White Paper - 2900-NEW

WHITE PAPER – JUSTIFICATION
EMERGENCY SUBMISSION
OMB CONTROL NUMBER 2900-NEW
SEEKING OMB APPROVAL OF TWO NEW UNIFORM APPLICATIONS FOR
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS’ APPROVAL OF COURSES OF
EDUCATION AND 2 ASSOCIATED PROGRAM LISTS FOR EACH—
•

VA FORM 22-10287 “Application for Approval of an Institution of Higher Learning
Facility”

•

VA FORM 22-10287a “Institution of Higher Learning Facility – Program List”

•

VA FORM 22-10288 “Application for Approval of a Non-College Degree,
Vocational Flight School, License/Certification Exam Provider, Preparatory
Courses for License/Certification, Correspondence School, High School,
Apprenticeship/On-the-Job Training for Multi-State Apprenticeship Facility”

•

VA FORM 22-10288a “Other than Institution of Higher Learning Facility –
Program List”

September 19, 2023
By Electronic Submission
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
725 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20503
Dear OIRA Desk Officer:
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Education Service Program Office is seeking a
6-month “Emergency Approval” of the two forms and associated program lists indicated
above as authorized and mandated by Section 11 of Public Law 117-333. This Public
Law was enacted on January 5, 2023, amending title 38 CFR §3672. This provision of
the law required VA to create and design two new uniform applications for approval of
courses of educational programs, and for those forms to be available for use by October
1, 2023.
These forms will be completed by educational institutions, training establishments and
other organizations, as applicable, seeking approval of one or more of their programs of
study for the payment of VA Education benefits to eligible beneficiaries. The institutions
will submit the forms to the State Approving Agency (SAA) of jurisdiction for their
review. By law, each SAA has the authority to make such approvals in their

respective state. VA contracts with a SAA in each state for this work. Prior to the new
legislative requirement, each SAA used their own application form making it difficult for
training institutions operating in more than one state to readily complete the process as
different states required different information. The new law ensures uniformity across
all states.
Once reviewed, the SAA will send the appropriate form with the associated program list,
along with a letter documenting their decision to VA for additional processing to
incorporate the information into our approval database known as the “Web Enabled
Approval Management System” (WEAMS).
Although this law was signed January 5, 2023, the Program Office has since been
collaborating with a workgroup comprised of some of the more than fifty SAAs, internal
staff, VA leadership, and other stakeholders regarding the information, reporting criteria,
and collection questions necessary to make the approval determinations. Because the
criteria are complex, it has taken considerable time to reach consensus before moving
forward with form development. Approval of this emergency request is critical to the
Agency to meet the statutory requirement.
These forms will be used by educational institutions interested in applying for initial
approval of their programs for payment of VA benefits, for revision of existing program
approvals or withdrawal of approval for programs no longer offered. The institutions will
complete either the VA Form 22-10287 or the VA Form 22-10288, based on the type of
training offered at their institution. Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs) will use the VA
Form 22-10287 exclusively, and all other types of educational training establishments
will use the VA Form 22-10288. Each institution will use their associated “program list”
for adding, revising or removing any program they offer. Some administrative revision(s)
may be required that do not involve program approval related matters, will be submitted
on their respective application. In these instances, the associated program list will not
be required. Administrative modifications include things such as changes of address,
banking information, or ownership when all program offerings remain the same.
The VA Forms 22-10287 and 22-10288 and their associated program lists will be
submitted by the educational institution to the SAA of jurisdiction for review. The SAA
makes an approval decision and notifies the institution accordingly. Immediately
following, the SAA sends the approval package to the VA Education Liaison
Representative (ELR) of jurisdiction. The approval package includes the application
from the training institution, the SAA’s findings and additional related information to
support payment of GI Bill benefits, as well as a copy of the notification to the training
institution.
The ELR reviews the approval package for completeness (or requests additional
required information). Once the package is deemed complete, the ELR processes the
package by entering the required information into WEAMS. Lastly, the ELR provides a
report containing the final information to the training institution, with a copy to the SAA
of jurisdiction. The approval data in WEAMS is used by Veterans Claims Examiners

(VCEs) to process benefits payments to eligible VA beneficiaries. The same approval
data is fed to our external database known as the Comparison Tool to aid prospective
students in choosing a school that best suits their needs.
In turn, the training institution uses the information received from the ELR and SAA to
report student enrollments in VA’s new electronic reporting system known as
“Enrollment Manager” (EM). The enrollment data submitted through EM facilitates
payments to eligible student Veterans and beneficiaries.
Because the provisions of Public Law 117-333 Section 11 required the two uniform
applications and their associated program lists be developed, designed and available by
October 1, 2023, the use of normal clearance procedures would hinder their availability.
If you have any questions, please contact Rochelle Foxworth, VA Privacy Act Officer, at
[email protected].
Sincerely,

THOMAS
ALPHONSO

Digitally signed by
THOMAS ALPHONSO
Date: 2023.09.22
12:20:45 -04'00'

Tom Alphonso
Assistant Director, Policy and Procedures
Education Service