Pub. L. 92-540, tit. III, sec. 316

Sec. 316. Subchapter II of chapter 36 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by— (1) striking out sections 1786 and 1787 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “§ 1786. Correspondence courses “(a) (1) Each eligible veteran (as defined in section 1652(a) (1) and (2) of this title) and each eligible wife or widow (as defined in section 1701(a) (1) (B), (C), or (D) of this title) who enters into an enrollment agreement to pursue a program of education exclusively by correspondence shall be paid an educational assistance allowance computed at the rate of 90 per centum of the established charge which the institution requires non veterans to pay for the course or courses pursued by the eligible veteran or wife or widow. The term ‘established charge’ as used herein means the charge for the course or courses determined on the basis of the lowest extended time payment plan offered by the institution and approved by the appropriate State approving agency or the actual cost to the veteran or wife or widow, whichever is the lesser. Such allowance shall be paid quarterly on a pro rata basis 86 Stat. 1085for the lessons completed by the veteran or wife or widow and serviced by the institution. “(2) The period of entitlement of any veteran or wife or widow who is pursuing any program of education exclusively by correspondence shall be charged with one month for each $220 which is paid to the veteran or wife or widow as an educational assistance allowance for such course. “(b) The enrollment agreement shall fully disclose the obligation of both the institution and the veteran or wife or widow and shall prominently display the provisions for affirmance, termination, refunds, and the conditions under which payment of the allowance is made by the Administrator to the veteran or wife or widow, A copy of the enrollment agreement shall be furnished to each such veteran or wife or widow at the time such veteran or wife or widow signs such agreement. No such agreement shall be effective unless such veteran or wife or widow shall, after the expiration of ten days after the enrollment agreement is signed, have signed and submitted to the Administrator a written statement, with a signed copy to the institution, specifically affirming the enrollment agreement. In the event the veteran or wife or widow at any time notifies the institution of his intention not to affirm the agreement in accordance with the preceding sentence, the institution, without imposing any penalty or charging any fee shall promptly make a full refund of all amounts paid. “(c) In the event, a veteran or wife or widow elects to terminate his enrollment under an affirmed enrollment agreement, the institution (other than one subject to the provisions of section 1776 of this title) may charge the veteran or wife or widow a registration or similar fee not in excess of 10 per centum of the tuition for the course, or $50, whichever is less. Where the veteran or wife or widow elects to terminate the agreement after completion of one or more but less than 25 per centum of the total number of lessons comprising the course, the institution may retain such registration or similar fee plus 25 per centum of the tuition for the course. Where the veteran or wife or widow elects to terminate the agreement after completion of 25 per centum but less than 50 per centum of the lessons comprising the course, the institution may retain the full registration or similar fee plus 50 per centum of the course tuition. If 50 per centum or more of the lessons are completed, no refund of tuition is required. “§ 1787. Apprenticeship or other on-job training “(a) An eligible veteran (as defined in section 1652(a)(1) of this title) or an eligible person (as defined in section 1701(a) of this title) shall be paid a training assistance allowance as prescribed by subsection (b) of this section while pursuing a full-time— “(1) program of apprenticeship approved by a State app roving agency as meeting the standards of apprenticeship published by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to section 50a of title 29, or “(2) program of other on-job training approved under provisions of section 1777 of this title, subject to the conditions and limitations of chapters 34 and 35 with respect to educational assistance. 86 Stat. 1086 “(b) (1) The monthly training assistance allowance of an eligible veteran pursuing a program described under subsection (a) shall be as follows: “Column I Column II Column III Column IV Column V Period of training No dependents One dependent Two dependents More than two dependents The amount in column IV, plus the following for each dependent in excess of two: First 6 months $160 $179 $196 $8. Second 6 months 120 139 156 8. Third 6 months 80 99 116 8. Fourth and any succeeding 6-month periods 40 59 76 8. 8. “(2) The monthly training assistance allowance of an eligible per-son pursuing a program described under subsection (a) shall be (A) $160 during the first six-month period, (B) $120 during the second six-month period, (C) $80 during the third six-month period, and (D) $40 during the fourth and any succeeding six-month period. “(3) In any month in which an eligible veteran or person pursuing a program of apprenticeship or a program of other on-job training fails to complete one hundred and twenty hours of training in such month, the monthly training assistance allowance set forth in subsection (b) (1) or (2) of this section, as applicable, shall be reduced proportionately in the proportion that the number of hours worked bears to one hundred and twenty hours rounded off to the nearest eight hours. “(c) For the purpose of this chapter, the terms ‘program of apprenticeship’ and ‘program of other on-job training’ shall have the same meaning as ‘program of education’; and the term ‘training assistance allowance’ shall have the same meaning as ‘educational assistance allowance’ as set forth in chapters 34 and 35 of this title.”; (2) redesignating sections 1788, 1789, 1790, and 1791 as sections 1792, 1793, 1794, and 1795, respectively, and inserting after section 1787 the following new sections: “§ 1788. Measurement of courses “(a) For the purposes of this chapter and chapters 34 and 35 of this title— “(1) an institutional trade or technical course offered on a clock-hour basis below the college level involving shop practice as an integral part thereof, shall be considered a full-time course when a minimum of thirty hours per week of attendance is required with no more than two and one-half hours of rest periods per week allowed; “(2) an institutional course offered on a clock-hour basis below the college level in which theoretical or classroom instruction pre-86 Stat. 1087dominates shall be considered a full-time course when a minimum of twenty-five hours per week net of instruction (which may include customary intervals not to exceed ten minutes between hours of instruction) is required; “(3) an academic high school course requiring sixteen units for a full course shall be considered a full-time course when (A) a minimum of four units per year is required or (B) an individual is pursuing a program of education leading to an accredited high school diploma at a rate which, if continued, would result in receipt of such a diploma in four ordinary school years. For the purpose of subclause (A) of this clause, a unit is defined to be not less than one hundred and twenty sixty-minute hours or their equivalent of study in any subject in one academic year; “(4) an institutional undergraduate course offered by a college or university on a quarter- or semester-hour basis shall be considered a full-time course when a minimum of fourteen semester hours or the equivalent thereof (including such hours for which no credit is granted but which are required to be taken to correct an educational deficiency and which the educational institution considers to be quarter or semester hours for other administrative purposes), for which credit is granted toward a standard college degree, is required, except that where such college or university certifies, upon the request of the Administrator, that (A) full-time tuition is charged to all undergraduate students carrying a minimum of less than fourteen such semester hours or the equivalent thereof, or (B) all undergraduate students carrying a minimum of less than fourteen such semester hours or the equivalent thereof, are considered to be pursuing a full-time course for other administrative purposes, then such an institutional undergraduate course offered by such college or university with such minimum number of such semester hours shall be considered a full-time course, but in the event such minimum number of semester hours is less than twelve semester hours or the equivalent thereof, then twelve semester hours or the equivalent thereof shall be considered a full-time course; “(5) a program of apprenticeship or a program of other on-job training shall be considered a full-time program when the eligible veteran or person is required to work the number of hours constituting the standard workweek of the training establishment, but a workweek of less than thirty hours shall not be, considered to constitute full-time training unless a lesser number of hours has been established as the standard workweek for the particular establishment through bona fide collective bargaining: and “(6) an institutional course offered as part of a program of education below the college level under section 1691(a)(2) or 1696(a) (2) of this title shall be considered a full-time course on the basis of measurement criteria provided in clause (2), (3), or (4) as determined by the educational institution. “(b) The Administrator shall define part-time training in the case of the types of courses referred to in subsection (a), and shall define full-time and part-time training in the case of all other types of courses pursued under this chapter or chapter 34 or 35 of this title. “§ 1789. Period of operation for approval “(a) The Administrator shall not approve the enrollment of an eligible veteran or eligible person in any course offered by an educational institution when such course has been in operation for less than two years. 86 Stat. 1088 “(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to— “(1) any course to be pursued in a public or other tax-supported educational institution; “(2) any course which is offered by an educational institution which has been in operation for more than two years, if such course is similar in character to the instruction previously given by such institution; “(3) any course which has been offered by an institution for a period of more than two years, notwithstanding the institution has moved to another location within the same general locality, or has made a complete move with substantially the same faculty, curricula, and students, without change in ownership; “(4) any course which is offered by a nonprofit educational institution of college level and which is recognized for credit toward a standard college degree; or “(5) any course offered by a proprietary nonprofit educational institution which qualifies to carry out an approved program of education under the provisions of subchapter V or VI of chapter 34 of this title (including those courses offered at other than the institution’s principal location) if the institution offering such course has been in operation for more than two years. “§ 1790. Overcharges by educational institutions; discontinuance of allowances; examination of records; false or misleading statements “Overcharges by Educational Institutions “(a) If the Administrator finds that an educational institution has— “(1) charged or received from any eligible veteran or elegible person pursuing a program of education under this chapter or chapter 34 or 35 of this title any amount for any course in excess of the charges for tuition and fees which such institution requires similarly circumstanced nonveterans not receiving assistance under such chapters who are enrolled in the same course to pay, or “(2) instituted, after the effective date of section 1780 of this title, a policy or practice with respect to the payment of tuition, fees, or other charges in the case of eligible veterans and the Administrator finds that the effect of such policy or practice substantially denies to veterans the benefits of the advance and prepayment allowances under such section, he may disapprove such educational institution for the enrollment of any eligible veteran or eligible person not already enrolled therein under this chapter or chapter 31, 34, or35,of this title, “Discontinuance of Allowances “(b) The Administrator may discontinue the educational assistance allowance of any eligible veteran or eligible person if he finds that the program of education or any course in which the veteran or person is enrolled fails to meet any of the requirements of this chapter or chapter 34 or 35 of this title, or if he finds that the educational institution offering such program or course has violated any provision of this chapter or chapter 34 or 35, or fails to meet any of the requirements of such chapters. 86 Stat. 1089 “Examination of Records “(c) The records and accounts of educational institutions pertaining to eligible veterans or eligible persons who received educational assistance under this chapter or chapter 31, 34, or 35 of this title shall be available for examination by duly authorized representatives of the Government. “False or Misleading Statements “(d) Whenever the Administrator finds that an educational institution has willfully submitted a false or misleading claim, or that a veteran or person, with the complicity of an educational institution, has submitted such a claim, he shall make a complete report of the facts of the case to the appropriate State approving agency and, where deemed advisable, to the Attorney General of the United States for appropriate action. “§ 1791. Change of program “(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, each eligible veteran and eligible person may make not more than one change of program of education, but an eligible veteran or eligible person whose program has been interrupted or discontinued due to his own misconduct, his own neglect, or his own lack of application shall not be entitled to any such change. “(b) The Administrator may approve one additional change (or an initial change in the case of a veteran or person not eligible to make a change under subsection (a)) in program if he finds that— “(1) the program of education which the eligible veteran or eligible person proposes to pursue is suitable to his aptitudes, interests, and abilities; and “(2) in any instance where the eligible veteran or eligible person has interrupted, or failed to progress in, his program due to his own misconduct, his own neglect, or his own lack of application, there exists a reasonable likelihood with respect to the program which the eligible veteran or eligible person proposes to pursue that there will not be a recurrence of such an interruption or failure to progress. “(c) The Administrator may also approve additional changes in program if he finds such changes are necessitated by circumstances beyond the control of the eligible veteran or eligible person. “(d) As used in this section the term ‘change of program of education’ shall not lie deemed to include a change from the pursuit of one program to pursuit of another where the first program is prerequisite to, or generally required for, entrance into pursuit of the second.”; and (3) Section 1792 of title 38, United States Code (as redesignated by section 316(2) of this Act) is amended by inserting between the first and second sentences of such section the following: “The Committee shall also include veterans representative of World War II, the Korean conflict era, the post-Korean conflict era, and the Vietnam era.”