Veteran Priority of Service

1.0    Purpose

This policy establishes guidelines for meeting priority of service for student veterans and eligible spouses.

2.0    Revision History

3.0    Persons Affected

3.1    A student who is a veteran

3.2    The spouse of a veteran who meets any of the following criteria.

Spouse of a living veteran who:

• at the time of application for priority of service, is listed in one or more of the following categories for a total of more than 90 days: missing in action; captured in the line of duty by a hostile force, or forcibly detained or interned in the line of duty by a foreign government or power.
• has a total disability resulting from a service-connected disability as evaluated by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Spouse of a deceased veteran who:

• died of a service-connected disability
• died with a service connected disability as qualified by Veterans Affairs.

4.0    Policy

The policy of Casper College is to ensure the following.

4.1    The college provides priority of service for eligible veterans and their spouses.

4.2    The college abides by federal and state grant requirements regarding veteran priority of service. This includes all programs fully or partially funded by federal or state grants requiring veteran priority of service.

4.3    The college abides by all federal, state, and local laws regarding veteran priority of service.

5.0    Definitions

5.1    Veteran. Someone who has who served at least one day in active military, naval, or air services, and who was honorably discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. This includes full-time or active duty federal service in the National Guard or Reserves that have been mobilized by the federal government.

5.2    Priority of Service. Persons affected are entitled to precedence over non-affected persons in qualifying programs. The college may provide them access to a service or training earlier or, if access is limited, instead of or before non-affected persons. In the case of a waitlist, priority of service is intended to require an affected person to advance up the waitlist ahead of non-affected persons.

5.2.1    Persons affected must still meet the program eligibility requirements. When “low income” is a program qualification, the college must disregard any active duty military pay, allowances, or disability or survivor benefits when determining income levels.

5.2.2    Priority of service is not used to bump a non-affected person who has already been approved for funding and enrolled into a program.

5.2.3    The college may set priority of service application deadlines consistent with acceptance and enrollment deadlines that all students must follow.

5.3    Qualifying Program. This includes any workforce preparation, development, or delivery program or service directly funded, in whole or in part, by the Department of Labor.

6.0    Responsibilities

6.1    Employees who select students for a qualifying program or who manage waitlists are responsible for maintaining compliance with this policy.

7.0    Procedures

7.1    Affected persons self-identify and request priority of service.

7.2    Employees admitting students into qualifying programs or managing a wait list will work with the college’s veterans coordinator to verify the applicants’ eligibility and provide priority of service to qualifying applicants.