Military & Veterans Affairs
Kansas National Guard
At HCC we want to thank our Kansas National Guard servicemen and women. Highland is a proud supporter of our nation's military and we want to make starting your education here easier than ever!
Highland offers free tuition for all those in Kansas National Guard. Pair that with our 161-year history of providing top-notch education, our policy of accessibility, robust online offerings, easy transfer credits and credit for prior learning you can be on the way to earning an associates degree or technical certificate in no time.
Enrollment & Certification for Veterans
Highland Community College welcomes the opportunity to serve undergraduate veteran,
active duty, and reservist students. Please speak with your ESO or counselor within your military service branch prior
to enrolling.
To use your Veterans Administration (VA) education benefits, you must enroll in classes at HCC and then be certified by the HCC Registrar's office. Enrollment certification requests must be made each time you enroll in a new semester.
Take advantage of pre-registration dates and get your forms in early to ensure prompt payment from the VA. All email notifications will go to your HCC student email address. It is your responsibility to check this account regularly.
To complete your HCC enrollment certification with the VA, follow the instructions on this website for one of the four student statuses below.
New VA Benefit Users
All email notifications will go to your HCC student email address. It is your responsibility to check this account regularly.
To use your VA education benefits, you must enroll in classes at HCC and then be certified by the HCC Registrar's office. The VA will only pay for approved degree/certificate programs.
Step 1: Apply to VA
Apply to the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish your eligibility for education benefits. Once the VA has processed your application, they will send you a Certificate of Eligibility. This is your official notification that you are eligible to use your benefits.
Step 2: Apply to HCC
Step 3: Enroll in Classes
Once you are enrolled in classes, submit the following forms along with your certificate of eligibility to the HCC Registrar's office for enrollment verification.
- HCC Enrollment Certification Request Form-VA Education Benefits
- HCC Veteran Services Compliance Agreement Form
If you make a change to your schedule after you've submitted your original Enrollment
Certification Request, please complete and submit the Notice of Schedule Change for VA Education Benefits. This form must be completed EACH time a schedule change is made.
Returning VA Benefits Users
All email notifications will go to your HCC student email address. It is your responsibility to check this account regularly.
For each semester that you want to have your enrollment certified to the VA, you must download, complete and submit the following forms to the HCC Registrar's office.
- HCC Enrollment Certification Request Form-VA Education Benefits
- HCC Veteran Services Compliance Agreement Form
It is strongly recommended that you submit this form well in advance of the first day of courses for each semester.
If you make a change to your schedule after you've submitted your original Enrollment Certification Request, please complete and submit the Notice of Schedule Change for VA Education Benefits. This form must be completed EACH time a schedule change is made.
Your course schedule will be reviewed by the Registrar's office. To be certified to the VA, your classes must be required for your HCC degree plan. To ensure that your classes will be certified, you should request a HCC Graduation Check to see how your classes fit into your HCC degree plan.
Transfer VA Benefits Users
All email notifications will go to your HCC student email address. It is your responsibility to check this account regularly.
Once you are enrolled in classes, submit the following forms along with your certificate of eligibility to the HCC Registrar's office for enrollment verification.
- HCC Enrollment Certification Request Form-VA Education Benefits
- HCC Veteran Services Compliance Agreement Form
Transfer students must complete the Change of Program or Place of Training Form if benefits have been used at another institution.
If you make a change to your schedule after you've submitted your original Enrollment Certification Request, please complete and submit the Notice of Schedule Change for VA Education Benefits. This form must be completed EACH time a schedule change is made.
Guest VA Benefits Users
All email notifications will go to your HCC student email address. It is your responsibility to check this account regularly.
Step 1:
If you are a guest military student from another college, you must request a parent school letter from your current institution's Veterans Certifying Official be sent to the HCC Registrar's office.
Step 2:
The following forms must be completed and submitted to the HCC Registrar's office each semester.
- HCC Enrollment Certification Request Form-VA Education Benefits
- HCC Veteran Services Compliance Agreement Form
Once the HCC Registrar's office has received BOTH of these documents, your certificate of eligibility, and you are enrolled in approved classes at HCC, the Registrar's office will certify
your enrollment to the VA.
If you make a change to your schedule after you've submitted your original Enrollment Certification Request, please complete and submit the Notice of Schedule Change for VA Education Benefits. This form must be completed EACH time a schedule change is made.
Tuition Assistance
Service members who decide to use Tuition Assistance (TA) will be allowed to enroll only after the TA is approved by the individual's Educational Service Officer (ESO), counselor, or Service.
TA benefits require a separate application through the GI Bill and service members must submit an authorized approval to the HCC Business Office at 606 West Main St., Highland, KS 66035.
What VA Students Need to Know
- All email notifications will go to your HCC student email address. It is your responsibility to check this account regularly.
- To be eligible for VA educational benefits, students must be degree-seeking with a declared major.
- Veterans are paid according to the number of credits in which they are enrolled and the length of term and/or course.
- Student veterans are eligible to receive financial aid and VA benefits. To apply for financial aid, please contact the HCC Financial Aid Office.
- Courses required for veteran student degree programs will qualify for payment with VA educational benefits.
- Veteran students who have been previously enrolled in college coursework and have
not met satisfactory academic progress, will not qualify to receive veteran's benefits until they return to good academic
standing.
Additional VA Resources
For non-urgent questions, you can reach VA using the VA Health & Benefits App or MyHealtheVet secure messaging to schedule an appointment, refill prescriptions, and access your
medical records.
- For any questions or requests outside of Highland Community College, 1-800-MyVA411 (1-800-698-2411) is always the right number.
- Veterans Crisis Line: 988 and press 1, Chat, or Text 838255
- Vet Centers: 1-877-927-8387
- Homeless Veteran Resources: 1-877-424-3838 or Chat
- Ask VA
- Schedule a 1-on-1 Appointment with a VA Benefits Expert
- Find a VA facility near you
- VA Resources Near Highland, Kansas
- VA Health: St. Joseph VA Clinic (24.8 miles) - 4782 Sienna Drive St. Joseph, MO 64506
- VA Health: Dwight D. Eisenhower Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (44.8 miles) - 4101 4th Street Trafficway Leavenworth, KS 66048