State Approving Agency (GI Bill)

Apply to Become a GI BILL® Approved Facility

Step 1: Download, complete, and submit one of two Application Request Forms to saa@dvs.virginia.gov.

• Application Request Form (general, updated on 07-23)
• Application Request for Medical Residency, Fellowship, or Internship Form (updated 6-19-22)

Step 2: A State Approving Agency (SAA) Representative will respond to your Application Request.

Step 3: Make plans to attend one of our monthly Initial Approval Training Webinars. They are scheduled from 9:30 am to 11:30 am on the first Thursday of every month. Contact saa@dvs.virginia.gov to attend a webinar. The 2023-2024 Initial Approval Training webinars are on:

• March 7, 2024
• April 4, 2024
• May 2, 2024
• June 6, 2024

Step 4: Submit the Application Packet to the SAA for review of your approval. An Initial Approval Packet will not be reviewed by the SAA if a facility has not completed an Initial Approval Training webinar.

Step 5: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) processes the SAA Approval. The VA provides final directions for the facility to be recognized as an Approved Facility and be able to certify veterans and other eligible students for their benefits.

The VA final directions typically include:

• Complete New School Certifying Official (SCO) Training in the VA’s Online Training Portal. (One approximately 90-minute module for On-the-Job Training, Apprenticeship, Vocational Flight, High School, and Residency programs. Ten approximately 30-minute modules, about 5 hours of training, for Institutions of Higher Learning and Non-College Degree).
• Update the 22-8794: Designation of Certifying Official form to include officials who will certify veterans’ benefits and have completed the New SCO Training.
• Complete a Memorandum of Understanding between the VA and your institution to use the VA-ONCE (VA Online Certification of Enrollment) system.

Resources for Schools Page Update

Education Service is proud to announce the launch of the updated Resources for Schools webpage. We began work on this redesign during the fall of 2023, and it has been a joint project between our National Training Team-Schools, Digital Engagement Team, VA.gov partners, and the School Certifying Official (SCO) collaboration group.

What can you expect from the redesign?

• A more streamlined webpage, making locating needed resources easier and quicker.
• A direct link to the Education Service Upload Portal for when you need to submit documents directly to VA.
• A forms library so you can quickly and efficiently find those VA forms most used by our schools.

Input from the SCOs has been vital to the success of this project, many of whom provided feedback directly to VA via email, during webinars, and at conferences. In our commitment to customer service excellence, our everyday users directly influenced this redesign. We hope you will stay engaged with us as we continue to fine-tune our resources and trainings to provide you with top tier support.

Thank you for all the hard work you do for our Veterans, service members, and beneficiaries. We genuinely believe the path to education begins with you!

Communication Regarding Liberty University

Liberty University Update 2-20-2024

Virtual Meeting with a State Approving Agency Specialist

Schedule a virtual meeting to talk about GI Bill® Benefits at https://calendly.com/virginia-saa/virginia

Click Here to learn more about Transfer Virginia.  You can research, plan and organize your transfer journey using the information and resources available within this portal from Virginia’s institutions.

Department of Veterans Affairs – SCO Handbook Online Only at KnowVA

Training Opportunities for School Certifying Officials

Sign Up for Updates from the Virginia SAA