Veteran & Military

We have many policies, procedures, and practices that assist our military and veteran students. The college has a long tradition of providing quality services including certification of Veteran Benefits, awarding of credit for military training, military deployment withdrawal policy and in-state tuition policy for military, veterans, and their dependents.

• Has a staff member who handles certification for VA and Tuition Assistance.
• Utilizes ACE credit recommendations along with faculty input to award credit for military training and courses.
• Has relationships with the Rock Island Arsenal, local National Guard Units, and Local Reserve Units.
• Provides in-state tuition (Board Policy 507) to military, veterans, and their dependents.
• EICC ensures students have access to the instituition's student loan Cohort Default Rate, see following tabs for more information.
• Allows military personnel called to active duty to withdraw without penalty (Student Handbook).
• Provide military and veteran related activities and events.
• Has a Student Veteran’s Organization with a EICC Student Veterans Facebook group, join us!
• Provides flexible learning options, including online, evenings, and short-term classes that are well positioned to serve the needs of military and veteran students.
• Ensures appropriate campus personel have attended VA and military benefit training to keep updated with changing regulations.
• Provides access to loan counseling and will disclose annual cohort default rates to service members interested in direct student loans (Administrative Procedure B23).
• Uses ethical practices at all times in the marketing and recruitment process of all students (Administrative Procedure B22).

Established by Executive Order 13607 in 2011, the Principles of Excellence ensure military-connected students are receiving the highest quality education in return for their hard-earned benefits. 

The principles are as follows:

• Provide students with a personalized form covering the total cost of an education program.
  
  
• Provide educational plans for all Military and Veteran education beneficiaries.
  
  
• End fraudulent and aggressive recruiting techniques and misrepresentation.
  
  
• Provide accommodations for Service Members and Reservists absent due to service requirements.
  
  
• Designate a Point of Contact for academic and financial advising.
  
  
• Ensure accreditation of all new programs prior to enrolling students.
  
  
• Align institutional refund policies with those under Title IV.

Before offering, recommending, arranging, signing up, disbursing, or enrolling Service members for direct student loans, Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) will provide Service members access to a financial aid specialist who will make available appropriate loan counseling, including, but not limited to: (1) Providing a clear and complete explanation of available financial aid, including Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended; (2) Describing the differences between subsidized and unsubsidized federal student loans to include terms, conditions, repayment and forgiveness options (Eastern Iowa Community Colleges does not promote Private Student Loans and does not maintain a Preferred Lender List); (3) Disclosing the College’s student loan Cohort Default Rate (CDR), the percentage of its students who borrow, and how its CDR compares to the national average; and (4) Explaining that students have the ability to refuse all or borrow less than the maximum student loan amount allowed.

EICC Student Loan Cohort Default Rate:

Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ 2019 Cohort Default Rate (CDR), as provided by the Department of Education on September 30, 2022, was 2.1% compared to the National Average CDR of 7.3%. The percentage of EICC students who borrowed during the 2021-22 academic year was 21%.

Eastern Iowa Community Three-year Official Cohort Default Rates

 

Active duty military personnel and military service veterans attending EICC, as well as their spouses and dependent children, are considered to be Iowa residents for admission, tuition, and fee purposes. This form can be obtained from the Registration Office at your campus.

EICC appreciates the contributions of our students who have served or are currently serving in the military.

Students who are called to active military duty should immediately contact the Veteran’s Affairs Office on their campus or designate a family member to do so.

Students who are a member, or the spouse of a member if the member has a dependent child, of the National Guard or Reserve Forces of the United States and who is ordered to national guard duty or federal active duty, may exercise one of the following options:

1. Withdraw from the student’s entire registration and receive a full refund of tuition and mandatory fees.
2. Make arrangements with the student’s instructors for course grades, or for incompletes that shall be completed by the student at a later date. If such arrangements are made, the student’s registration shall remain intact and tuition and mandatory fees shall be assessed for the courses in full.
3. Make arrangements with only some of the student’s instructors for grades, or for incompletes that shall be completed by the student at a later date. If such arrangements are made, the registration for those courses shall remain intact and tuition and mandatory fees shall be assessed for those courses. Any course for which arrangements cannot be made for grades or incompletes shall be considered dropped and the tuition and mandatory fees for the course refunded.

Students who must report for drill during the semester that will interfere with classes must:

• Contact the instructor as soon as the student is aware of the duty dates.
  
  • Produce written proof (orders, letter from CDMR or ISG, etc) to the instructors and academic advisor.
  • Create a course of action prior to speaking with instructors.
    
    

Schedule a meeting time with instructors to present written documentation and action plan. 

Go to the Military and Veteran Student Handbook

• Scott County Department of Veteran Affairs
• Clinton County Department of Veteran Affairs
• Muscatine County Department of Veteran Affairs

• Regional Processing Office (St. Louis) VA education benefits hotline
  888-442-4551
• VA Direct Deposit
  877-838-2778
• VA Medical Center
  601 Highway 6 West
  Iowa City, IA 52240
  319-338-0581
  1-866-687-7382 (Nurse VA Health Care)

• IAVA
• Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association
• VWF
• VVA Gateway Chapter #776
• Military OneSource
• Puppy Jake Foundation
• Wounded Warrior Project
• Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs Benefits
• Home Base Iowa
• VA Health Resources