Browse Arkansas Code titles and sections
38 U.S.C. § 7603 — Application and acceptance
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)**
(1) To apply to participate in the Educational Assistance Program under subchapter II, III, V, VI, VIII, or IX of this chapter, an individual shall submit to the Secretary an application for such participation together with an agreement described in [section 7604 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7604&num=0&edition=prelim) under which the participant agrees to serve a period of obligated service in the Veterans Health Administration as provided in the agreement in return for payment of educational assistance as provided in the agreement.
(2) To apply to participate in the Educational Assistance Program under subchapter VII of this chapter, an individual shall submit to the Secretary an application for such participation.
**(b)**
(1) An individual becomes a participant in the Educational Assistance Program upon the Secretary’s approval of the individual’s application and the Secretary’s acceptance of the agreement (if required).
(2) Upon the Secretary’s approval of an individual’s participation in the program, the Secretary shall promptly notify the individual of that approval. Such notice shall be in writing.
**(c)**
(1) In distributing application forms and agreement forms to individuals desiring to participate in the Educational Assistance Program, the Secretary shall include with such forms the following:
(A) A fair summary of the rights and liabilities of an individual whose application is approved (and whose agreement is accepted) by the Secretary, including a clear explanation of the damages to which the United States is entitled if the individual breaches the agreement.
(B) A full description of the terms and conditions that apply to participation in the Educational Assistance Program a
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 7603
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
Original supplied file — preserved unchanged
Download original Markdown file
File SHA-256: fa45e7d92fdc7a9b3a1f771c553b5043acf0037134b3283a469c10eba05d84d0. The original may include catalog metadata, neighboring provisions, or embedded records outside this collection's scope. Search shows only the selected federal record. Historical editions and unverified snapshots are not a statement of current law.
Authority boundary: historical or unconfirmed source not current law verified.
Open the recorded source website ↗
Record provenance
Stable record: federal_law:legal_authorities:record_usc_e2d05fafa4f7898ba4fc26aa
Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-38/section-7603-application-and-acceptance--d952f087ce.md
Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded
Passage SHA-256: 03e88f4f8695a4e78edb9389cd1430a96eb670bbd093469a793ef3f3eebdaa8a
Source location: Title 38, Chapter 76, § 7603; chapter-076-health-professionals-educational-assistance-program.md
Stored source content
**(a)**
(1) To apply to participate in the Educational Assistance Program under subchapter II, III, V, VI, VIII, or IX of this chapter, an individual shall submit to the Secretary an application for such participation together with an agreement described in [section 7604 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7604&num=0&edition=prelim) under which the participant agrees to serve a period of obligated service in the Veterans Health Administration as provided in the agreement in return for payment of educational assistance as provided in the agreement.
(2) To apply to participate in the Educational Assistance Program under subchapter VII of this chapter, an individual shall submit to the Secretary an application for such participation.
**(b)**
(1) An individual becomes a participant in the Educational Assistance Program upon the Secretary’s approval of the individual’s application and the Secretary’s acceptance of the agreement (if required).
(2) Upon the Secretary’s approval of an individual’s participation in the program, the Secretary shall promptly notify the individual of that approval. Such notice shall be in writing.
**(c)**
(1) In distributing application forms and agreement forms to individuals desiring to participate in the Educational Assistance Program, the Secretary shall include with such forms the following:
(A) A fair summary of the rights and liabilities of an individual whose application is approved (and whose agreement is accepted) by the Secretary, including a clear explanation of the damages to which the United States is entitled if the individual breaches the agreement.
(B) A full description of the terms and conditions that apply to participation in the Educational Assistance Program and service in the Veterans Health Administration.
(2) The Secretary shall make such application forms and other information available to individuals desiring to participate in the Educational Assistance Program on a date sufficiently early to allow such individuals adequate time to prepare and submit such forms.
**(d)** In selecting applicants for acceptance in the Educational Assistance Program, the Secretary shall give priority to the applications of individuals who have previously received educational assistance under the program and have not completed the course of education or training undertaken under such program.
Cross-references
Connections may be documented source relationships, shared citations or nearby passages. Each explains its basis; a connection alone does not establish applicability to your situation.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
An agreement between the Secretary and a participant in the Educational Assistance Program shall be in writing, shall be signed by the participant, and shall include the following provisions:
(1) The Secretary’s agreement—
(A) to provide the participant with educational assistance as authorized in subchapter II, III, V, VI, VIII, or IX of this chapter and specified in the agreement; and
(B) to afford the participant the opportunity for employment in the Veterans Health Administration (subject to the availability of appropriated funds for such purpose and other qualifications established in accordance with [section 7402 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7402&num=0&edition=prelim)).
(2) The participant’s agreement—
(A) to accept such educational assistance;
(B) to maintain enrollment and attendance in the course of training until completed;
(C) while enrolled in such course, to maintain an acceptable level of academic standing (as determined by the educational institution offering such course of training under regulations prescribed by the Secretary); and
(D) after completion of the course of training, to serve as a full-time employee in the Veterans Health Administration as specified in the agreement in accordance with subchapter II, III, V, VI, VIII, or IX of this chapter.
(3) A provision that any financial obligation of the United States arising out of an agreement entered into under this chapter, and any obligation of the participant which is conditioned on such agreement, is contingent upon funds being appropriated for educational assistance under this chapter.
(4) A statement of the damages to which the United States is entitled under this chapter for the participant’s breach of the agree
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 7604
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. Explicit cross-reference supplied in source Markdown; currentness and applicability require review.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
For the purposes of this chapter—
(1) The term “Attorney General” means the Attorney General of the United States or any person designated by the Attorney General to carry out a responsibility of the Attorney General under this chapter.
(2) The term “benefit”, “benefit of employment”, or “rights and benefits” means the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, including any advantage, profit, privilege, gain, status, account, or interest (including wages or salary for work performed) that accrues by reason of an employment contract or agreement or an employer policy, plan, or practice and includes rights and benefits under a pension plan, a health plan, an employee stock ownership plan, insurance coverage and awards, bonuses, severance pay, supplemental unemployment benefits, vacations, and the opportunity to select work hours or location of employment.
(3) The term “employee” means any person employed by an employer. Such term includes any person who is a citizen, national, or permanent resident alien of the United States employed in a workplace in a foreign country by an employer that is an entity incorporated or otherwise organized in the United States or that is controlled by an entity organized in the United States, within the meaning of [section 4319(c) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section4319/c&num=0&edition=prelim).
(4)
(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), the term “employer” means any person, institution, organization, or other entity that pays salary or wages for work performed or that has control over employment opportunities, including—
(i) a person, institution, organization, or other entity to whom the employer has delegated the performance of employment-related respon
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 4303
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. Explicit cross-reference supplied in source Markdown; currentness and applicability require review.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)**
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, an individual must be accepted for enrollment or be enrolled (as described in [section 7602 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7602&num=0&edition=prelim)) as a full-time student to be eligible to participate in the Scholarship Program.
(2) An individual who is an eligible Department employee may be accepted as a participant if accepted for enrollment or enrolled (as described in [section 7602 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7602&num=0&edition=prelim)) for study on less than a full-time but not less than a half-time basis. (Such a participant is hereinafter in this subchapter referred to as a “part-time student”.)
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2) of this subsection, an eligible Department employee is a full-time Department employee who is permanently assigned to a Department health-care facility on the date on which the individual submits the application referred to in [section 7603 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7603&num=0&edition=prelim) and on the date on which the individual becomes a participant in the Scholarship Program.
**(b)**
(1) A scholarship may be awarded under this subchapter only in a qualifying field of education or training.
(2) A qualifying field of education or training for purposes of this subchapter is education or training leading to employment as an appointee under paragraph (1) or (3) of [section 7401 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7401&num=0&edition=prelim).
(3) The Secretary may designate additional fields of education or training as qu
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 7612
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. Incoming connection: Explicit cross-reference supplied in source Markdown; currentness and applicability require review.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** Each participant in the Scholarship Program shall provide service as a full-time employee of the Department for the period of obligated service provided in the agreement of the participant entered into under [section 7603 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7603&num=0&edition=prelim). Such service shall be provided in the full-time clinical practice of such participant’s profession or in another health-care position in an assignment or location determined by the Secretary.
**(b)**
(1) Not later than 60 days before the participant’s service commencement date, the Secretary shall notify the participant of that service commencement date. That date is the date for the beginning of the participant’s period of obligated service.
(2) As soon as possible after the participant’s service commencement date, the Secretary shall—
(A) in the case of a participant who is not a full-time employee in the Veterans Health Administration, appoint such participant as such an employee; and
(B) in the case of a participant who is an employee in the Veterans Health Administration but is not serving in a position for which such participant’s course of education or training prepared such participant, assign such participant to such a position.
(3)
(A)
(i) In the case of a participant receiving a degree from a school of medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, optometry, or podiatry, the participant’s service commencement date is the date upon which the participant becomes licensed to practice medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, optometry, or podiatry, as the case may be, in a State. However, the Secretary may, at the request of such participant, defer such date until the end of the period of time required for the participant t
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 7616
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. Incoming connection: Explicit cross-reference supplied in source Markdown; currentness and applicability require review.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** A participant in the Scholarship Program (other than a participant described in subsection (b) of this section) who fails to accept payment, or instructs the educational institution in which the participant is enrolled not to accept payment, in whole or in part, of a scholarship under the agreement entered into under [section 7603 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7603&num=0&edition=prelim) shall be liable to the United States for liquidated damages in the amount of $1,500. Such liability is in addition to any period of obligated service or other obligation or liability under the agreement.
**(b)** A participant in the Scholarship Program shall be liable to the United States for the amount which has been paid to or on behalf of the participant under the agreement if any of the following occurs:
(1) The participant fails to maintain an acceptable level of academic standing in the educational institution in which the participant is enrolled (as determined by the educational institution under regulations prescribed by the Secretary).
(2) The participant is dismissed from such educational institution for disciplinary reasons.
(3) The participant voluntarily terminates the course of training in such educational institution before the completion of such course of training.
(4) In the case of a participant who is enrolled in a program or education or training leading to employment as a physician, the participant fails to successfully complete post-graduate training leading to eligibility for board certification in a specialty.
(5) The participant fails to become licensed to practice medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, podiatry, or optometry in a State, fails to become licensed as a registered nurse in a State,
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 7617
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. Incoming connection: Explicit cross-reference supplied in source Markdown; currentness and applicability require review.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** Each participant in the Tuition Reimbursement Program shall provide service in the full-time clinical practice of such participant’s profession as a full-time employee of the Department for the period of obligated service provided in the agreement of such participant entered into under [section 7603 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7603&num=0&edition=prelim).
**(b)** A participant who on such participant’s course completion date is a full-time employee in the Veterans Health Administration shall be considered to have begun serving such participant’s period of obligated service on the course completion date.
**(c)** Except in the case of a participant whose tuition was paid pursuant to [section 7622(e) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7622/e&num=0&edition=prelim), if a participant in the Tuition Reimbursement Program fails to successfully complete a course, no reimbursement will be provided and no period of obligated service will be incurred.
**(d)** In the case of a participant whose tuition was paid pursuant to [section 7622(e) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7622/e&num=0&edition=prelim) and who fails to complete the course involved, the period of obligation shall be of the same duration as it would have been if the participant had successfully completed the course and the course completion date shall be considered to be the date on which the participant’s failure becomes an established fact.
**(e)** For the purposes of this section, the term “course completion date” means the date on which a participant in the Tuition Reimbursement Program completes such participant’s course of traini
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 7623
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. Incoming connection: Explicit cross-reference supplied in source Markdown; currentness and applicability require review.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not approve an application under [section 7603 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7603&num=0&edition=prelim) of an individual applying to receive assistance under this subchapter unless—
(1) the individual is entitled to benefits under chapter 106 of title 10; and
(2) the score of the individual on the Armed Forces Qualification Test was above the 50th percentile.
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 7652
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. Incoming connection: Explicit cross-reference supplied in source Markdown; currentness and applicability require review.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
The Secretary may pay to a person selected to receive assistance under this subchapter the amount of $400 (adjusted in accordance with [section 7631 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7631&num=0&edition=prelim)) for each month of the person’s enrollment in a program of education or training covered by the agreement of the person entered into under [section 7603 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7603&num=0&edition=prelim). Payment of such benefits for any period shall be coordinated with any payment of benefits for the same period under chapter 106 of title 10.
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 7653
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. Incoming connection: Explicit cross-reference supplied in source Markdown; currentness and applicability require review.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
A person receiving assistance under this subchapter shall provide service in the full-time clinical practice of the person’s profession as a full-time employee of the Department for the period of obligated service provided in the agreement of such person entered into under [section 7603 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7603&num=0&edition=prelim).
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 7654
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. Incoming connection: Explicit cross-reference supplied in source Markdown; currentness and applicability require review.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) In General.—** Each participant in the Program shall provide service as a full-time employee of the Department for the period of obligated service provided in the agreement of the participant entered into under [section 7603 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section7603&num=0&edition=prelim). Such service shall be provided in the full-time clinical practice of such participant’s profession or in another health-care position in an assignment or location determined by the Secretary.
**(b) Determination of Service Commencement Date.—**
(1) Not later than 60 days before a participant’s service commencement date, the Secretary shall notify the participant of that service commencement date. That date is the date for the beginning of the participant’s period of obligated service.
(2) As soon as possible after a participant’s service commencement date, the Secretary shall—
(A) in the case of a participant who is not a full-time employee in the Veterans Health Administration, appoint the participant as such an employee; and
(B) in the case of a participant who is an employee in the Veterans Health Administration but is not serving in a position for which the participant’s course of education or training prepared the participant, assign the participant to such a position.
(3)
(A) In the case of a participant receiving a degree from a school of medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, optometry, or podiatry, the participant’s service commencement date is the date upon which the participant becomes licensed to practice medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, optometry, or podiatry, as the case may be, in a State.
(B) In the case of a participant receiving a degree from a school of nursing, the participant’s service commenceme
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 7674
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. Incoming connection: Explicit cross-reference supplied in source Markdown; currentness and applicability require review.