When George Mason reports your enrollments to the VA, we provide the number of credits in which you are enrolled and the terms those classes fall under. We also report your training time.
The VA will use the training time reported by the school to determine your monthly stipend and the rate at which your benefit is charged. This will be at the full-time, ¾ time, ½ time, less than ½ but greater than ¼ time, or ¼ time rate.
Students who are on active duty or students who are less-than-half-time cannot receive payments that total more than the actual cost of tuition and course fees during a term. The VA may reduce your monthly payments so they do not exceed this amount.
We are required to report your actual course dates.
Graduate Full Semester Training Time Table
|
Credits |
Training Time |
|
9+ |
Full Time |
|
6-8 |
¾ |
|
4.5-5.5 |
½ |
|
4.4 or fewer |
<½ |
You may estimate your training time in non-standard terms by using the credit hour equivalent formula:
Credits x 18 / Weeks
Calculate the number of weeks in a term by taking the number of days in a term and dividing by 7. Round to the nearest week (for example, 8 weeks and 3 days is rounded to 8 weeks, while four weeks and 4 days is rounded to 5 weeks).
Multiply the number of credits you are taking in the term by 18. Divide this number by the number of weeks of the term.
Compare this credit hour equivalent to the above table to determine your training time.
Example:
You are a Chapter 35 graduate student in one 8-week course for 3 credits from 1/11 to 3/7.
(3 credits x 18) ÷ 8 weeks = 6.75. Based on the table above, 3 credits in eight weeks is the equivalent of 6.75 credits in a normal semester.
Your benefits during this period are charged at ¾ training time, and you receive the ¾ rate Chapter 35 stipend.
If your classes are in overlapping terms, the VA will use whichever training time is highest during the overlap period. While this benefits you from a stipend perspective, you should be aware that your benefit is also being reduced at the higher rate.