Can I Use Chapter 30 to Take an Online Calculus Course?
Q: Will VA Chapter 30 reimburse a student who needs to take an online calculus course? Will the online university need to be an approved school?
A: By saying “a student who needs” I’m assuming you are in a degree plan now and either your school doesn’t offer calc or you need it as a prerequisite for your degree plan. If either case is true, then yes Chapter 30 should cover it. If the class is not part of an educational goal or degree plan and you just want to take it to learn calc, then most likely it would not be covered by the Montgomery GI Bill.
The whole purpose of the GI Bill is to get you an education that you can use to establish a career, so your classes have to contribute toward that goal. This upsets many people who take the attitude that the benefits are “their’s” and they want to spend them how they wish. Those are the same people that end up expending their 36 months of benefits on avocation or “fun” classes and in the end do not have anything they can use for a career.
As far as if the school needs to be approved, yes, it (and the course you take, because it has to fit into your degree plan) must approved by the VA before you take the course.