What Is the 85/13 Rule for VA Benefits?
Explore the VA's 85/13 rule, a key compliance standard for educational institutions that ensures program integrity for GI Bill® beneficiaries.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 85/15 rule is a regulation applied to educational programs approved for GI Bill® and other VA education benefits. Its primary function is to prevent the establishment of educational programs created solely to attract federal funding from veteran students. The rule aims to ensure program quality by requiring a reasonable number of non-veteran students to be enrolled and paying for their education without VA support.
Calculating the 85/15 Ratio
The 85/15 rule mandates that for a program to remain eligible for new VA student enrollments, no more than 85% of its students can have their tuition and fees paid for by the VA or the educational institution. The ratio is specific to each approved program at an institution, not the institution’s entire student body.
Supported students are those who have any portion of their tuition, fees, or other charges paid by the VA or their school. This includes veterans and their dependents using benefits like the Post-9/11 GI Bill®, the Montgomery GI Bill®, or the Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program. For terms starting on or after January 16, 2025, any student receiving institutional aid, such as a scholarship or grant from the school, is counted in the 85% “supported” category.
Non-supported students are those whose tuition and fees are not paid by the VA. This group includes individuals paying with their own funds, employer tuition assistance, or federal financial aid not administered by the VA, such as Pell Grants and federal student loans.
Consequences of Non-Compliance
When a program exceeds the 85% threshold for supported students, the VA will suspend new enrollments of VA-supported students into that program. This means the school’s certifying official is prohibited from submitting new enrollment certifications to the VA for that program of study.
This suspension remains in effect until the institution demonstrates that the program has returned to compliance. This restriction typically impacts only new or transferring students. Students already enrolled and receiving VA benefits in the non-compliant program are permitted to continue their studies and receive funding without interruption, as long as they remain continuously enrolled.
Exemptions from the Rule
An exemption applies to accredited institutions where the total number of students receiving VA benefits is 35% or less of the total student population. Meeting this threshold relieves them of the need to compute, monitor, and report these ratios.
Additional exemptions exist for specific program types. A waiver may be granted for programs with a very small number of VA-supported students, typically fewer than 10. Certain on-the-job training and hospital-based training programs may also be exempt.