**§21.5021 Definitions.**

For the purposes of subpart G and payment of benefits under 38 U.S.C.
chapter 32, the following definitions apply (see also §§21.1029 and
21.4200):

\(a\) *Veteran*---means anyone whose service meets the requirements of
§21.5040. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3202(1))

\(b\) *Active duty*---means full-time duty in the Armed Forces or as a
commissioned officer of the regular or Reserve Corps of the Public
Health Service or of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. It does not include any period during which an
individual:

\(1\) Was assigned full-time by the Armed Forces to a civilian
institution for a course of education which was substantially the same
as established courses offered to civilians,

\(2\) Served as a cadet or midshipman at one of the service academies,

\(3\) Served under the provisions of section 511(d) of Title 10, United
States Code, pursuant to an enlistment in the military reserve or
national guard,

\(4\) Served in an excess leave without pay status, or

\(5\) Served in a status specified in §3.15 of this chapter. (Authority:
38 U.S.C. 3202)

\(c\) *State*---means each of the several States, territories and
possessions of the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Canal Zone. (Authority: 38 U.S.C.
101(20))

\(d\) *School, educational institution, institution*. The terms,
*school*, *educational institution*, and *institution* mean:

\(1\) Any vocational school, business school, correspondence school,
junior college, teacher's college, college, normal school, professional
school, university or scientific or technical institution;

\(2\) Any public or private elementary school or secondary school which
offers courses for adults; and

\(3\) An entity, other than an institution of higher learning, that
provides training required for completion of a State-approved
alternative teacher certification program. (Authority: 38 U.S.C.
3202(2), 3452(c))

\(e\) *Participant*---means a person who is participating in the
educational benefits program established under Chapter 32. This
includes:

\(1\) A person who has enrolled in and is making contributions by
monthly payroll deduction to the "fund."

\(2\) Those individuals who have contributed to the "fund" and have not
disenrolled (i.e., users or potential users of benefits). (Authority: 38
U.S.C. 3202)

\(3\) A person who has enrolled in and is having monthly contributions
to the "fund" made for him or her by the Secretary of Defense.
(Authority: Sec. 903, Pub. L. 96-342, 94 Stat. 1115)

\(4\) A person who has made a lumpsum contribution to the fund in lieu
of or in addition to monthly contributions deducted from his or her
military pay. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3222)

\(5\) Those individuals who have contributed to the *fund* and:

\(i\) Have been automatically disenrolled as provided in §21.5060(b)(3)
of this part

\(ii\) Whose funds have been transferred to the Treasury Department as
provided in §21.5064(b)(4)(iii) of this part, and

\(iii\) Who are found to have qualified for an extended period of
eligibility as provided in §21.5042 of this part. (Authority: 38 U.S.C.
3232; Pub. L. 99-576)

\(f\) *Fund*---means that trust fund account established to maintain
dollar contributions of the participant (and contributions, if any, from
the Department of Defense). (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3222)

\(g\) *Suspends*---means a participant stops contributing to the *fund*
(temporarily or permanently).

\(h\) *Disenrolls*---means a participant terminates participation and
forfeits any entitlement to benefits except for a refund of his or her
contributions previously made. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3221)

\(i\) *Hardship* or *other good reasons*---means circumstances
considered to be such by the Department of Defense and the Department of
Veterans Affairs when referring to suspension or disenrollments, such as
illness of the participant or a member of his or her immediate family,
unexpected personal expense, etc. (Authority: 38 U.S.C 3221(b))

\(j\) *Benefit period* means:

\(1\) For a course leading to a standard college degree:

\(i\) The entire enrollment period certified by the school; or

\(ii\) That period of time from the beginning of an enrollment period
until the end of the individual's delimiting period; or

\(iii\) That period of time from the beginning of an enrollment period
to the date on which the individual's contributions in the fund are
exhausted, whichever is the shortest.

\(2\) For a residence course not leading to a standard college degree or
for a correspondence course that period of time from the beginning of
the enrollment period as certified by the school or the date the school
last certified on the quarterly certification of attendance, whichever
is later, to:

\(i\) The end of the enrollment period;

\(ii\) The end of the quarter to be certified;

\(iii\) The last date of the individual's delimiting period; or

\(iv\) The date on which the individual's contributions to the fund are
exhausted, whichever occurs first.

\(3\) \[Reserved\]

\(4\) For apprenticeship and other on-job training that period of time
from the beginning date of training or the date last certified on the
monthly certification of training to:

\(i\) The end of the month to be certified;

\(ii\) The last date of the veteran's delimiting period;

\(iii\) The date on which the veteran's entitlement is exhausted,
whichever occurs first. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3231; Pub. L. 99-576)

\(k\) *Benefit payment*. The term benefit payment means any educational
assistance allowance paid under 38 U.S.C. chapter 32 to a veteran for
pursuit of a program of education during a benefit period. (Authority:
38 U.S.C. 3231, 3232, 3452(b), 3689)

\(l\) *Spouse*---means a person of the opposite sex who is the wife or
husband of the participant, and whose marriage to the participant meets
the requirements of §3.1(j) of this chapter. (Authority: Sec. 903, Pub.
L. 96-342, 94 Stat. 1115)

\(m\) *Surviving spouse*---means a person of the opposite sex who is a
widow or widower of the participant, and whose marriage to the
participant meets the requirements of §3.1(j) or §3.52 of this chapter.

\(n\) *Child*.

\(1\) for the purposes of §21.5067(a) this term means a natural child,
step-child or adopted child of the participant regardless of age or
marital status.

\(2\) For all other purposes this term means a person whose relationship
to the participant meets the requirements of §3.57 or §3.58 of this
chapter.

\(o\) *Parent*---means a person whose relationship to the participant
meets the requirements of §3.59 of this chapter. (Authority: 38 U.S.C.
3224)

\(p\) *Training establishment*. The term training establishment means
any establishment providing apprentice or other training on-the-job,
including those under the supervision of a college, university, any
State department of education, any State apprenticeship agency, any
State board of vocational education, any joint apprenticeship committee,
the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training established in accordance with
29 U.S.C. chapter 4C, or any agency of the Federal government authorized
to supervise such training. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3202, 3452(e))

\(q\) *Program of education---* means:

\(1\) Any curriculum or combination of subjects or unit courses pursued
at a school which is generally accepted as necessary to meet
requirements for a predetermined and identified educational,
professional or vocational objective;

\(2\) Subjects or unit courses which fulfill requirements for more than
one predetermined and identified objective if all objectives pursued are
generally recognized as being related to a single career field;

\(3\) Any unit course or subject or combination of courses or subjects,
pursued by an individual at an educational institution, required by the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration as a condition to
obtaining financial assistance under the provisions of 15 U.S.C. 636;

\(4\) A full-time program of apprenticeship or other training on-the-job
approved as provided in §21.4261 or §21.4262 as appropriate; or

\(5\) A licensing or certification test, the passing of which
demonstrates an individual's possession of the knowledge or skill
required to enter into, maintain, or advance in employment in a
predetermined and identified vocation or profession, provided that VA or
a State approving agency has approved the test and the licensing or
credentialing organization or entity that offers the test as provided in
38 U.S.C. 3689. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3202(2), 3452(b), 3689)

\(r\) *Educational objective*. An educational objective is one that
leads to the awarding of a diploma, degree or certificate which is
generally recognized as reflecting educational attainment. (Authority:
38 U.S.C. 3202(2), 3452(b))

\(s\) *Professional or vocational objective*. A professional or
vocational objective is one that leads to an occupation. It may include
educational objectives essential to prepare for the chosen occupation.
When a program of education consists of a series of courses not leading
to an educational objective, these courses must be generally accepted as
necessary for attainment of a designated professional or vocational
objective. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3202(2))

\(t\) *Deficiency course*. The term *deficiency course* means any
secondary level course or subject not previously completed
satisfactorily which is specifically required for pursuit of a
post-secondary program of education. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3241; Pub. L.
100-689)

\(u\) *Refresher course*. The term *refresher course* means:

\(1\) Either a course at the elementary or secondary level to review or
update material previously covered in a course that has been
satisfactorily completed, or

\(2\) A course which permits an individual to update knowledge and
skills or be instructed in the technological advances which have
occurred in the individual's field of employment during and since the
individual's active military service and which is necessary to enable
the individual to pursue an approved program of education. (Authority:
38 U.S.C. 3241(a); Pub. L. 100-689, Pub. L. 101-237).

\(v\) *Disabling effects of chronic alcoholism*.

\(1\) The term *disabling effects of chronic alcoholism* means
alcohol-induced physical or mental disorders or both, such as habitual
intoxication, withdrawal, delirium, amnesia, dementia, and other like
manifestations of chronic alcoholism which, in the particular case:

\(i\) Have been medically diagnosed as manifestations of alcohol
dependency or chronic alcohol abuse, and

\(ii\) Are determined to have prevented commencement or completion of
the affected individual's chosen program of education.

\(2\) A diagnosis of alcoholism, chronic alcoholism, alcohol-dependency,
chronic alcohol abuse, etc., in and of itself, does not satisfy the
definition of this term.

\(3\) Injury sustained by a veteran while physically or mentally
unqualified to do so due to alcoholic intoxication is not considered a
disabling effect of chronic alcoholism. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 105, 3232,
3462; Pub. L. 100-689)

\(w\) *Continuous service* means:

\(1\) Active duty served without interruption. A complete separation
from active duty service will interrupt the continuity of active duty
service.

\(2\) Time lost while on active duty will not interrupt the continuity
of service. Time lost includes, but is not limited to, excess leave,
noncreditable time and not-on-duty time. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3232(a);
Pub. L. 101-237)

\(x\) *Persian Gulf War*. The term "Persian Gulf War" means the period
beginning on August 2, 1990, and ending on the date thereafter
prescribed by Presidential proclamation or by law. (Authority: 38 U.S.C.
101(33))

\(y\) *Alternative teacher certification program*. The term *alternative
teacher certification program* for the purposes of determining whether
an entity offering such a program is a school, educational institution
or institution, as defined in paragraph (d)(3) of this section, means a
program leading to a teacher certificate that allows individuals with a
bachelor's degree or graduate degree to obtain teacher certification
without enrolling in an institution of higher learning. (Authority: 38
U.S.C. 3202(2), 3452(c))

\(z\) *Certification test*. The term *certification test* means a test
an individual must pass in order to receive a certificate that provides
an affirmation of an individual's qualifications in a specified
occupation. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3202, 3452(b), 3501(a)(5), 3689)

(aa) *Licensing test*. The term *licensing test* means a test offered by
a State, local, or Federal agency, the passing of which is a means, or
part of a means, to obtain a license. That license must be required by
law in order for the individual to practice an occupation in the
political jurisdiction of the agency offering the test. (Authority: 38
U.S.C. 3202, 3452(b), 3689)

(bb) *Organization or entity offering a licensing or certification
test*.

\(1\) The term *organization or entity offering a licensing or
certification test* means:

\(i\) An organization or entity that causes a licensing test to be given
and that will issue a license to an individual who passes the test;

\(ii\) An organization or entity that causes a certification test to be
given and that will issue a certificate to an individual who passes the
test; or

\(iii\) An organization or entity that administers a licensing or
certification test for the organization or entity that will issue a
license or certificate, respectively, to an individual who passes the
test, provided that the administering organization or entity can provide
all required information and certifications under §21.4268 to the State
approving agency and to VA.

\(2\) This term does not include:

\(i\) An organization or entity that develops and/or proctors a
licensing or certification test, but does not issue the license or
certificate;

\(ii\) An organization or entity that administers a test but does not
issue the license or certificate, if that administering organization or
entity cannot provide all required information and certifications under
§21.4268 to the State approving agency and to VA. (Authority: 38 U.S.C.
3202, 3452(b), 3689)

\[45 FR 31, Jan. 2, 1980, as amended at 47 FR 51743, Nov. 17, 1982; 52
FR 3429, Feb. 4, 1987; 53 FR 34495, Sept. 7, 1988; 55 FR 31582, August
3, 1990; 57 FR 38614, Aug. 26, 1992; 58 FR 34369, June 25, 1993; 61 FR
1525, Jan. 22, 1996; 61 FR 29029, June 7, 1996; 65 FR 5786, Feb. 7,
2000; 72 FR 16977, Apr. 5, 2007\]

**Supplement *Highlights* references**: 7(2), 22(1), 27(2), 47(1),
73(1).

Reserved