Rounding Out

Rounding Out

The webinar explains how VA “rounding out” works during a student’s final term, including standard rules and newer rules for Chapter 33 and STEM students. Rounding out allows a school to certify additional coursework that is not required for graduation so a student can reach a higher training-time or Rate of Pursuit level.

Core Rules

• Once per program, and only in the final term: A student may use rounding out once for each program.
• The goal is to reach a relevant enrollment threshold—not to take unlimited extra courses:
  • Under standard rounding out, students may add courses to reach up to full-time enrollment.
  • Under Dole rounding out, eligible Chapter 33 and STEM students must be enrolled at more than 50% Rate of Pursuit to receive full-time Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA).
• In general, entitlement is charged according to the credits actually enrolled, not the number of credits the student would need to reach full-time.
• Rounding out is available to non-college-degree (NCD) schools that offer courses in credit hours and operate on a term, block, or unit basis. It is not available to clock-hour NCD programs.

Which Courses May Be Used?

Ordinarily, added courses must be offered as part of the student’s program. Courses outside the student’s program may be used only if:

1. The student has taken or is enrolled in every course offered as part of the program; or
2. The remaining courses in the program are not offered during the student’s final term.

General education courses may qualify if they meet the applicable rules. A course the student has already successfully completed cannot be used as a repeat course for rounding out.

Standard vs. Dole Rounding Out

Standard Rounding Out

• Applies to students across benefit types, including non-Chapter 33 and Chapter 33 students.
• A student below full-time in their final term may add courses to reach up to full-time.
• This may help a Chapter 33 student who needs full-time enrollment to meet a school, scholarship, grant, or other financial-aid requirement.

Dole Rounding Out

• Applies to Chapter 33 and STEM beneficiaries.
• A student does not have to reach full-time. They must be above 50% Rate of Pursuit to receive full-time MHA, while entitlement is charged for the credits actually taken.
• The presenter recommends checking the rounding-out box in Enrollment Manager for Chapter 33 and STEM students who use rounding out in their final term, whether they use the standard or Dole approach.
• According to the presenter, Chapter 31 is covered by the Remote Act’s rounding-out provisions, but not by Dole rounding out.

For Chapter 33, the presenter notes that the greater-than-50% threshold comes from the MHA eligibility rules, rather than being stated directly in the Dole Act provision itself.

Examples and Calculation Points

In a simplified 12-credit full-time term:

• 3 credits is 25%, so the student does not qualify for Dole rounding out.
• 6 credits is exactly 50%, which is not enough; the student must be above 50%.
• 7 credits is about 58%, so it is above the threshold.
• A small additional course—one credit in this example—could move a student from exactly 50% to above 50%.

These calculations are simplified. Nonstandard terms can have different Rate of Pursuit calculations, and VA calculations may use precise decimal values.

A student already enrolled full-time does not need rounding out to reach full-time. Rounding out is intended for students who are below the relevant threshold.

Enrollment Manager and Certification Guidance

• Eligible students were expected to see a “Rounding Out Last Term” button in Enrollment Manager after the feature’s planned release.
• The webinar identifies the expected eligibility combination as:
  • Benefit type: Chapter 33 or STEM
  • Facility type: IHL
  • Training type: IHL or NCD, where applicable
• For standard rounding out, the presenter says no additional remarks or comments are needed simply to explain that the student is rounding out.
• If a Chapter 33 or STEM certification needs to be changed to indicate rounding out, amend it when the need is identified; do not wait for a Section 1010 process.

FAQs and Special Situations

• Drop or withdrawal: Report the change within 30 days. If the change means the student no longer qualifies, the student cannot use rounding out again for that program, since it is limited to one use in the final term.
• Already terminated: If a student could have qualified for Dole rounding out but has already been terminated, the presenter advises not to recertify. Instead, send the case to Ask VA.
• Parent/guest arrangements: The parent school should tell the guest school that it is the student’s final term, such as in the parent letter.
• Standard and nonstandard terms in the same semester: Select the longest term with the latest end date for the rounding-out certification. MHA eligibility is assessed for terms individually and where terms overlap.
• Multiple facility codes: Treat each facility code separately and use judgment about whether rounding out should be reported for each one.

The presenter said the webinar was recorded and that the same information, along with additional examples, would be available in Office Hours and in an updated SCO Handbook.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Speaker: An unnamed female presenter representing the Veterans Benefits Administration.
• Audience contributions: Poll responses and written questions or comments from webinar attendees. Attendees mentioned by name include Shawna, Kelly, Robert, Steven/Steve, John, Sybil, Gerardo, Hazen, Jay, Brian, Jamie/Jami, Vance, Heather, Natalie, Mike, Jessica, and Todd.
• Sources and systems discussed: The Remote Act, the Dole Act, the SCO Handbook, Enrollment Manager, Section 1010, and Ask VA.