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Education and Training

Online School Official Training

Required Training for School Certifying Officials - Effective August 1, 2018

Section 305 of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, known as the “Forever GI Bill,” requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in consultation with the State Approving Agencies, to develop and administer required training for School Certifying Officials (SCOs) effective August 1, 2018.

Covered Educational Institution

Training is required for “new” SCOs who work at covered educational institutions that have enrolled 20 or more individuals using GI Bill® benefits. Covered educational institutions also include those other locations (e.g. branch campuses, extensions, satellite locations, annexes, etc.) that have a combined 20 or more individuals using GI Bill® benefits. Click Covered Educational Institution to verify if your facility is subject to the training requirement.  SCOs who have questions regarding covered educational institutions should direct them to the ELR of jurisdiction. Procedures are forthcoming for individuals who are not subject to this training requirement.

Who is affected?

New SCOs at educational institutions that have enrolled 20 or more individuals using GI Bill benefits will be required to take training.

  • This includes institutions with multiple branch locations that have a combined 20 or more individuals using GI Bill benefits.
  • New SCOs are individuals who begin work as a SCO on or after August 1, 2018.
  • New SCOs will be identified using VA Form 22-8794 (Designation of School Certifying Officials).

Training Requirements and Registration Process

The training program consists of multiple training modules designed to present the concepts and procedures necessary for a SCO to successfully perform the basic functions of his/her duties.

  • The new training program will be deployed in two phases.
  • Phase 1 will be available online by August 1, 2018, and apply to new SCOs only.
  • New SCOs will be required to complete 10 online training modules (approximately five hours of training) within 14 calendar days from the date the ELR takes the action in the Web Enabled Approval Management System (WEAMS) and pre-registers the SCOs for training. Training will be made available through the School Certifying Official (SCO) Course.
  • VA’s Education Liaison Representatives (ELR) of jurisdiction will assist with the registration process.
  • Phase 2 of the training will not be available until August 1, 2019, and will impact all SCOs continuing employment on or after August 1, 2019. More information will be provided in 2019.
  • SCOs will be required to take training on an annual basis to remain compliant with this law.

Consequences for Non-Compliance

VA will send reminders and notifications to SCOs throughout the training window to make them aware of the deadline. If a SCO is non-compliant after the deadline has passed, an automated email will be sent informing them of the impending loss of their ability to certify. Following that, VA may disapprove any course of education offered by the educational institution if it fails to ensure its SCO(s) satisfies the training requirements.

Training for School Certifying Officials

Note: Effective August 1, 2018, this training will be replaced for new School Certifying Officials only, as described above.

Online Training For New School Officials - This training is designed for school officials and those not familiar with the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The content may also be used as refresher training. Viewing the courseware requires Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher.

  • You must complete the tutorial portion of the course to advance in the training module.
  • New material has been added on the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
  • Module 2 now has one test at the end of the module, instead of a test at the end of each lesson. Anyone whose access was locked due to failure of the test for Lesson 1 will have access restored. With the addition of the Post-9/11 GI Bill topic, any individual who previously completed the entire course should retake the course as it will no longer be marked as finished until the Post-9/11 GI Bill topic has been completed.
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