§ 3482. Computation of educational assistance allowances
(a)
(1)
Except as provided in subsection (b), (c), or (g) of this section, or section
3687 of this title, while pursuing a program of education under this chapter of half-time or more, each eligible veteran shall be paid the monthly educational assistance allowance set forth in column II, III, IV, or V (whichever is applicable as determined by the veteran’s dependency status) opposite the applicable type of program as shown in column I:
| Column I | Type of program | Column II | No dependents | Column III | One dependent | Column IV | Two dependents | Column V | More than two dependents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The amount in column IV, plus the following for each dependent in excess of two: | |||||||||
| Institutional training: | |||||||||
| Full-time | $376 | $448 | $510 | $32 | |||||
| Three-quarter time | 283 | 336 | 383 | 24 | |||||
| Half-time | 188 | 224 | 255 | 17 | |||||
| Cooperative | 304 | 355 | 404 | 23 |
(2)
A “cooperative” program, other than a “farm cooperative” program, means a full-time program of education which consists of institutional courses and alternate phases of training in a business or industrial establishment with the training in the business or industrial establishment being strictly supplemental to the institutional portion.
(b)
The educational assistance allowance of an individual pursuing a program of education—
shall be computed at the rate of
(A)
the established charges for tuition and fees which the institution requires similarly circumstanced nonveterans enrolled in the same program to pay, or
(B)
$376 per month for a full-time course, whichever is the lesser. An individual’s entitlement shall be charged for institutional courses on the basis of the applicable monthly training time rate as determined under section
3688 of this title.
(c)
(1)
An eligible veteran who is enrolled in an educational institution for a “farm cooperative” program consisting of institutional agricultural courses prescheduled to fall within 44 weeks of any period of 12 consecutive months and who pursues such program on—
(A)
a full-time basis (a minimum of ten clock hours per week or four hundred and forty clock hours in such year prescheduled to provide not less than eighty clock hours in any three-month period),
shall be eligible to receive an educational assistance allowance at the appropriate rate provided in the table in paragraph (2) of this subsection, if such eligible veteran is concurrently engaged in agricultural employment which is relevant to such institutional agricultural courses as determined under standards prescribed by the Secretary. In computing the foregoing clock hour requirements there shall be included the time involved in field trips and individual and group instruction sponsored and conducted by the educational institution through a duly authorized instructor of such institution in which the veteran is enrolled.
(2)
The monthly educational assistance allowance of an eligible veteran pursuing a farm cooperative program under this chapter shall be paid as set forth in column II, III, IV, or V (whichever is applicable as determined by the veteran’s dependency status) opposite the basis shown in column I:
| Column I | Basis | Column II | No dependents | Column III | One dependent | Column IV | Two dependents | Column V | More than two dependents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The amount in column IV, plus the following for each dependent in excess of two: | |||||||||
| Full-time | $304 | $355 | $404 | $23 | |||||
| Three-quarter time | 228 | 266 | 303 | 18 | |||||
| Half-time | 152 | 178 | 202 | 12 |
(d)
(1)
Notwithstanding the prohibition in section
3471 of this title prohibiting enrollment of an eligible veteran in a program of education in which such veteran has “already qualified,” a veteran shall be allowed up to six months of educational assistance (or the equivalent thereof in part-time assistance) for the pursuit of refresher training to permit such veteran to update such veteran’s knowledge and skills and to be instructed in the technological advances which have occurred in such veteran’s field of employment during and since the period of such veteran’s active military service.
(e)
The educational assistance allowance of an eligible veteran pursuing an independent study program which leads to a standard college degree shall be computed at the rate provided in subsection (b) of this section. If the entire training is to be pursued by independent study, the amount of such veteran’s entitlement to educational assistance under this chapter shall be charged in accordance with the rate at which the veteran is pursuing the independent study program but at not more than the rate at which such entitlement is charged for pursuit of such program on less than a half-time basis. In any case in which independent study is combined with resident training, the educational assistance allowance shall be paid at the applicable institutional rate based on the total training time determined by adding the number of semester hours (or the equivalent thereof) of resident training to the number of semester hours (or the equivalent thereof) of independent study that do not exceed the number of semester hours (or the equivalent thereof) required for the less than half-time institutional rate, as determined by the Secretary, for resident training. A veteran’s entitlement shall be charged for a combination of independent study and resident training on the basis of the applicable monthly training time rate as determined under section
3688 of this title.
(f)
The educational assistance allowance of an eligible veteran pursuing a course by open circuit television shall be computed in the same manner that such allowance is computed under subsection (e) of this section for an independent study program.
(g)
(1)
Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of this subsection, the amount of the educational assistance allowance paid to an eligible veteran who is pursuing a program of education under this chapter while incarcerated in a Federal, State, local, or other penal institution or correctional facility for conviction of a felony may not exceed such amount as the Secretary determines, in accordance with regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe, is necessary to cover the cost of established charges for tuition and fees required of similarly circumstanced nonveterans enrolled in the same program and to cover the cost of necessary supplies, books, and equipment, or the applicable monthly educational assistance allowance prescribed for a veteran with no dependents in subsection (a)(1) or (c)(2) of this section or section
3687
(b)(1) of this title, whichever is the lesser. The amount of the educational assistance allowance payable to a veteran while so incarcerated shall be reduced to the extent that the tuition and fees of the veteran for any course are paid under any Federal program (other than a program administered by the Secretary) or under any State or local program.
(h)
(1)
Subject to paragraph (3), the amount of educational assistance payable under this chapter for a licensing or certification test described in section
3452
(b) of this title is the lesser of $2,000 or the fee charged for the test.
(2)
The number of months of entitlement charged in the case of any individual for such licensing or certification test is equal to the number (including any fraction) determined by dividing the total amount paid to such individual for such test by the full-time monthly institutional rate of the educational assistance allowance which, except for paragraph (1), such individual would otherwise be paid under this chapter.