38 CFR §21.4273
Verified against eCFR.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on eCFR.gov ↗
- (a)In residence.
- (1)The Department of Veterans Affairs will measure a nonaccredited graduate or advanced professional course (other than a law course) as provided in § 21.4272. The Department of Veterans Affairs will measure a nonaccredited law course as stated in § 21.4274.
- (2)An accredited graduate or advanced professional course, including law as specified in § 21.4274, pursued in residence at an institution of higher learning will be measured in accordance with § 21.4272 unless it is the established policy of the school to consider less than 14 semester hours or the equivalent as full-time enrollment, or the course includes research, thesis preparation, or a comparable prescribed activity beyond that normally required for the preparation of ordinary classroom assignments. In either case a responsible official of the school will certify that the veteran or eligible person is pursuing the course full, three-quarter, one-half, less than one-half but more than one-quarter, or one quarter or less time.
- (b)In absentia. A responsible official of the school will certify a program of research pursued by a veteran or eligible person in absentia as full, three-fourths, one-half, less than one-half but more than one-quarter, or one-quarter or less time, and the activity will be assessed by the Department of Veterans Affairs accordingly when:
- (1)The research activity is defined and organized so as to enable the certifying official to evaluate the time required for its successful pursuit, and
- (2)The time certified for the research activity is independent of the time devoted to any employment situation in which the veteran or eligible person might be engaged.
- (c)Undergraduate or combination. If a graduate student is enrolled in both graduate and undergraduate courses concurrently, or solely in undergraduate courses, VA will measure such an enrollment using the provisions of § 21.4272 or the graduate school's assessment of training time, whichever will result in a higher monthly rate for the veteran.