Veteran & Military

Student Affairs

This time, we get to serve you. EICC is a designated Military Friendly School, noted for our excellence in helping service members, veterans, and their families achieve their goals.

Let us assist in certifying your education benefits. Choose a certificate, diploma, or degree program that compliments your military training. You get priority enrollment and an advisor who partners with you to create a degree plan.

You may even be awarded credit for your military training. And we have an in-state tuition policy for military, veterans, and their dependents.

Smiling student sitting in Library lounge space next to fireplace

Education Benefits & Assistance

Use all the educational benefits and assistance being in the military offers you. Work with our Military and Veteran Student Affairs Facilitator to obtain your GI Bill® benefits, turn your military training into college credits, or take advantage of military tuition assistance programs.

LEARN MORE
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.

Follow the EICC Student Veterans Organization on Facebook

Veterans share their EICC story 

Art of Healing TCC Magazine Cover

The Art of Healing

On any given day, Kenneth Cunningham can be found with a paintbrush in hand blasting music in his art studio, his cat observing the paint strokes from a table, or even perched on his shoulder, while his dog lays happily at his feet. The scene is far from Cunningham’s days as an Army Ranger and Paratrooper, where free falling from airplanes and traveling the world was as common as brushing his teeth. Even so, his adventures, the good and the bad, are never far from his mind.

Read Kenneth's Story

Home Base CHAMP

In 2015, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad designated Eastern Iowa Community Colleges a Home Base Iowa Certified Higher Academic Military Partner (CHAMP). This designation highlights that Iowa is an attractive place for transitioning military members who choose to pursue education. Home Base Iowa communities create a welcome transition from active duty by providing incentives at the local level. Together, each component of Home Base Iowa makes the state a smart and strategic choice for service members as they transition to civilian life. 

As a Home Base Iowa CHAMP, we've met very specific criteria related to on-campus veteran resources, mindfulness of service member transitions, and financial considerations. EICC, which includes Clinton, Muscatine and Scott Community Colleges, enrolls more than 400 veterans and their dependents each year. 

We have many policies, procedures, and practices that assist our military and veteran students. The college has a long tradition of providing quality services including certification of Veteran Benefits, awarding of credit for military training, military deployment withdrawal policy and in-state tuition policy for military, veterans, and their dependents.

  • Has a staff member who handles certification for VA and Tuition Assistance.
  • Utilizes ACE credit recommendations along with faculty input to award credit for military training and courses.
  • Has relationships with the Rock Island Arsenal, local National Guard Units, and Local Reserve Units.
  • Provides in-state tuition (Board Policy 507) to military, veterans, and their dependents.
  • EICC ensures students have access to the instituition's student loan Cohort Default Rate, see following tabs for more information.
  • Allows military personnel called to active duty to withdraw without penalty (Student Handbook).
  • Provide military and veteran related activities and events.
  • Has a Student Veteran’s Organization with a EICC Student Veterans Facebook group, join us!
  • Provides flexible learning options, including online, evenings, and short-term classes that are well positioned to serve the needs of military and veteran students.
  • Ensures appropriate campus personel have attended VA and military benefit training to keep updated with changing regulations.
  • Provides access to loan counseling and will disclose annual cohort default rates to service members interested in direct student loans (Administrative Procedure B23).
  • Uses ethical practices at all times in the marketing and recruitment process of all students (Administrative Procedure B22).

Established by Executive Order 13607 in 2011, the Principles of Excellence ensure military-connected students are receiving the highest quality education in return for their hard-earned benefits. 

The principles are as follows:

  • Provide students with a personalized form covering the total cost of an education program.

  • Provide educational plans for all Military and Veteran education beneficiaries.

  • End fraudulent and aggressive recruiting techniques and misrepresentation.

  • Provide accommodations for Service Members and Reservists absent due to service requirements.

  • Designate a Point of Contact for academic and financial advising.

  • Ensure accreditation of all new programs prior to enrolling students.

  • Align institutional refund policies with those under Title IV.

Before offering, recommending, arranging, signing up, disbursing, or enrolling Service members for direct student loans, Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) will provide Service members access to a financial aid specialist who will make available appropriate loan counseling, including, but not limited to: (1) Providing a clear and complete explanation of available financial aid, including Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended; (2) Describing the differences between subsidized and unsubsidized federal student loans to include terms, conditions, repayment and forgiveness options (Eastern Iowa Community Colleges does not promote Private Student Loans and does not maintain a Preferred Lender List); (3) Disclosing the College’s student loan Cohort Default Rate (CDR), the percentage of its students who borrow, and how its CDR compares to the national average; and (4) Explaining that students have the ability to refuse all or borrow less than the maximum student loan amount allowed.

EICC Student Loan Cohort Default Rate:

Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ 2019 Cohort Default Rate (CDR), as provided by the Department of Education on September 30, 2022, was 2.1% compared to the National Average CDR of 7.3%. The percentage of EICC students who borrowed during the 2021-22 academic year was 21%.

Eastern Iowa Community Three-year Official Cohort Default Rates
Fiscal Year 2019 2018 2017
Default rate 2.1% 9.1% 15.9%
Number in default 23 110 235
Number in repayment 1089 1202 1471

 

Active duty military personnel and military service veterans attending EICC, as well as their spouses and dependent children, are considered to be Iowa residents for admission, tuition, and fee purposes. This form can be obtained from the Registration Office at your campus.

EICC appreciates the contributions of our students who have served or are currently serving in the military.

Students who are called to active military duty should immediately contact the Veteran’s Affairs Office on their campus or designate a family member to do so.

Students who are a member, or the spouse of a member if the member has a dependent child, of the National Guard or Reserve Forces of the United States and who is ordered to national guard duty or federal active duty, may exercise one of the following options:

  1. Withdraw from the student’s entire registration and receive a full refund of tuition and mandatory fees.
  2. Make arrangements with the student’s instructors for course grades, or for incompletes that shall be completed by the student at a later date. If such arrangements are made, the student’s registration shall remain intact and tuition and mandatory fees shall be assessed for the courses in full.
  3. Make arrangements with only some of the student’s instructors for grades, or for incompletes that shall be completed by the student at a later date. If such arrangements are made, the registration for those courses shall remain intact and tuition and mandatory fees shall be assessed for those courses. Any course for which arrangements cannot be made for grades or incompletes shall be considered dropped and the tuition and mandatory fees for the course refunded.

Students who must report for drill during the semester that will interfere with classes must:

  • Contact the instructor as soon as the student is aware of the duty dates.
    • Produce written proof (orders, letter from CDMR or ISG, etc) to the instructors and academic advisor.
    • Create a course of action prior to speaking with instructors.

Schedule a meeting time with instructors to present written documentation and action plan. 

 

More Info

Here's some links and contact information that may be helpful.

  • Regional Processing Office (St. Louis) GI Bill® hotline
    888-442-4551
  • VA Direct Deposit
    877-838-2778
  • VA Medical Center
    601 Highway 6 West
    Iowa City, IA 52240
    319-338-0581
    1-866-687-7382 (Nurse VA Health Care)

Contact Us

Office hours - Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Shari Ruehling

Shari Ruehling,Military/Veteran Student Affairs Facilitator

sruehling@eicc.edu
563-441-4020



Lorene Anderson

Lorene Anderson, EICC GI Bill® Certifying Official

landerson@eicc.edu
563-441-4035