Citation Nr: 20009612 Decision Date: 02/06/20 Archive Date: 02/05/20 DOCKET NO. 14-17 887 DATE: February 6, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) benefits for the term of a course of study at Fortis Institute from January 6, 2014, to March 28, 2014, is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran, who otherwise meets the basic eligibility requirements for VRAP benefits, was not enrolled as a full-time student from January 6, 2014, to March 28, 2014. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to VRAP benefits from January 6, 2014, to March 28, 2014, have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 4100; 38 C.F.R. §§ 21.4270, 21.4272; Pub. L. No. 112-56, § 211 (Nov. 21, 2011). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1982 to December 1987. The Veteran failed to report for a scheduled hearing in April 2019. The hearing request is deemed withdrawn because the Veteran failed to report for this hearing, and no request for postponement has been received. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.704. In this case, the appeal must be denied as the appellant did not maintain full-time enrollment for the January 6, 2014, to March 28, 2014, term. There is no question that she otherwise qualified for VRAP benefits for that term. The Veterans Retraining Assistance Program was a component of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, passed by Congress, signed into law by the President, and is set forth as a note in 38 U.S.C. § 4100. See Pub. L. 112-56, Title II, § 211, 125 Stat. 713. VRAP offered up to 12 months of training assistance to unemployed veterans. Participants could pursue an approved program of education offered by a community college or technical school that led to an associate degree or a certificate (or other similar evidence of the completion of the program of education or training) and was designed to provide training for a high-demand occupation. VRAP § 211(b). Participants must attend full-time in order to receive up to 12 months of assistance equal to the monthly full-time payment rate under the Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty program. Participants will not receive benefits for any time period during which the training drops below full-time. Participants must be enrolled in a VA approved program of education offered by a community college or technical school. The program must lead to an associate degree, non-college degree, or a certificate, and train the Veteran for a high demand occupation. VRAP § 211(b). In a January 2014 letter, the RO informed the Veteran that her application for Veterans Retraining Assistance Program benefits for the January 6, 2014, to March 28, 2014, term was denied because she was not enrolled full-time. The Veteran appealed in May 2014, stating that the school was designed for a specific curriculum and she had been unaware that there would be terms that she would not be considered full-time for VA purposes. She said that she felt that she was being penalized for taking 10 credit hours instead of 12 credit hours because of the school’s scheduling, which she could not control. The Veteran asserted that the school ensnared her by telling her that she would be eligible for the VRAP program. Once she was obligated for the loans to go to the school they did not care whether she received VRAP or not. She noted that when she started school in July 2013, she was full time. She said that she was not enrolled in VRAP at that time. The Board certainly is sympathetic to the Veteran’s situation; however, the record reflects that the Veteran was not full-time for the January 6, 2014, to March 28, 2014 term for purposes of VRAP benefits. Documentation from the Fortis Institute, on a VA Form 22-1998 dated June 11, 2013, states that full-time enrollment is 12 credits. In January 2014, the school electronically submitted a VA Form 22-1999 to VA certifying that the Veteran was only enrolled in 10 credits from January 6, 2014, to March 28, 2014. Consequently, the Board must conclude that the Veteran does not satisfy the legal requirement for such benefits during that term. Although sympathetic to the Veteran’s arguments, the Board is without legal authority to grant entitlement to VRAP benefits from January 6, 2014, to March 28, 2014, on an equitable basis. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 503, 7104; Harvey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 416, 425 (1994). The Board cannot ignore the fact that her coursework did not satisfy the regulation definition for full-time for VRAP purposes. Accordingly, her appeal must be denied. G. A. WASIK Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board R. E. Jones, Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.