Clarification Concerning Tuition and Fees Payment Plans for Standard Terms and 85/15 Calculations

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides notice of a policy advisory issued on August 31, 2021, by VA's Education Service. The policy advisory clarifies and amends VA's previous regulatory interpretation of tuition and fees (T&F) payment plans to differentiate between types of payment plans. Some payment plans should no longer be categorized as institutional support to a student when calculating the ratio of "supported" to "non-supported" students in a program pursuant to the 85/15 Rule. While VA is retaining the general rule that a student who has a payment plan with an Educational Training Institute (ETI) should be considered supported, a student participating in a payment plan that meets the criteria set forth in this notice should not be considered supported and, instead, should be counted on the non- supported side of the 85/15 ratio.