Failing a course will
not affect your GI Bill benefits, however withdrawing or receiving an incomplete grade for a course may
affect your benefits. As long as you
receive a grade (pass or fail) the VA will not ask for your GI Bill money back.
However, if a student
drops a course(s) or withdraws from school the VA will immediately stop paying
education benefits for those classes and the student may be billed for the
education benefits they have already been paid for that term. Students are strongly encouraged to notify
the PAC VA Office immediately of a withdrawal to minimize overpayments.
The VA will bill a
student in this situation unless circumstances beyond the student’s control
prevented the student from continuing in school or caused the student to reduce
credits. These mitigating circumstances
are presumed to exist the first time a student drops 6 or less credits. After the first drop a veteran must prove to
the VA that mitigating circumstances were the cause of the drop/withdrawal.
Examples of
mitigating circumstances include:
- Mental or physical illness or injury
afflicting the student during the enrollment period.
- Illness or death in the student’s
immediate family.
- Unavoidable change in the student’s
conditions of employment.
- Unavoidable geographical transfer
resulting from the student’s employment.
- Immediate family or financial
obligations beyond the control of the claimant that require him or her to
suspend pursuit of the program of education to obtain employment.
- Discontinuance of the course by the
school.
- Unanticipated active military service,
including active duty for training.
- Unanticipated difficulties with
childcare arrangements that the student has made for the period during which he
or she is attending classes.
If VA rules that
mitigating circumstances do not exist than the student will be charged for any
education benefits they received for that academic term (e.g., tuition/fees,
living allowance and book stipend).