Veterans Center

Getting Started

How do I use my VA benefit?

If you are a veteran or service member, or are using a VA education benefit and going to attend Central Washington University, please complete the Veterans Center Information Form. This is the initial step to setting up your VA education benefit with our office, and will allow us to send you detailed information that is specific to the benefit that you will be using. Beyond this, completing this form will allow our office to place you into our Canvas course which we use to share information with our service members, veterans, and their families at CWU.

There is no reason to wait to be admitted to begin the process of applying for your VA Education Benefit. You can apply online at the VA Website. If you would like to learn more about the different VA education benefits, you will want to use the GI Bill® Comparison Tool. Beyond this, if you have not applied to CWU, you can do so by visiting the admissions application webpage. We are excited to share that veterans and service members can receive an admissions application fee waiver. To use this waiver, it is important that you upload a copy of your DD-214 or current orders at the end of your application before submitting.

Every VA education benefit requires initial paperwork that you will need to submit to our office. To collect this paperwork we use an online Canvas course to which you will be added after you complete our Veterans Center Information Form. When we place you into Canvas, you will be emailed instructions on how to access and navigate the course. Within Canvas, you will be able to see what documents are required, download forms to complete, and submit them to us electronically.

If you have not been admitted to CWU or accepted your admissions offer, you will not have access to Canvas. We can still collect the initial paperwork needed to certify your benefit, but would do so outside of Canvas either through email or with paper documents.

What do I do once my initial paperwork is complete?

Registering for Classes

Once the initial paperwork is complete, your next step to use your benefit is to respond to a pop-up message that appears when you register for classes. This message will ask if you would like to use your benefit for the quarter which you are registering for. When you answer "Yes", our office is able to receive a copy of your class schedule. We use this copy of your class schedule to review that the courses you are enrolled in are required for your program or major/minor(s); and to report your enrollment to the VA.

Enrollment Hold

Once we report your enrollment to the VA, also known as certifying your benefit, we will place an enrollment hold on your account. This is not a negative thing and is done because we must update the VA if you change or modify your schedule after your benefit has been certified. If you need the enrollment hold removed, please simply contact our office.