Sandburg is proud to serve and provide an educational opportunity for students who have served or who are currently serving our country. We're committed to helping you, our veterans, military personnel and your dependents make an easy transition to college life. Reach out to the coordinator of veterans and military services prior to enrollment each term.
View Sandburg’s standards for veterans' satisfactory progress.
Submitting a certification request
You must submit a certification request each semester you wish to use benefits:
Spring 2025 enrollment certification
If you've enrolled for the spring term and want to use your GI Bill ® benefits, complete the VA Certification Request Form 2025SP.
Fall 2024 enrollment certification
If you've enrolled for the fall term and want to use your GI Bill ® benefits, complete the VA Certification Request Form 2025FA.
Help with veterans and dependent services
Make an appointment with our coordinator of veterans and military services today, email vets@sandburg.edu or call 309.341.5321.
Steps to using veterans' benefits
- Apply for education benefits online; https://www.va.gov/education/how-to-apply/
- Submit your Certificate of Eligibility to Sandburg; Complete the form online to begin using your benefits
- Complete the Certification Request Form. This must be completed each semester.
- For Verteran's, complete and sign with a copy of the DD-214 attached the request for prior credit form.
If you need a military transcript, select the appropriate site below:
- Army, Navy, Marines or Coast Guard: Submit a request on the Joint Services Transcript (JST) website.
- Air Force or Space Force: Submit a request on the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) website.
Veterans educational benefit program s
Veteran benefits may cover tuition or other educational expenses for qualifying veterans who reside in Illinois.
Federal educational programs
View more info on benefit rates. The GI Bill ® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Education call center — If you have additional questions on your benefits, please call 888.GI.BILL.1 (888.442.4551) inside the U.S. or 001.918.781.5678 outside the U.S.
For details on each program, select from the list below:
- Chapter 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill ®
- Chapter 35 Dependents Educational Assistance Program (DEA)
- Chapter 31 VA Vocational Rehabilitation
- Chapter 1606 Montgomery GI Bill ®— Selected Reserve
- Chapter 30 Montgomery GI Bill ®
Military tuition assistance
All branches offer financial assistance for voluntary, off-duty education programs to officers, warrant officers and enlisted active-duty service personnel. Members of the National Guard and reserve components also may be eligible for tuition assistance if they have enough time remaining in service to complete the course. Once complete, an officer using tuition assistance must fulfill a service obligation that runs parallel with — not in addition to — any existing service obligation. Select your branch below, and you’ll be directed to their website for more info:
If you want to use tuition assistance, you need authorization from your branch of service before enrolling in your classes each term. Tuition assistance is awarded under the assumption you’ll attend school for the entire awarded period. If you withdraw, you may no longer be eligible for the full amount of originally awarded funds. Sandburg will return any unearned funds to your service branch on a prorated basis through week 9 as follows:
|
16-week course withdrawal |
|
|
TIMING |
PRORATED AMOUNT |
|
Before or during weeks 1-2 |
100% return |
|
During weeks 3-4 |
80% return |
|
During weeks 5-8 |
50% return |
|
During week 9 (60% completed) |
40% return |
|
During weeks 10-16 |
0% return |
|
|
|
|
Eight-week course withdrawal |
|
|
TIMING |
PRORATED AMOUNT |
|
Before or during week 1 |
100% return |
|
During weeks 2 |
75% return |
|
During weeks 3-4 |
50% return |
|
During week 5 (60% completed) |
40% return |
|
During weeks 6-8 |
0% return |
Forever GI Bill ® — Harry W. Colmerhy Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017
The Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, also known as the Forever GI Bill ®, is named after the American Legion national commander who wrote the original GI Bill ® language in 1944 and allows more veterans to use the GI Bill ® and more time to use it. For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs - Forever GI Bill ® .
Apply for financial aid & scholarships
In addition to veterans education benefits, you may be eligible for other financial aid like the Federal Pell grant.
Visit our applying for aid page for more information.
State-affiliated educational programs
Illinois Veterans Grant (IVG)
- Pays tuition and certain fees at a public Illinois two- or four-year colleges.
- View eligibility requirements and apply on the Illinois Student Assistance Commission website.
Illinois National Guard Grant (ING)
- Pays tuition and certain fees at a public Illinois two- or four-year college.
- View eligibility requirements and apply on the Illinois Student Assistance Commission website.
MIA/POW Scholarship
The state of Illinois provides an education scholarship for the dependents of veterans who are one of the following:
- Missing in action (MIA)
- A prisoner of war (POW)
- Died while on active duty
- 100% disabled due to service-connected disabilities
- Died as a result of a service-connected disability
View the application process. The online application has many benefits, including program information that's available at your fingertips, online edits which prevent errors, elimination of mailing time and immediate confirmation that your application has been received at ISAC.
Policies for veterans programs
Veteran standards for satisfactory academic progress
If you're a Sandburg student who's receiving federal educational benefits through the Veteran's Administration (VA), you must make satisfactory progress to continue receiving benefits. This applies to Illinois Veteran's Grant (IVG), National Guard (NG), Chapter 30, 31, 33, 35, 1606 and 1607 benefits.
VA satisfactory progress requires you to maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater after your first semester of attendance. If you fall below a 2.0 GPA, you'll be placed on Warning. Once on Warning, you'll have one semester to raise your cumulative GPA so it satisfies the requirement. If you don't satisfy the cumulative GPA after the warning period, you'll be placed on Sandburg VA Dismissal and will no longer qualify for VA educational benefits.
If you go back to satisfactory status when your cumulative GPA rises to 2.0 or above and you were previously placed on Sandburg VA Dismissal, you can file a written appeal to reinstate your benefits for an additional semester. You'll complete the appeals and returned to the coordinator of veterans & military personnel student services in Financial Aid. Appeals are reviewed by the Veterans Satisfactory Progress Committee within 30 calendar days. You're encouraged to file your appeals early to avoid disruption in benefits.
In-district tuition for post-911 and GI Bill®
Post-9/11 veterans, spouse and/or dependent children and Montgomery GI Bill® recipients will be charged the in-district tuition rate regardless of residency. Email the coordinator of veterans and military services, or call 309.341.5321 for more information.
Refunds for students call to military duty
If you’re a Sandburg student who's called to active duty in the armed forces, you can be given a 100% refund of tuition and fees for the current term if requested and if you provide the registrar with:
- A written request (letter or schedule change form) to be withdrawn from classes at 100% refund
- A copy of your official orders for a call to active duty
If the call to active duty comes after mid-term, you can:
- Request to be withdrawn from classes at 100% refund.
- Try to complete courses in progress after consulting with the instructors.
- Request incomplete grades (I) after consulting with the instructors.
You’ll be offered the opportunity to continue in your program upon return from service duties.
VA pending payment compliance policy
Compliance with 38 USC 3679(e)
Beginning Aug. 1, 2019, and despite any policy to the contrary, Sandburg won't take any of the four following actions toward any student using U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Post 9/11 GI Bill® (Ch. 33) or Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Ch. 31) benefits, while their payment from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs is pending to the educational institution:
- Prevent their enrollment.
- Assess a late penalty fee to.
- Require they secure alternative or additional funding.
- Deny their 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’s Certificate of Eligibility 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 (see our VA School Certifying Official for all requirements).
Forever GI BILL®
The Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, also known as the Forever GI Bill®, is named after the American Legion national commander who wrote the original GI Bill® language in 1944 and allows more veterans to use the GI Bill® and more time to use it. For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs — Forever GI Bill®.
Updates to the POST-9/11 GI BILL®
The 15-year time limitation for using the Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits was eliminated for:
- Those last discharged/released from active duty on/after Jan. 1, 2013
- Children of deceased service members who first became entitled to Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits on/after Jan. 1, 2013
- All Fry scholarship recipients spouses
All others remain subject to the current 15-year time limitation for using your Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits.
If you’re a member of the reserve who established educational assistance eligibility under the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) before Nov. 25, 2015, and lost it due to the sunset provision, may ask that that service be credited towards the Post-9/11 GI Bill® program.
Monthly housing allowance calculation for Post-9/11
The Post-9/11 GI Bill® monthly housing allowance (MHA) is calculated on the ZIP code of the campus where you physically attend the majority of your classes — not the location of the college itself:
- Galesburg campus: 61401
- Carthage campus: 62321
Financial aid college financing plan
The financial aid college financing plan can help you assess the total cost of attending Sandburg. It presents information about available financial aid, net costs and how much you should expect to pay out of pocket. You can use this to compare financial aid packages offered by different institutions. After financial aid1 is awarded aid for the current academic year, access the sheet:
Log in to mySandburg.
- Select Self-Service.
- Go to Financial Aid.
- Click on Financial Aid Self-Service.
- While the mouse is on the Financial Aidtab, a menu will appear.
- Click on Federal College financing plan.
- Select the current school year.
The figures noted in the college financing plan are based on estimates; specific costs may differ from the information provided.