Course & Degree Approval

Program and Institution Approval

A course of education, including the class schedules of a resident course not leading to a standard college degree, offered by a school must be approved by the State Approving Agency for the state in which the school is located, or by the State Approving Agency which has appropriate approval authority, or where appropriate, by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (38 U.S.C. 3672).

The State Approving Agency, upon determining that a school has complied with all the requirements for approval, will notify the school by letter setting forth the courses which have been approved, and will furnish to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs an official copy of the letter and attachments and any subsequent amendments. The letter of approval for each school will be accompanied by a copy of the catalog or bulletin of the school, as approved by the State Approving Agency (§21.4258).

The State Approving Agency for Tennessee is the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), Veterans Education. Each academic year, APSU and the APSU Veterans Education Benefits office must complete Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) approval packets to obtain and maintain approval of veterans' training.

What the VA Will and Will Not Cover

Developmental and Remedial Courses

Per the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the State Approving Agency regulations, remedial and developmental courses must be taught as conventional resident courses (in the classroom) for payment of educational assistance (§21.4265, 4267, and THEC/State Approving Agency).

In practice: if a developmental or remedial course is offered online, the VA will not pay for it. Students taking these courses must be enrolled in the in-person section.

Audit Courses

VA shall not pay educational assistance for an enrollment in an audited course (§21.4252). The school's certification shall exclude courses which are being audited by the veteran or eligible person since no educational assistance allowances shall be paid for such courses (38 U.S.C. 3680(a)).

In practice: if you enroll in a course as an audit, that course cannot be included in your VA enrollment certification regardless of your reason for auditing.

Repeat Courses

Previously passed courses — including those dropped under APSU's CARE or Fresh Start academic policy programs — do not qualify for VA education benefits (VA School Certifying Official Handbook).

In practice: if you passed a course and want to retake it to improve your grade, the VA will not pay for the repeated enrollment. This applies even when APSU's academic forgiveness policies allow the retake. See Repeat Course Policy for full details.

Courses Outside Your Program of Education

VA will not pay educational assistance for enrollment in any course that is not part of the student's program of education, unless it is a required refresher course, deficiency course, or other preparatory course necessary to pursue an approved program of education (38 U.S.C. 3002(3), 3034, and 3452(b); Public Law 98-525).

In practice: your certified courses must count toward your declared degree program. Electives, exploratory courses, or courses outside your approved plan of study are not certifiable unless they meet one of the listed exceptions. If you change your major, notify the Veterans Education Benefits office — your previously approved program may no longer cover the same courses.