The Military Student Success Center provides one-stop services for military students, veterans, dependents, and civilian employees at military bases. Services include assistance with

• Admissions documents, including residency;
• Financial aid and Hazlewood documents;
• GoArmy admissions, degree plan, residency, registration, and grade posting;
• UTEP registration and withdrawals;
• Tuition and fees payment processing and
• Department of Veterans Affairs documents, including creating and maintaining records that support certification of one's status with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• MilitaryOneSource – Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA).

Veterans Education Counselors

The Veterans commission employs Veterans Education Counselors who work with institutions of higher education; local, state, and national veterans groups; local workforce development boards; and education services offices at military installations; who create and manage publicity campaigns to promote the use of education benefits; who support programs to assist students who are combat veterans in readjusting and reintegrating into a noncombat environment; who maintain statistical information; and who perform other activities; as assigned by the commission, to enhance the educational opportunities of veterans and their family members in the higher education region and throughout this state.

Hazlewood Act Exemption

The purpose of the Hazlewood Exemption (Hazlewood Act) is to provide an education benefit to honorably discharged or separated Texas veterans and to eligible dependent children and spouses of Texas veterans.

Eligibility Requirements

Veterans, who at the time of entry into the U.S. Armed Forces, are Texas residents, designated Texas as Home of Record, or entered the service in Texas; have served at least 181 days of active military duty, as indicated as "net active service" on the DD214, member 4); have received an honorable discharge or separation or a general discharge under honorable conditions; have no federal veteran's education benefits, or have federal veterans education benefits dedicated to the payment of tuition and fees only (such as Chapter 33 or 31; Pell and SEOG are not relevant) for term or semester enrolled that do not exceed the value of Hazlewood benefits; are not in default on a student loan made or guaranteed by the State of Texas; and enroll in classes for which the college receives tax support.

Veterans who are granted their first Hazlewood exemption beginning fall, 2011 must reside in Texas during the semester or term for which the exemption is claimed. This requirement does not apply to veterans who received the exemption prior to the 2011-2012 academic year.

Children and spouses of veterans who, at the time of entry into the U.S. Armed Forces, are Texas residents, designated Texas as Home of Record, or entered the service in Texas; have a parent or is the spouse of a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, Texas National Guard, or Texas Air National Guard who died as a result of service-related injuries or illness, is missing in action, or became totally disabled for purposes of employability as a result of service-related injury or illness; have no federal veteran's education benefits, or have federal veterans education benefits dedicated to the payment of tuition and fees only (such as Chapter 33 or 31; Pell and SEOG Grants are not relevant) for the term or semester enrolled that do not exceed the value of Hazlewood benefits; and are residents of Texas as of the term or semester in which they enroll.

Eligible children who receive the Hazlewood exemption for the first time beginning fall, 2011 must be 25 years of age or younger on the first day of the semester or term for which the exemption is claimed (unless granted an extension due to a qualifying illness or debilitating condition). This requirement does not apply to children who received the exemption prior to the 2011-2012 academic year.

Transferability of Benefits (Legacy Program)

Eligible veterans may assign unused hours of exemption eligibility to a child under certain conditions. To be eligible, the child must be a Texas resident; be the biological child, stepchild, adopted child, or claimed as a dependent in the current or previous tax year; be 25 years or younger on the first day of the semester or term for which the exemption is claimed (unless granted an extension due to a qualifying illness or debilitating condition); and make satisfactory academic progress in a degree or certificate as determined by the institution. If a child to whom hours have been delegated fails to use all of the assigned hours, a veteran may re-assign the unused hours that are available to another dependent child. Veterans spouses are not eligible to receive a transfer of unused hours.

Effective with tuition and fee charges fall, 2011, a veteran's spouse or a child's guardian, conservator, custodian, or another legally designated caretaker may re-assign unused hours to an eligible child (through Legacy) on behalf of the veteran if the veteran died prior to requesting the transfer of hours.

Award Amount

Eligible veterans, their children and spouses may receive an exemption from the payment of all tuition, dues, fees, and other required charges, including fees for correspondence courses, but excluding deposit fees, student service fees, and any fees or charges for books, lodging, board, or clothing for up to 150 semester credit hours. Awards may not be used to pay tuition and relevant fees for continuing education classes unless one of the following applies: (1) the college receives state tax support for the classes, or (2) the governing board has specifically approved this benefit.

Application Process 

To use Hazlewood benefits or to transfer unused benefits to an eligible child, applicants must complete an application/release form. The forms are available in the Military Student Success Center or online.

Effective with tuition and fee charges for fall, 2011, all applicants (veterans, spouses and children) must complete and submit the appropriate application and documentation listed above to their college or university's financial aid office or veterans' education office no later than one year after the earlier of the date the school:

• Provides written notice to the applicant of his/her eligibility, or
• Receives written notice from the applicant that acknowledges the applicant's awareness of his/her eligibility for the exemption.

allowing veterans to attend or participate in courses pending va payment

Background

Section 103 of Public Law (PL) 115-407, ‘Veterans Benefits and Transition Act of 2018,’ amends Title 38 US Code 3679 by adding a new subsection (e) that requires disapproval of courses of education, beginning August 1, 2019, at any educational institution that does not have a policy in place that will allow an individual to attend or participate in a course of education, pending VA payment, providing the individual submits a certificate of eligibility for entitlement to educational assistance under Chapter 31 or 33.

Pending Payment Compliance

In accordance with Title 38 US Code 3679(e), The University of Texas at El Paso adopts the following additional provisions for any students using U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Post-9/11 G.I. Bill® (Ch. 33) or Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (Ch. 31) benefits, while payment to the institution is pending from VA. The University of Texas of El Paso will not:

• Prevent the student’s enrollment;
• Assess a late penalty fee to the student;
• Require the student to secure alternative or additional funding;
• Deny the student access to any resources (access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities) available to other students who have satisfied their tuition and fee bills to the institution.

However, to qualify for this provision, such students may be required to:

• Produce the VA Certificate of Eligibility (COE) by the first day of class;
• Provide a written request to be certified;
• Provide additional information needed to properly certify the enrollment as described in other institutional policies

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Dropped for Non Payment Policy

• Military-affiliated students eligible for federal/education benefits will not be dropped for non-payment from the institution as long as eligibility documentation is provided to the MSSC by payment deadline
• Proof of eligibility is for any VA education benefit (Ch. 30, Ch. 33, Ch. 35, Ch. 1606), Veterans Readiness and Employment (Ch. 31), DoD Tuition Assistance, and Hazlewood.