Military Affairs

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Newly admitted to UNCW?

Congratulations, Seahawk!

We are so excited that you will be joining us as a Military Seahawk! Let's get started by reviewing the processes you will need to complete before you can enroll in classes here.

First, here are the items to be completed by all new students: 

  • Set up your UNCW email and log in to MySeaPort. You'll find information about your UNCW login credentials in your UNCW acceptance letter/acceptance email. 
  • Access your TealTicket through your MySeaPort account. The TealTicket lists necessary action items. Not all items will apply to your situation. 
  • Pay the $100 non-refundable enrollment deposit in MySeaPort. This deposit holds your place in the upcoming class. You will not be able to register for orientation until the deposit is processed, and you will not be able to register for classes until you have completed orientation. This deposit is not covered, either up front or by reimbursement, by the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the Montgomery GI Bill, Dependents Education Assistance, the Fry Scholarship, Tuition Assistance (TA), or military college or commissioning programs. 
  • Send updated transcripts if you are currently enrolled in another institution (send to the Office of Admissions at UNCW). 
  • Register for the mandatory Transfer Student Orientation and pay the $100 orientation fee. This fee is necessary to hold your place in the orientation session, and it helps pay the student Orientation Leaders. Parents and guests of transfer students may also register for the orientation sessions for a fee of $85.  If you are stationed overseas, please contact the Office of Transitions at transitions@uncw.edu or (910) 962-3089 for more information about how to complete your required orientation. You will not be able to register for classes until you have completed orientation (the exception is for RIBN or RN-BSN programs, which do not require orientation). This fee is not covered, either up front or by reimbursement, by the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the Montgomery GI Bill, Dependents Education Assistance, the Fry Scholarship, Tuition Assistance (TA), or military college or commissioning programs. 
  • Complete your Degree Audit so that you are prepared for orientation, when you will meet with your academic advisor. Note that recently completed coursework may not yet appear on the audit. 
  • Submit your Immunizations and Medical History form. This form is required for all students except for online-only students. You will not be able to attend classes if this form is not on file. 
  • Complete the Health Insurance information. Students on university campuses are required to have health insurance. Students may accept UNCW's student health insurance or may waive the student plan if they have proof of other health insurance; students may opt to have more than one kind of health insurance. Student health insurance will be listed as an additional fee on the student's bill. The Post-9/11 GI Bill will cover the student health insurance fee if not waived (students will check the appropriate box on the VA Class Schedule Form after registering for classes). For access to Tricare proof of health coverage, visit milConnect. Students enrolled on in on-campus courses for fewer than 6 credit hours per semester and online-only students do not pay the health fee or use the UNCW health center, but must submit the waiver each semester. 
  • Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and/or the Summer FAFSA. All students are encouraged to submit the FAFSA, regardless of other types of financial support the student may be receiving, such as military or VA educational benefits. 
  • Review your residency determination via your SeaNet account (search "residency"). If you are listed as an in-state resident, no further action is required. If you are listed as an out-of-state resident, but you think you meet the requirements for in-state residency, you may begin the appeals process by calling the North Carolina Residency Determination Service at 844-319-3640. If you are not eligible for North Carolina state residency, you may be eligible to apply for the Veteran's Choice Act, which will grant a waiver for the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition rates. Transfer students will be able to meet with a representative of the Office of the Registrar to discuss residency status at the military-affiliated session during Transfer Orientation. 
  • Review the cost of attendance. Transfer students will be able to meet with representatives from the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid and Student Accounts at the military-affiliated student lunch during Transfer Student Orientation. 
  • Submit a photo for your UNCW OneCard (campus ID card) so that you can pick it up the morning of orientation. 

Next, here are the items to be completed by those who will be using VA benefits. 

 The basic process for activating VA educational benefits at UNCW is as follows: 

  1. Apply for VA educational benefits online at eBenefits (either for the first time OR to transfer from another school where you previously used VA benefits)  
  2. Receive a Certificate of Eligibility letter from the VA (may take 4-6 weeks to arrive in the mail)
  3. Turn the Certificate of Eligibility letter in to the VA Certifying Officials at UNCW (scan and email to finaid@uncw.edu)

We recommend that this process is started before you attend orientation (the above steps constitute a one-time process).

After you have completed orientation, you will be able to register for classes, at which point, you will need to submit the VA Class Schedule Form to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid by digitally signing and clicking "Submit" at the bottom of the form OR by downloading, printing, signing, scanning and emailing to finaid@uncw.edu.

***You will need to submit the VA Class Schedule Form as soon as you register for classes each semester (in April for the summer/fall terms and in November for the spring term). 

Please be advised that it may take several weeks after the start of your first term at UNCW to receive your benefits payments due to processing times with the VA. This applies to those students who are transferring from other schools where they were using VA benefits. 

For the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the tuition and fees (mandatory fees, security fee, student health insurance fee) will be paid directly to the student's UNCW account; students do not need to pay those items in advance, although students with less than 100% of the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit will need to pay the balance when the bill is due. As long as students have submitted their VA Class Schedule Forms in a timely manner, their course registration will be held in place while UNCW awaits VA payment. If a Post-9/11 GI Bill student's course registration is dropped, they must contact the VA Certifying Officials to discuss the potential for reinstatement (finaid@uncw.edu or 910-962-3177). 

The monthly housing allowance and the book stipend (up to $1,000 per year, prorated according to enrollment) will be paid directly to the account linked through the eBenefits account; this may be the student's bank account or the sponsor's bank account.

Find the current housing allowance rate by searching this calculator for the "University of North Carolina at Wilmington". Please keep in mind that the housing allowance is paid out at the end of the month and only when classes are in session; the breaks between semesters and summer terms are not covered by the housing allowance. 

For students who plan to live on campus, please plan to pay on-campus housing fees by the billing date; the housing allowance will be sent to your personal bank account as noted above, as opposed to being sent directly to the UNCW student account. 

If you are planning to use your parent's Post-9/11 GI Bill at UNCW, they will need to apply through milConnect to have the benefit transferred to you. This is a one-time process. After that, you must complete the above steps for getting the Certificate of Eligibility through eBenefits and submitting the VA Class Schedule Form each semester. Please make note of the percentage of your entitlement as shown on your Certificate of Elgibility, as you will need to enter the percentage on your VA Class Schedule Form. Please note that the Montgomery GI Bill cannot be transferred to military dependents, and the Post-9/11 GI BIll must be transferred while the service member is still on active duty.

Here are the next steps for those who are using military educational programs. 

  • For those who are using Tuition Assistance (TA), please work with your unit's education coordinator to ensure you have submitted the necessary paperwork. 
  • For questions pertaining to billing and which costs are covered by TA, please contact our Third Party Billing coordinator, Sissy Hendricks, in Student Accounts at (910) 962-3147 or hendricksl@uncw.edu. 
  • For those who are enrolling in military college or commissioning programs, please contact militaryadmissions@uncw.edu for assistance with completing necessary paperwork for your program. 

Advising

You will go to your first advising appointment in the afternoon on your transfer orientation day. To prepare for your appointment, review the list of required coursework for your degree program using the University College major and minor program sheets. Write down a list of questions you have about your degree plan. You will be able to register for classes after you have completed your advising appointment. 

You may want to consider registering for UNI 201, the Transfer Student Seminar. This course is only open to transfer students during their first full semester at UNCW (if you start over the summer, you would be eligible to take the course in the fall). UNI 201 is a three-credit seated course that will introduce you to other transfer students and help you get acclimated to life at UNCW. It counts toward both the writing intensive requirement and the information literacy requirement. Melanie Nelson, the Military Student Services Specialist, teaches one of the sections of this course. 

You may also want to consider signing up for the Teal Bridge Mentor program. This program features peer mentors who were once transfer students themselves. New transfer students are assigned to a trained peer mentor, who meets with students throughout the semester for social events on campus and off. 

Parking Services

Students who are veterans or who are currently serving in the military receive a $20 discount on UNCW parking permits. You are eligible to apply for a parking permit via MySeaPort after you have registered for classes; check the appropriate box on the application to indicate your military service status.

Parking Services will contact you with your zone assignment and information about when to pick up your parking permit at the OneCard office in Warwick Center. Permits are assigned "first come, first served" based upon time of registration, with no advantage by class standing (i.e. Senior, Junior, Sophomore, Freshman). 

Payment for the parking permit is not due at time of application; the fee is added to the OneCard and payment will be due when the bill is due. For example, if you register in April for classes for the following fall semester, you may also register for a parking permit in April, then pay for the parking permit when the bill is due in July.

The parking permit discount is not available for military spouses or dependents at this time. 

 Please visit the Parking Services website for more information, maps of parking zones, and shuttle schedules.

Housing

UNCW offers on-campus housing to both first-year and transfer students, although transfer students have a more limited selection. If you wish to live on campus as a transfer student, you will need to submit the housing deposit via MySeaPort as soon as possible. If you are using the Post-9/11 GI Bill, remember that the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) payment will not be paid directly to the school, even if you are living on campus. The BAH payment will be paid directly to your personal bank account, and you will be responsible for paying the bill for your housing arrangements. 

Off-campus housing is also available to UNCW students; the PERCH offers more information about off-campus housing options.

UNCW Bookstore

After you have completed orientation and registered for classes, you will be ready to purchase or rent your textbooks. You may set up a personal shopping appointment at the UNCW Bookstore to help you avoid crowds at the UNCW bookstore; email ctr-hewettc@uncw.edu to make the appointment. 

Please keep in mind that if you are using the Post-9/11 or Forever GI Bill, your first book stipend payment may be delayed for several weeks after the start of the term during the first semester you are using the benefit. The first payment usually comes in around October 1 for the fall semester and around March 1 for the spring semester. You may pay for your books out-of-pocket or by credit card; you also have the option of signing up for the Bookstore Dollars program, which will add bookstore purchases to your UNCW bill via your OneCard. Payment for Bookstore Dollars is due when the bill is due.

You may also consider setting up a military payment plan through your student account once your bill is available, which will divide the payments for your bill and delay the first payment. Please contact Sissy Hendricks in Student Accounts for more information about the military payment plan, which you may set up through your eBill (910-962-3147 or hendricksl@uncw.edu). 

Scholarships 

All students may apply for general UNCW scholarships; the application is open December 1-March 1. This category includes three scholarships that are designated for military-affiliated students; students apply for these scholarships through the general UNCW scholarship application found in the link above. 

A variety of local, state, regional, and national organizations offer scholarships for military-affiliated students; eligibility requirements and application deadlines vary. 

 

Need help? 

Let's break it down to the basics: 

  1. Complete the items on your TealTicket in MySeaPort (enrollment fee, orientation fee, immunizations records, health insurance options). 
  2. Verify your residency status and take action as described above.
  3. Complete the items to launch your VA or military program educational benefits. 
  4. Make plans for housing (as applicable). 
  5. Attend orientation; register for classes and a parking permit. 

If you have questions, please email Melanie Nelson, Military Student Services Specialist (nelsonms@uncw.edu). 

Best of luck getting started, and again, congratulations, Seahawk! Check us out on social media for information about current events (Facebook and Twitter: @uncwmilitaryaffairs; Instagram: @uncw_oma). 

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