Veteran and Military Benefits at PVCC
PVCC provides a range of benefits and resources that are designed to help veterans, active-duty members, and their dependents. The school provides both tuition and academic support that ensures a smooth transition to education.
According to the PVCC’s website, “PVCC is dedicated to creating and maintaining campus-community connections that ensure the entire spectrum of military students have the resources and support needed to successfully navigate their way through college and develop career pathways.” Such services include a dedicated military and veteran adviser, intensive academic advising through regular contact and assistance with military benefits, and connections with resources and support services, including financial aid, tutoring, and more.
The current staff in charge of military-affiliated advising are Academic Adviser Kim Phillips and Certifying Official Kemper Steele. Phillips meets up with all students who use any kind of military benefits regarding anything academic: programs of study, transfers, priority classes, and more. Steele is in charge of making sure students get their benefits. He communicates with Veteran Affairs (VA) to make sure student benefits are filed so they could use them. He describes his job as a “second set of eyes”. As Steele explains, “Think of the advising side and the benefit side.”
Military students are to apply for benefits online. Steele reminds students that E-forms must be submitted every semester for benefits to apply. For specific benefit eligibility, call the information service at the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at 800-827-1000 or at 888-442-4551. Students can also visit the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs for more information. Students also may be eligible for the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP). VMSDEP benefits are managed by the Financial Aid office. For more information, contact Allyson Umali (aumali@PVCC.edu).
PVCC was approved to offer G.I. Bill educational benefits by the Virginia State Approving Agency (SAA). More information about education benefits are offered by the VA is available at www.benefits.va.gov/gibill
Military students can also take advantage of CREDITS2CAREERS (C2C) is an online academic and career portal for military students launched by the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) in 2017. C2C is designed for military-affiliated students to help with multiple academic pathways and to apply any previous educational and military experience towards academic programs offered at VCCS schools, such as PVCC.
C2C is a personalized virtual counseling tool that provides military-connected users the ability to: easily and quickly create a portfolio of military, work, & educational experiences; augment the portfolio with additional courses, examinations, credentials & other achievements; learn about programs & classes offered by VCCS colleges; and access virtual job & career information.
One thing that makes PVCC’s military benefits unique is the campus’s own veterans lounge located on the third floor of the Bolick Center. Steele says, “We recognize that all of our students need a space around campus to make it a community, but we try to go above and beyond to provide unique space to our military and veteran students as well.”
Students often will come into school not knowing what benefits they have or what they qualify for. Steele and Phillips can help through forms in order to get a certificate of eligibility, and then they can help outline students’ time here at PVCC that works with their benefits. Similar to normal academic advising, but while having an extra step of thinking about how to make the most of their benefits. For more personalized information, contact current academic adviser for military affiliates Kim Phillips (kphillips@pvcc.edu) and certifying official Kemper Steele (ksteele@pvcc.edu). Keep in mind that additional advisers will join soon, and responsibilities might change. Please reference PVCC’s advising page for updated adviser assignments
