Veteran Services

Veteran & Dependent Education Benefits

Federal and state veteran education benefits are administered through the Paris Junior College Financial Aid Office located in the Alford Center. The Veterans Services desk can be reached at (903)782-0371 or at veterans@parisjc.edu.

All Veterans and Dependents seeking to use benefits must submit a new benefits request each major semester (Fall/Spring/Summer). New students will require additional documentation for their first semester to verify eligibility before benefits can be applied.

Click Here to Complete Your Veterans Benefits Request

Federal - Veterans Affairs Benefits

Students who are planning to use VA educational benefits for the first time should check their eligibility and apply for benefits at www.va.gov/education/eligibility. Eligibility for federal veterans educational benefits is determined by the VA.

VA educational benefits will only pay for courses that are required for graduation as part of the student’s official degree plan. VA students may not repeat a course for which they have received a passing grade (D or higher) unless a higher grade is required as a prerequisite for a required class.

The VA will only pay for remedial coursework that is required for graduation, as determined by TSIA2 testing. If remedial courses are needed, please consult PJC's TSIA website here.

Eligibility to use benefits at PJC is dependent on Financial Aid's Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy as described in the PJC Catalog and Student Handbook.

Students receiving VA benefits must promptly notify the Financial Aid Office regarding any course(s) dropped. The VA may require students to repay unearned benefits received for courses that were dropped.

Applying to Use VA Benefits

For new students seeking to use VA benefits, Paris Junior College will require copies of the following outside documentation before approving benefits, dependent on which benefit you wish to use:

  • A Certificate of Eligibility for Post-9/11 Benefits OR a printout of the Veteran's "Check My Post-9/11 Status" page from the VA website.
  • The Veteran's DD-214 with Discharge Information (Honorable, General, etc.)
  • An Official Joint Service Transcript from the JST Website OR an Official transcript from the Community College of the Air Force.

  • A Certificate of Eligibility for MGIB Benefits
  • The Veteran's DD-214 with Discharge Information (Honorable, General, etc.)
  • An Official Joint Service Transcript from the JST Website OR an Official transcript from the Community College of the Air Force.

  • A VR-67 Letter from your VR&E Counselor, including the Counselor's contact information.
  • The Veteran's DD-214 with Discharge Information (Honorable, General, etc.)
  • An Official Joint Service Transcript from the JST Website OR an Official transcript from the Community College of the Air Force.

  • A Certificate of Eligibility for the DEA program
  • The Veteran's DD-214 with Discharge Information (Honorable, General, etc.)

 

Students seeking to use VA benefits must submit a "Request for VA Educational Benefits" through their MyPJC Student Portal no later than 30 days after the first day of class for the semester. New students may request benefits be applied until 30 days after the start of the semester or 30 days after the date their Certificate of Eligibility was issued, whichever is later.

To submit the Request for Benefits form, use the button at the top of the page. 

For more information on applying for VA benefits, including website links to retrieve documents, click here to download an instructional flyer.

State of Texas - Hazlewood Act

The Hazlewood Act is a Texas benefit that provides qualified Texas Veterans, spouses, and dependent children with an education benefit of up to 150 lifetime hours of tuition exemption, including some fee charges, at public institutions of higher education in Texas. This does NOT include living expenses, books, or supply fees. For veterans, all VA benefits which pay tuition directly (Post-9/11 and VR&E) must be depleted before the Hazlewood act can be applied.

Eligibility requirements are set by the State of Texas (via TEC §54.341 and 40 TAC §461). Eligibility is determined after review of appropriate documentation specific to the status of the beneficiary (Veteran / Legacy / Spouse or Dependent). Eligibility information may be found on the Texas Veterans Commission website.

Applying to Use Hazlewood Act Benefits

All Hazlewood applicants (and Veteran sponsors) must be registered with the Hazlewood online database at https://hazlewood.tvc.texas.gov/students/.

For students seeking to use Hazlewood Act benefits for the first time, Paris Junior College requires the following documentation:

Veteran students wanting to apply Hazlewood benefits will need:

  • The Hazlewood Exemption Application, with physical signatures (click here and scroll down to the Resources section).
  • The Veteran’s DD-214 or equivalent, with:
    • qualifying Discharge Status
    • a Texas Home of Record OR a Texas Place of Entry
  • Either:
    • A Certificate of Eligibility showing that Post-9/11 education benefits have expired or been denied, OR
    • A Certificate of Eligibility for MGIB 

Please note that Hazlewood benefits can be used concurrently with MGIB benefits, but not Post-9/11 or VR&E!

Spouses of P&T Disabled Veterans will need:

  • The Hazlewood Exemption Application, with physical signatures (click here and scroll down to the Resources section).
  • The Veteran’s DD-214 or equivalent, with:
    • qualifying Discharge Status
    • a Texas Home of Record OR a Texas Place of Entry
  • The Veteran's VA "Summary of Benefits" letter showing:
    • the Veteran has service-connected disabilities
    • the Veteran is considered “totally and permanently disabled solely due to service-connected disabilities”
    • the Veteran is evaluated at 100% OR “unemployable due to service-connected disabilities”
  • Marriage Certificate between the Student and Veteran
  • One of the following:
    • A Certificate of Eligibility for DEA benefits
    • A Certificate of Eligibility showing that Post-9/11 education benefits have expired or been denied
    • The Veteran's EAS is before 8/1/2009

Please note that Hazlewood benefits can be used concurrently with DEA benefits!

Dependents (Biological/Adopted/Step children or Reported tax dependents) of P&T Disabled Veterans will need:

  • The Hazlewood Exemption Application, with physical signatures (click here and scroll down to the Resources section).
  • The Veteran’s DD-214 or equivalent, with:
    • qualifying Discharge Status
    • a Texas Home of Record OR a Texas Place of Entry
  • The Veteran's VA "Summary of Benefits" letter showing:
    • the Veteran has service-connected disabilities
    • the Veteran is considered “totally and permanently disabled solely due to service-connected disabilities”
    • the Veteran is evaluated at 100% OR “unemployable due to service-connected disabilities”
  • Documents legally tying the Student to the Veteran - any combination of:
    • Birth Certificate
    • Marriage License
    • Adoption Paperwork
    • Tax Documentation showing the child as a dependent in at least one of the last two tax years
  • One of the following:
    • A Certificate of Eligibility for DEA benefits
    • A Certificate of Eligibility showing that Post-9/11 education benefits have expired or been denied
    • The Veteran's EAS is before 8/1/2009

Please note that Hazlewood benefits can be used concurrently with DEA benefits!

Children of Qualified Veterans will need:

  • The Hazlewood Exemption Application, with physical signatures (click here and scroll down to the Resources section).
  • The Veteran’s DD-214 or equivalent, with:
    • qualifying Discharge Status
    • a Texas Home of Record OR a Texas Place of Entry
  • Documents legally tying the Student to the Veteran - any combination of:
    • Birth Certificate
    • Marriage License
    • Adoption Paperwork
    • Tax Documentation showing the child as a dependent in at least one of the last two tax years
  • One of the following:
    • A Certificate of Eligibility denying the Student Post-9/11 benefits
    • The Veteran's EAS is before 8/1/2009

Legacy Students do not have their own pool of waiver hours, and only one dependent can use Legacy benefits at a time per Veteran! They are using their Veteran's pool of 150 hours and are limited to the amount remaining in that pool.

Additional restrictions apply to Legacy student benefits. Please contact the Veterans Services desk for additional information.

 

Returning Hazlewood Act students will be required to complete the Application for Continued Enrollment (click here and scroll down to the Resources section) and the online Request for Veterans Educational Benefits (link at the top of the page) for each major semester (Fall/Spring/Summer).

Veteran Benefits - FAQs

Absolutely! However, you will be responsible for all tuition charges until we are able to apply your benefits to your account.

Once your benefits package is complete and applied, dependent on your VA/Hazlewood program, you may be eligible for a refund of any tuition you have already paid for the period.

Please Note: you only have 30 days from the start of the semester or the date on your Certificate of Eligibility (whichever is later) to turn in your Benefits Request!

We use the document for two purposes:

  1. The VA requires us to enter some of the personal information from the Veteran's DD-214 into their systems as we register you for the first time.
  2. Many DEA-eligible students are also eligible for Texas benefits, so we use the DD-214 to screen for Hazlewood-eligible students!

If you or your Veteran have concerns about submitting the DD-214, please reach out to us so we can discuss your situation.

Unfortunately, we can only review official transcripts to transfer credits. If we can't verify that the document is unedited, it can't be official, which is why we require transcripts to be sent directly from their institutions.

Even if you don't think that your Service Transcript will help, we are required to review your transcripts for prior credit, so we have to have them on hand.

No. Legacy is only available for dependents of Veterans.

VA and Hazlewood students receive an informational hold on your account for a couple of reasons:

  1. We cannot apply benefits to classes that don't help you graduate on your current degree plan. The hold makes you reach out to your advisors to make sure your classes apply to your degree.
  2. The hold is an alert for your advisors so they know to arrange your classes in ways that maximize your benefits!

All VA benefits pay for the preceding month. For example, attendance in September will be paid out on the first business day of October.

Most VA programs require you to check in with the VA monthly and will stop payment of housing allowances if a student has not checked in for two months. Make sure you're checking in by text or at Ask.VA.gov!

You don't - Hazlewood is a tuition-waiver program, so there is no housing allowance associated with the program.

The most common cause of this problem: you didn't put in your benefit request for the new semester. All students using benefits are required to submit a new request each semester (by law - it's a VA and State requirement).

Please contact the Veterans Services desk.

The most common cause of this problem: you didn't put in your benefit request and Hazlewood Application for the new semester. All students using benefits are required to submit a new request each semester (by law - it's a VA and State requirement).

The second most common cause of this: Hazlewood benefits don't cover all possible fees. Lab fees, Course Material fees, and Toolkits are not covered, so you still have to pay for them.

 

Supplemental Information

Paris Junior College is approved for veterans training under the provisions of various federal and state laws. Paris Junior College is compliant with the conditions for VA Educational Benefits listed in 38 USC 3679(e).

Veterans whose financial obligation exceeds their VA education benefit disbursement may be required to pay for the difference or set up a payment plan (which has a $25 fee). Paris Junior College does not participate in the VA’s Advance Payment Program or pre-certification.

 

Excused Absence for Active Military Service

Upon notice from a student, an institution of higher education shall excuse a student from attending classes or engaging in other required activities, including examinations, in order for the student to participate in active military service to which the student is called, including travel associated with the service.

A student whose absence is excused may not be penalized for that absence and shall be allowed to complete an assignment or take an examination from which the student is excused within a reasonable time after the absence. An instructor may appropriately respond if the student fails to satisfactorily complete the assignment or examination within a reasonable time after the absence. [Education Code 51.9111(c); 19 TAC 4.9(a)–(b)]

Should this situation occur, please contact the Veterans Services desk in the Financial Aid Office as soon as possible by phone at (903) 782-0371 or by email at veterans@parisjc.edu.