Citation Nr: 19124382 Decision Date: 04/04/19 Archive Date: 04/01/19 DOCKET NO. 16-59 746 DATE: April 4, 2019 ORDER An overpayment of educational assistance benefits under the Chapter 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill in the amount of $5,759.44 was not properly created and the appeal is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The regional office (RO) determined that an overpayment of housing and books/supplies totalling $5,759.44 had been created due to the Veteran’s failure to attend classes from February 9, 2016 until May 20, 2016. 2. The Veteran had a certificate of eligibility for Chapter 33 educational benefits, she enrolled in qualifying courses at an approved institution of higher learning, the institution of higher learning certified the Veteran’s enrollment, and the Veteran attended the classes until their completion on May 20, 2016. CONCLUSION OF LAW The overpayment of Chapter 33 education benefits was not properly created, and the debt is invalid. 38 U.S.C. §§ 3690, 5112, 5113 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 21.9695, 21.9720 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1990 to September 2010. Whether an overpayment of Chapter 33 educational benefits in the amount of $5,759.44 was properly created. In October 2016, the VA regional office (RO) informed the Veteran that an overpayment of educational benefits in the amount of $5,759.44 had been created and that she must repay the amount owed. The RO found that the Veteran had not attended classes as certified for the enrollment period ending May 20, 2016. The RO noted that the correct time frame for the Veteran’s course of study was from March 30, 2015 to February 9, 2016. The documents from the RO indicate that an overpayment was created because the Veteran did not attend classes from February 9, 2016 until May 20, 2016. The RO found that for that period, from February 9, 2016 until May 20, 2016, the Veteran received $137.10 for books/supplies and $5,622.34 for housing allowance, for a total of $5,759.44. The Veteran pointed out in her notice of disagreement (NOD) that she did go to classes from February 9, 2016, to May 20, 2016. She further pointed out that VA had previously approved her educational program up until May 20, 2016 and that it was unfair for VA to bill her for previously approved educational benefits months after her completion of the college program. In support of her arguments, she submitted various school documents. This included a sheet showing the courses she was taking her last semester and her attendance in these classes. This document shows that she continued to attend her approved classes until May 20, 2016. For a determination that an overpayment was not properly created, such that the debt was not valid, it must be established that the appellant was either legally entitled to the benefits in question or, if the appellant was not legally entitled, then it must be shown that VA was solely responsible for the appellant being erroneously paid benefits. Sole administrative error connotes that the appellant neither had knowledge of nor should have been aware of the erroneous award. Further, neither the appellant’s actions nor his or her failure to act must have contributed to payment pursuant to the erroneous award. 38 U.S.C. § 5112(b)(9), (10); 38 C.F.R. § 3.500(b)(2). Here the record indicates that the Veteran had a certificate of eligibility for Chapter 33 educational benefits, that she enrolled in qualifying courses at an approved institution of higher learning, that the institution of higher learning certified the Veteran’s enrollment, and that the Veteran attended the classes until their completion on May 20, 2016. The RO’s October 2016 assertion that the Veteran was not entitled to the approved educational benefits based on her failure to attend the classes is not supported by the record. Accordingly, the Board finds that the overpayment was not properly created, and the debt is invalid. G. A. WASIK Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD R. E. Jones, Counsel