Military Insider: Spring 2023 Edition
Welcome Back to Campus!
From the Desk of the Veterans Center Supervisor
I hope everyone has had a restful holiday. Here in the Office of Military Affairs, we are excited about the Spring semester. This year we are going to be offering several exciting ways to get plugged into our Military Student Community. Including a Military Family Fun Day, Military Graduate Recognition Ceremony, and Monthly Student Workshops. Check our website, www.liberty.edu/militaryevents, and social media for details and updates throughout the term. Our student groups, Student Veterans Association (SVA) & Students Behind Our Military (SBM), will also be fielding many opportunities to connect and earn Christian Service hours. As always you are welcome to join us at our Veterans Center in the Montview Student Union for free coffee, community, and support. – Caleb Berkland, Supervisor of the Veterans Center, Office of Military Affairs
Spring Military Student Briefing
Please join us for our Spring Military Student briefing at the Veterans Center (Montview Student Union, Suite 2770) on Friday, January 20th, at 3:00 p.m. We will be going over the latest developments with military educational benefits, resources, community, and service opportunities. All military-affiliated students are encouraged to attend, whether you are returning to campus or this is your first semester. Light refreshments will be provided.
ArmyIgnitED Tuition Assistance Request Timeline
All ArmyIgnitED Tuition Assistance requests must be submitted within seven days of the start date of classes. Make sure you log on to ArmyIgnitED once you enroll in your Liberty courses and request your tuition assistance a week prior to the start date. Tuition assistance is course and date specific, so make sure that you are selecting the exact course you are registered for including both the title and dates. Once your TA has been approved by the Army, you must submit the signed authorization form to Liberty which can be done directly in your Student Checklist. If no document requirements are listed, you may submit the documents to us via email at LUMilitary@liberty.edu. Don’t hesitate to reach out to our office if you have any questions. Call us at (855) 355-4947, email LUMilitary@liberty.edu or chat with us online. We’re here to help you!
Financial Literacy Course
Liberty’s Center for Financial Literacy now offers a self-paced course to help veterans transition out of the military. The course provides servicemembers with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions and career choices based on veterans’ experiences and biblical principles. The course, titled “Financial Literacy for Transitioning Veterans, was created by retired U.S. Army Special Forces noncommissioned officer and business strategy adjunct professor, Will Gunzelman. The course length is 4 to 6 hours and it provides recommendations and planning considerations about salary, benefits, cost of living comparisons, taxes, relocation, and defense contracting. The course costs $50.00. Professor Gunzelman stated the course was developed based on input from former teammates, veteran coworkers, and personal experience. Professor Gunzelman explains, “The intent of the course is to provide servicemembers with a return on investment (ROI) based on acquired knowledge, which helps save money or increase earning potential upon separation from the military”.
The best time to take the course is when servicemembers are one to two years from retirement or military separation. This allows time to identify any financial or skills gaps and close those gaps. However, it is never too late to gain the knowledge to successfully transition from military service. The course benefits senior leaders retiring from the military as well as first-term servicemembers seeking other opportunities outside the military. The course will benefit military spouses as well. Commissioned and noncommissioned retention officers, recruiters, and leaders can also benefit by gaining the knowledge to help servicemembers make informed decisions concerning initial or continued military service. For more information about the course visit the course website, Financial Literacy for Transitioning Veterans or the Center for Financial Literacy. Liberty University continuously tries to assist America’s active servicemembers and veterans as a way to honor their service and sacrifice.
VA Enrollment Manager Coming in March 2023
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will be releasing a new system for all School Certifying Officials to use this Spring that will make the VA benefits more efficient. As you may have heard, January 2023 was the originally go live date; however, the VA recently announced it will now be released in March 2023. During this transition, the VA is projecting their systems will be down for around one week to allow time for the data migration from the old system (VA-Once) to the new system (VA Enrollment Manager). As we prepare for this transition, here are a few things to keep in mind to ensure your benefits are processed as efficiently as possible during this system transition:
- For those planning to enroll in a Spring D term course beginning in March, please register as far in advance as possible to allow time for your enrollment to be processed prior to this downtime.
- Be aware that this downtime has the potential to cause longer processing time for stipends, so keep this in mind as you budget for the months ahead.
- For those using education benefits that pay tuition and fees directly to the University (such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill®, or Veterans Readiness & Employment), Liberty’s Military Affairs Office will continue to post your projected aid on your account for Financial Check-in and will certify all enrollments before/after the system implementation to ensure you receive your stipends as quickly as possible from the VA.
- After the transition to Enrollment Manager, schools will no longer be able to update student veterans’ addresses or phone numbers in the new VA system. Veterans will need to contact the VA directly to confirm and update addresses and phone numbers to ensure they receive updates accordingly.
- As always, we remain a resource for you should you have any questions along the way.
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.
