GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site.
Apply VA Education Benefits
Receive Benefits at NIU
- Submit a copy of your Certification of Eligibility to Military and Veteran Services.
- Submit an NIU Enrollment Certification Request each semester after you have registered for classes.
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You must verify your attendance each month you are enrolled in school. This will trigger your monthly payment. You can verify by phone at
877-823-2378 or
online at the VA (Chapters 31, 33 and 35 students are exempt).
Eligibility for Benefits
The GI Bill Comparison Tool will assist you in calculating benefits and research approved programs.
- Chapter 30 - Montgomery G.I. Bill (active duty) - Available to veterans who entered military service on or after July 1, 1985.
- Chapter 31 - Veterans Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program (VR & E) - Available to veterans who have been determined eligible by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Besides the monthly stipend, these students have their tuition, fees, books and supplies expenses covered.
- Chapter 32 - Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP) - Available to post-Vietnam era veterans who entered active duty on or after January 1, 1977, and before July 1, 1985, and who contributed to the VEAP program while in the military.
- Chapter 33 - The Post 9/11 G.I Bill - Educational assistance is available to individuals who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001. Benefits are payable for training pursued on or after August 1, 2009. No payments can be made under this program for training pursued before that date.
- Chapter 35 - Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Program (DEA) - Available to children and spouses of veterans who died or are permanently and totally disabled as the result of a service-connected disability and to the children and spouses of veterans who have been listed as a POW or MIA for a period of 90 days.
- Chapter 1606 - Montgomery G.I. Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB SR) - Available to students who are members of the National Guard or Selected Reserve. Those students who are members of the National Guard are not considered veterans for determining independent status for financial aid application purposes unless their DD-214 reflects active duty for purposes other than training.
- Chapter 1607 - Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) - Available to students who, as members of the National Guard or Selected Reserve, were called or ordered to active duty in response to a war or national emergency as declared by the President of Congress, and were activated for a minimum of 90 days after September 11, 2001.
- Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) - Are you the spouse of an active duty member of the Department of Defense or federally activated member of the National Guard or Reserve? Eligible military spouses are now able to receive up to $6,000 of MyCAA financial assistance that can help you pursue education, training, licenses, certificates and degrees leading to employment in certain portable career fields.
- Tuition Assistance TOP-UP - Available to students who will use tuition assistance to complete a degree program while on active duty, but won't continue education after service. It can also be used to take a few classes with tuition assistance while on active duty.
Veteran Affairs Pending Payment Compliance
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), Northern Illinois University 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. Northern Illinois University 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.