Veteran Readiness and Employment

Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31)

The Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program, also known as Chapter 31, provides beneficiaries with tuition, fees, books, and school supplies through payments made directly to the school. You might also receive a monthly stipend.

You’re eligible to apply for VR&E benefits and services if:

If you are a Veteran:

All of these must be true:

• You didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge, and
• You have a service-connected disability rating of at least 10% from VA

If you are still on Active Duty:

At least one of these must be true:

• You have a 20% or higher pre-discharge disability rating (memorandum rating) and will soon leave the military or
• You’re waiting to be discharged because of a severe illness or injury that occurred while you were on active duty

If you think you qualify for aid through Chapter 31, apply on VA.gov.

The process for Chapter 31:

• The Chapter 31 counselor will meet with you and design a program tailored to your employment needs.
• Often, this includes completing a college degree program.
• If approved for higher education, the counselor will require a degree plan for the student-veteran’s course of study.
• Prior to every term and after you have registered for classes, you are required to submit a UMW Request for Veterans Benefits Form (RFB).
• Your Chapter 31 Vocational Readiness Counselor (VRC) will submit a series of Purchase Orders (POs) via a third-party vendor system called Tungsten. Your assigned VRC will provide you with the PO numbers. You will need two separate PO numbers: one for Tuition & Fees and a semester parking pass, and another for the UMW eCampus Bookstore to purchase books and school supplies.
  • How will this work once the eCampus bookstore receives the PO?
    • The student’s VRC will submit two authorizations via Tungsten Network: one to UMW for tuition and fees, and another to the UMW eCampus Bookstore, using umw@ecampus.com as the vendor email.
    • Once received, the UMW Online Bookstore Team will get an alert and post the credit balance. Tungsten typically takes 1-3 hours to update our account. After loading the voucher, it becomes ready instantly, and our system sends an award notification.
    • To order their books, the student will visit the bookstore at umw.ecampus.com and select Login/Sign Up in the upper-right corner. Select Sign In via Your School Account.
    • The student will select ‘Shop by Schedule.’ The ‘Shop by Schedule’ will sync the books they need based on the classes they are enrolled in.  The VA covers all ‘Required’ materials; no ‘Optional/Recommended’ items. 
    • Once they have selected their preference between new, used, textbook rental, or eBook, they add the books to their cart.
    • Next, they are directed to checkout. When it’s time to use the voucher, the student won’t need to enter any information. The charge balance will automatically appear on their account and be available at checkout.
    • All UMW students receive free shipping to the campus store. Delivery takes 1-3 business days, and all in-stock orders placed before 2 PM ship the same day. Once the package arrives at the campus store, the student will receive an email and a text message notifying them that their order is ready for pickup.
    • The VA will cover only ground shipping. If you rent a textbook, you must provide credit card information to secure the rental. Your card will be charged if you do not return the rental.
• It is suggested that all veterans with active cases who are experiencing difficulties with responses reach out to their assigned VRC via the following email: EVA@va.gov. The communication will go directly to the electronic case file, so even if there is a counselor change, VR&E will get it. If an email is sent to the counselor’s government email, VR&E may not receive it if the counselor has left or been changed.

The main Veteran Readiness and Employment office for most UMW Chapter 31 students is the:

National Capital Regional Benefits Office
1722 I Street NW
Washington, DC 20421

There are two Supervisory Veterans Readiness Counselors (VRCs) in the NCRBO Office:

NCRBO VRE Front Desk – (202) 530-9162