Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and Other Family Members
Executive Order 13607, signed April 27, 2012 by the President of the United States, established Principles of Excellence (POE) for educational institutions serving service members, veterans, spouses, and other family members. Eight Principles of Excellence are described in the Order.Compliance with the POE is intended to ensure an institution provides meaningful information to prospective and current military associated students about the financial cost and quality of the institution; to assist those students in making choices about how to use their Federal educational benefits; prevent abusive and deceptive recruiting practices that target the recipients of Federal military and veterans educational benefits; and ensure that the institution provides high-quality academic and student support services to the respective group of students.
Valor Christian College complies with the Principles of Excellence. Demonstration of compliance is provided as follows:
| Principles of Excellence | How We Comply |
|---|---|
| Prior to enrollment, provide prospective students who are eligible to receive Federal military and veterans educational benefits with a personalized and standardized form, as developed in a manner set forth by the Secretary of Education, working with the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs, to help those prospective students understand the total cost of the educational program, including tuition and fees; the amount of that cost that will be covered by Federal educational benefits; the type and amount of financial aid they may qualify for; their estimated student loan debt upon graduation; information about student outcomes; and other information to facilitate comparison of aid packages offered by different educational institutions |
Valor Christian College will provide a Financial Aid Shopping Sheet to veterans and service members before they decide to attend the institution. Valor will provide the Shopping Sheet to students who are eligible to receive Federal military or veterans education benefits. The Financial Aid Shopping Sheet is a consumer tool that participating institutions use to notify students about their financial aid package. It is a standardized form that is designed to simplify the information that prospective students receive about costs and financial aid so that they can easily compare institutions and make informed decisions about where to attend school. Upon request, Valor will provide a completed Shopping Sheet to any accepted student. |
| Inform students who are eligible to receive Federal military and veterans educational benefits of the availability of Federal financial aid and have in place policies to alert those students of their potential eligibility for that aid before packaging or arranging private student loans or alternative financing programs. | The College will email all identified prospective students information regarding the availability of federal and state financial aid and VA benefits. Upon receipt of admission application, additional information will be provided detailing the steps to apply for financial aid or VA benefits at the College to those applicants who declare their intent to utilize those benefits. Similar information will be posted on the College’s Financial Aid webpage. |
| Principles of Excellence | How We Comply |
| End fraudulent and unduly aggressive recruiting techniques on and off military installations, as well as misrepresentation, payment of incentive compensation, and failure to meet State authorization requirements, consistent with the regulations issued by the Department of Education (34 C.F.R. 668.71-668.75, 668.14, and 600.9). | The College does not conduct fraudulent or aggressive recruiting on or off military installations or in any other venue, nor do we misrepresent ourselves, our programs, or our mission. We do not pay incentive compensation to anyone for recruiting actions. We meet all State authorization requirements consistent with those issued by the Department of Education. |
| Obtain the approval of the institution's accrediting agency for new course or program offerings before enrolling students in such courses or programs, provided that such approval is appropriate under the substantive change requirements of the accrediting agency. | The College obtains approval from the Association of Biblical Higher Education and the Ohio Department of Higher Education for new course or program offerings before enrolling students in such courses or programs. |
| Allow service members and reservists to be readmitted to a program if they are temporarily unable to attend class or have to suspend their studies due to service requirements, and take additional steps to accommodate short absences due to service obligations, provided that satisfactory academic progress is being made by the service members and reservists prior to suspending their studies. | The College allows service members and reservists to be readmitted to a program if they are temporarily unable to attend class or have to suspend their studies due to service requirements. If necessary, the College takes additional steps to accommodate short absences due to service obligations, provided that satisfactory academic progress is being made by the service members and reservists prior to suspending their studies. |
| Agree to an institutional refund policy that is aligned with the refund of unearned student aid rules applicable to Federal student aid provided through the Department of Education under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as required under section 484B of that Act when students withdraw prior to course completion. | The College’s institutional refund policy aligns with the Title IV refund policies. A copy of this policy will be provided to all students receiving educational benefits from the Veterans Administration. |
| Principles of Excellence | How We Comply |
| Provide educational plans for all individuals using Federal military and veterans educational benefits that detail how they will fulfill all the requirements necessary to graduate and the expected timeline of completion. |
Provide educational plans for all individuals using Federal military and veterans educational benefits that detail how they will fulfill all the requirements necessary to graduate and the expected timeline of completion. If request is made for the transfer of credit from previous coursework from other accredited institutions and relevant military training, the plan will indicate how many, if any, transfer credits the College intends to award and how these transfer credits will be applied toward the student's educational program. The evaluated educational plan will be provided within 60 days after the individual has selected a degree program and all required official transcripts have been received. |
| Designate a point of contact for academic and financial advising (including access to disability counseling) to assist service member and veteran students and their families with the successful completion of their studies and with their job searches. |
Veterans Coordinator Valor Christian College P.O. Box 800 Columbus, OH 43216 (614) 837-4088 |
Valor Christian College will provide the following information:
- Information about the maximum amount of Title IV, HEA aid available to students
- An explanation that the borrower may qualify for Title IV, HEA loans
- An explanation that the terms and conditions of Title IV, HEA loans may be more favorable than the provision of private education loans; and
- A brief explanation about the education benefit programs offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense.