a debt letter. Please see the Financial FAQ section for more information on withdrawals.

Members of the service called to active duty during a semester in which they are enrolled, may petition to withdraw under special circumstances. The withdrawal will be posted as “MW”- Military Withdrawal on the student’s transcript and will be non-punitive, which means that it will not count in the student's grade point average nor will it count towards academic or progress probation/disqualification. Students with orders to report during a semester in which they are enrolled should contact Veterans Services.

The VA should cover MW courses, due to the nature of the withdrawal; however, you may submit mitigating circumstances to the VA if you do receive a debt letter. Please see the Financial FAQ section for more information on withdrawals.

Rounding Out allows students to take elective courses in order to receive full-time benefits if the following apply:

• you are enrolled in all remaining courses required your declared program (including both major and general education requirements)
• you are under full-time status with those remaining courses
• you have not Rounded Out at OCC prior

If you are using CH 31 benefits, you must also obtain approval from your VRE case manager, in addition to meeting the above requirements.

OCC does offer online courses. For benefits purposes, courses are considered "online" if they do not contain any in-person, physical, component. "LIVE ONLINE" courses are not considered in-person.

If you are using CH 33 or CH 31 benefits (under Post-9/11 rates), online courses can impact your payment rate. Students using these benefits are required to have at least one in-person course to qualify for the maximum, in-person BAH rates. If you elect to take all online courses, your BAH rate will be calculated at the rate of 50% of the national average (about $900/month as of Jan. 2022). If you are in non-standard terms that overlap in duration, you will only be paid the in-person rate for the time that course is in session.

Monthly payment rates for students using CH 30, 35, and 1606 will not be impacted by whether classes are online or in-person.

DD214

If you have at least one year of active duty service with an honorable discharge, you will receive credit for Area E of OCC's AA degree and/or Area CSU GE Certification upon providing your DD214 (member-4) to Veterans Services and completing at least 12 units at OCC.

Credit will be automatically awarded at the time the student becomes eligible.

Joint Service Transcripts (JSTs)

Students who are interested in submitting JSTs may do so through the official portal and meet with the Veteran Counselor to discuss if credits would be applicable toward their program of study at OCC.

If after meeting with the veteran counselor it is determined that your JSTs require evaluation, please reach out to Veterans Services to request.

Federal law requires students using benefits to submit official (sealed) transcripts from all previously attended colleges, universities, training institutes and technical schools. This includes all training and education received before, during, and after military, even if VA education benefits were not being used. Regardless of the grade(s) you received and subject matter you took, this is a requirement.

Students using benefits must submit official transcript(s) to Orange Coast College as soon as possible, but no later than 4 weeks from the day they submit their Benefits Briefing. Future certifications will not be made until all prior credits have been evaluated and reviewed between the student and OCC’s Veteran Counselor. 

Students may risk overpayment from the VA if they repeat courses previously completed. The VA may stop or reduce education benefits; students will be required to return any overpayments determined by the VA. Overpayments may be retroactive to the beginning of the term.

The VA requires students to maintain good Academic Standing, which means completing courses with passing grades for more than 51% of units each term, while maintaining a 2.0 cumulative GPA. (A grade of ‘W’ resulting from withdrawal from a course is considered a non-passing grade). Failure to meet these requirements may place students on probation.

Two consecutive semesters on probation may result in the termination of certifications as well as dismissal from the Coast Community College District for up to one year.

Students will be required to meet with the Veteran Counselor if they fail to meet these standard for more than one term, prior to any future certifications being made. Probationary status or dismissal may be appealed through counseling. For more information, please refer to the catalog.

Monthly payment rates are determined by which benefit you are utilizing, your eligibility, and the number of certified units.

View Payment Rates

The level of training time/enrollment status may vary when you enroll in terms shorter than the standard 16-week semester.  For summer and/or winter-intersession training time/enrollment status, refer to the chart below.

View Non-Standard Term Chart

In order to receive payment, students must complete all necessary steps with OCC Veterans Services office, including submitting an Online Certification Request each term. Once the School Certifying Official (SCO) has certified your classes to the VA, your payments should arrive per the following timeline: 

Book Stipends: Students using CH 33 will receive their book stipend approximately two weeks prior to the start of the term.

Monthly Payments/BAH: Once the School Certifying Official (SCO) certifies your classes, the student must attend class for the calendar month. You will receive your monthly stipend on the 1st of every month, which will be payment for the schooling that took place the month prior.
Note: Payments are based off the duration of courses for the prior month. If your classes ended before the end of the month, your payment will be prorated based off the number of days class was in session.

Monthly payments are issued directly from the VA to the student. If you have not received your payment as expected, please check to make sure you have completed the following items:

1. Have you submitted your Online Certification Request for the term?
   • If you submitted your request, you will have a confirmation email that was sent to your student email account. Please review and verify that no further actions were needed from you. If there were further actions that were needed in order for OCC's Certifying Officials to process, an email would have been sent to whatever email address you provided on your request, as noted in your confirmation email.
   • Once you have been certified by OCC, you should also have received an auto-generated email from the VA-VAONCE system, confirming certification.
   • If you are unsure if your certification was submitted, please contact Veterans Services.
2. Did you verify your enrollment at the end of the month with the VA? (CH 30, 1606, and CH 33) 
   • Failure to verify your enrollment with the VA may result in payments being placed on hold if verification is not received for two or more months.
   • View CH 33 (Post-9/11) Instructions
   • View CH 30 (Montgomery) or 1606 (Reservist) Instructions
3. Did your direct deposit information change or did you have any outstanding VA education debts?

• If you had outstanding debts with the VA, these may have been deducted from your next scheduled payment. 
• If you need to update your direct deposit information, please contact the VA

If you have completed all the above items, please contact the VA (888-442-4551) to inquire on the status of your payment. If after speaking with them, you need further assistance from OCC, please contact Veterans Services.

Note for New Students: Typical processing time of new applications is six to eight weeks. Students who are new to using VA Education Benefits should expect delivery of their monies to reflect that processing time.

Monthly payments are issued for the duration of courses for the month prior. Some reasons your payment may be less:

• The term was not in session for the full month.
• You dropped classes during the month.
• You had an outstanding debt with the VA, which was deducted prior to payment issue.
• You added a course without submitting an Add/Drop Notification as have not been certified.

If you have a concern about the amount you received, please contact Veterans Services.

For information about what your benefits may cover, please review your chapter of benefits on the benefits type page. 

• Books and supplies may be purchased at the OCC Bookstore.
• Parking permits may be purchased online (when required).

Additional financial assistance may be available to you through the Veterans Resource Center.

• Non-passing Grades: You are eligible to receive benefit payments as long as your are actively pursuing your courses. If you earn a non-passing grade and stop attending prior to the end of the term, your last date of attendance will be reported from instructor's records. You will owe back a prorated amount of BAH/monthly stipend to the VA and prorated tuition and fees to OCC (if your tuition was paid by VA) for the time you were not actively pursuing the course.
• Dropping Courses With a "W" or "EW": VA considers a "W" and "EW" to be non-punitive, and will not pay for these courses. The VA will require me to pay back all BAH/monthly stipend and tuition for that course.

A standard semester is equal to 16 weeks of instruction. To be full-time during a standard term, you must be certified for 12 units. The level of training time/enrollment status may vary for terms shorter than the standard 16-week semester. For summer and/or winter-intersession training time/enrollment status, refer to the non-standard term chart.