Veterans & Military Benefits: VA Status

In order to activate students’ VA education benefits at Stanford, students are required to submit the following forms:

• A copy of the Certificate of Eligibility distributed by the VA
• DD-214 (if applicable)
• Any official transcripts from other institutions

It is the students’ responsibility to ensure that all forms are submitted to the VA Certifying Officer in order to activate the student as a VA education benefits receiving student.

In order to comply with VA regulations, students are responsible for the following:

• Obtain official transcripts from all postsecondary institutions attended, whether VA education benefits were received or not.
• Report any changes in enrollment status to the VA Certifying Officer.
• Report any changes that are made to a degree plan. Undergraduates declaring or making changes to their major(s), minor(s), honor(s), or degree program(s) in Axess and Graduates adding or removing degree programs through the Graduate Program Authorization Petition in Axess should email the VA Certifying Officer at vabenefits@stanford.edu to report a degree plan change.
• Overpayment funds which were paid to the student (generally-- housing and book stipends) are the student’s responsibility to repay to VA. Overpayment funds which were paid to Stanford (generally-- tuition, fees, and Yellow Ribbon) will be returned to VA by Stanford. If there is a discrepancy between VA and Stanford’s refund calculation, the student will be responsible for any difference.
• Stanford University is required to certify only those courses that meet minimum graduation requirements. Courses not directly related to a student's degree program or courses beyond those required for a specific degree program are not certified. Undergraduates should meet with their adviser to develop a course enrollment plan. Graduate students should have their departments approve their study lists as meeting graduation requirements on a quarterly basis.
• If concurrently enrolled with another college/university, notify both Stanford and the host institution.
• Undergraduates only: VA regulations require undergraduates to declare their major by the end of their sophomore year. Stanford cannot certify enrollment to the VA beyond sophomore year unless a major has been declared. Note that a student can change their major at any time.