Advisor Approval Required for Certification
Undergraduate Students – Contact your College Student Academic Services (SAS) office for instructions. College SAS offices approve
courses for VA certification; however, some College SAS offices may also require approval from your Department.
Graduate Students – Contact your Department to obtain approval of your courses.
INFORMATION THAT MAY AFFECT YOUR CERTIFICATION
The VA will only pay for courses that are REQUIRED for your degree. All courses used for VA certification will be evaluated according
to the program sheet for your major. To view your program sheet, please visit: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ovcaa/programsheets/
E
xplorato
ry Students
If you are an Exploratory student or have not yet decided on your major, the VA will only pay for courses that meet
UHM General Education Core and Graduation requirements. You are required to select an intended major by your
junior year (60 earned credits).
If you are an Exploratory student and have an intended major, only courses on the program sheet of your intended
major can be approved for VA certification.
Important Policies
Add/Drop: Any changes to your enrollment status may impact the benefits you are receiving. You must notify the School
Certifying Official immediately if you add, drop or withdraw from a course by completing a VA Add/Drop form.
Certificates: Please check with the School Certifying Official for a list of VA-approved UHM certificates. The VA will only pay for
courses that are required for the certificate. Prerequisite courses cannot be certified.
Duplicate Credits: VA policy states that you can only be certified for courses that you will receive credit for. At UHM, students
can earn only one set of credits for courses that are equivalent or comparable in content. For more information, see the
current UHM catalog. See examples below:
Credit is allowed for only one of: [CHEM 100, 131, 151, 161, 171, 181A], [MATH 203, 215, 241, 251A]
Credit is not allow
ed for: [MATH 134 and 140], [MATH 134 and 161]
GPA: C
ourses taken for the purpose of raising your GPA cannot be certified (please see “Repeating Courses”).
Grades (W, NC, I): UHM will report withdrawals (W), No Credit (NC) and Incomplete (I) grades to the VA which may result in an
overpayment that will need to be repaid to the university and/or the VA.
Grading Options: All courses MUST be taken for a letter grade (A-F) unless credit/no credit (CR/NC) is the default grading
option (excludes first semester Law students). Audited courses cannot be certified.
Hawaiian or Second Language (HSL) requirement: Please speak with a School Certifying Official if you plan to switch languages
or take a different track (i.e., regular track vs. oral track) in order to complete your HSL requirement. The VA may not pay for
courses in another language or track if you have already earned credits toward this requirement.
Minors: The VA will only pay for courses that are required for the minor(s). Prerequisite courses cannot be certified. You must
submit a VA Minor Form to the Office of the Registrar before minor courses can be certified.
Multiple Majors and/or Degrees: Course requirements for a second major/degree can be certified after your second
major/degree has been officially declared. Approvals from both colleges/schools are required on the VA Enrollment Form.
Placement Exams for CHEM 131 & MATH 134: The VA requires your placement exam results for CHEM 131 and/or MATH 134
prior to certification of these courses. Please have the Chemistry and/or Math Department(s) complete a VA Placement Exam
Results Form and submit the completed form to the Office of the Registrar.
Chemistry Placement Exam: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/chem/academics/undergraduate/placement-exam/
Math Placement Exam: http://math.hawaii.edu/wordpress/placement-exam/
Repeating Courses:
You may repeat a course in which you received a grade that does not meet the
minimum grade
requirement
for continuation in your degree program or graduation requirement(s).
Sch
olarships/Waivers [CH 33 Post-9/11 recipients only]: If you receive a scholarship/waiver (or other funds) designated solely
for tuition, UHM will deduct that amount from the tuition reported to the VA. If funds are applied after certification, UHM will
update your tuition amount with the VA.
Transfer Credits: All transfer credits should be evaluated before requesting certification. Courses for which you have been
granted credit cannot be certified again.
UHM Study Abroad (SA) & Mānoa International Exchange (MIX): You may receive VA benefits while participating in these
programs. Certified credits must transfer back to UHM and fulfill degree requirements. Any certified credits that do not
transfer back to UHM and/or fulfill degree requirements will be decertified and may result in an overpayment that will need to
be repaid to the university and/or the VA. UHM course equivalencies should be reported when requesting certification.
**Other policies not listed on this page may also impact your certification. VA policy is subject to change without notice.**
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