Frequently Asked Questions

The Career Services Department assists students with career development. This may include obtaining information on potential employers and current opportunities for employment as well as hiring practices and assisting students in their transition from school to career.

There are a few reasons for this. Did your class end earlier in the month than usual? Did you have a one-week semester break, which may cause split payments? Additionally, students with VA debt may have BAH/book stipends withheld. Please contact the VA school certifying official or contact VA education at 888-442-4551 with any questions.

The Federal VA pays the books and supplies stipend associated with Chapter 33 until 24 credits have elapsed from August 1 to July 31. If you have exceeded 24 credits by attending institutions during that period, the VA will begin paying the stipend again when the VA fiscal year resets on August 1.

The school initially reports $0.00 for each class to ensure VA processes your BAH and books and supplies stipend in a timely manner. During week 3, the school will submit an amendment reporting the tuition and fees amount to VA.

Enrollment verification is a new requirement for Post-9/11 GI Bill® (Chapter 33) students to verify every month that they are still enrolled in the same courses or training that your school-certified to VA. It’s not about verifying that you are attending classes, but whether your certified enrollment has changed.

Students now have the option to verify enrollment via text message or email. VA strongly recommends using text or email, but if these options are unavailable to you, you may call the Education Call Center (ECC) at 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551) to verify enrollment. Please be advised that calling the ECC may result in long wait times.

If you fail to submit enrollment verification for two consecutive months, your MHA/kicker payments will be held until you verify your enrollment. For example, if your term starts on January 1, 2022, and you fail to verify your enrollment for January and February, your March 2022 payments will be placed on hold.

Verify Enrollment Tookit

Other funding such as federal aid (through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Veteran Education Benefits, and self-funding can be explored. If no other funding is available, a break between TA fiscal years can be taken.

Please contact your SDI Student Success Coach to assess your course progress and the possibility of successful completion. Technology should not be an obstacle, and if accessing the Learning Management Site (LMS) or uploading files is challenging, please contact your SDI Student Success Coach. If you are encountering difficulty submitting a weekly assignment on time, contact your course instructor. If a course will be failed because of circumstances, service branches have appeals for debt waivers that can be sought to reduce or eliminate recoupment.

SDI has a tuition refund policy that prorates tuition based on attendance. There is proration up to the last day attended after week four in an eight-week course and up to week three in a four-week course. If not able to successfully attend or complete a course, it is best to withdraw from it sooner than later. Any course withdrawal will result in service branch recoupment of TA paid to SDI for earned tuition. SDI has a policy to allow for special consideration due to rapid deployment. However, if withdrawal is due to other circumstances, service branches have appeals for debt waivers that can be sought to reduce or eliminate recoupment for a withdrawn course.

Students withdrawing from a program due to military service requirements must inform their designated Student Success Coach of the date of withdrawal. Documentation of military service must be provided as far in advance as is reasonable under the circumstances of the military service, or it can be provided upon re-enrollment if not available prior. In circumstances where advanced notice is not required due to classified operations or other reasons precluded by military necessity, the student may alternatively provide an attestation of the classified nature of the operations including the dates of such service.

SDI will honor all federal guidelines regarding re-enrollment including the following:

• Students will be re-enrolled with the same satisfactory academic progress status as when they withdrew.

• Students will be re-enrolled in the same program (or most similar program if the same program is no longer available) unless the student selects a different program.

• Students will be re-enrolled at the same point in the program and with the same enrollment status (unless the student chooses a different enrollment status).

• Students will be re-enrolled with the same number of credit hours previously completed unless re-enrolled to a different program where those credits are not transferable.

• Students must also give oral or written notice to their Student Success Coach of their intent to return to the school within three years after the completion of the period of service unless otherwise excused as outlined in the federal guidelines, or will follow the Re-enrollment Policy for Service Members, and the cumulative length of absences for military service cannot exceed five years.

Students withdrawing from a program due to military service requirements must inform their designated Student Success Coach of the date of withdrawal. Documentation of military service must be provided as far in advance as is reasonable under the circumstances of the military service, or it can be provided upon re-enrollment if not available prior. In circumstances where advanced notice is not required due to classified operations or other reasons precluded by military necessity, the student may alternatively provide an attestation of the classified nature of the operations including the dates of such service.

SDI will honor all federal guidelines regarding re-enrollment including the following:

• Students will be re-enrolled with the same satisfactory academic progress status as when they withdrew.

• Students will be re-enrolled in the same program (or most similar program if the same program is no longer available) unless the student selects a different program.

• Students will be re-enrolled at the same point in the program and with the same enrollment status (unless the student chooses a different enrollment status).

• Students will be re-enrolled with the same number of credit hours previously completed unless re-enrolled to a different program where those credits are not transferable.

• Students must also give oral or written notice to their Student Success Coach of their intent to return to the school within three years after the completion of the period of service unless otherwise excused as outlined in the federal guidelines, or will follow the Re-enrollment Policy for Service Members, and the cumulative length of absences for military service cannot exceed five years.

Please refer to Volume 2, Chapter 3 of the Federal Student Aid Handbook for complete guidelines and definitions.

In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, as amended, SDI prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability. The Institute is committed to making reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of the student with a disability as long as it does not fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity or give rise to an undue financial or administrative burden. Appropriate academic adjustments will be determined based on the student’s specific disability and individual needs. These may include auxiliary aids and services, as well as modifications to academic requirements as necessary to ensure equal educational opportunity. Reasonable accommodations will be granted to students who present appropriate documentation of a disability and are otherwise qualified to participate in their specific program of study. Students with disabilities requesting accommodations should send an email to ada@sdi.edu for assistance.

To access your Online Classroom you will be required to select the Microsoft button on the right side of the screen to log in. Do not use the ‘Username’/’Password’ fields to sign in.

You may always access your live and full tentative schedule through your Student Portal under the Academics tab (log in using your Microsoft Credentials). You follow the below route to access the full schedule:

Academics > Your Schedule > Download the PDF titled “Schedule Report

To assist with your full-time status during your enrollment with SDI you may be scheduled in 2 – 3 courses during an 8-week module. The 3^rd course typically is a 4-week concurrent lab.

On the flip side, to assist with your part-time status during your enrollment with SDI you may be scheduled in 1 – 2 courses during an 8-week module with the 2^nd course typically being a 4-week concurrent lab.

You may also access your, live, full tentative schedule through your Student Portal under the Academics tab (log in using your Application Credentials). You follow the below route to access the full schedule:

Academics > Your Schedule > Download the PDF titled “Schedule Report”

SDI’s academic week runs Monday – Sunday, without required lecture times or “sign-in” times. Though you will have deadlines to submit academic assignments such as your initial discussion response being due Wednesday, 11:59pm, AZ/MST time, and remaining assignments by Sunday, 11:59pm, AZ/MST time.

SDI’s Student Email does grant free access to Office 365 Education Online. You may log in using your Student Email Address/Microsoft Credentials.

Sonoran Desert Institute has partnered with Parchment to improve your transcript ordering experience! To order your official SDI transcript, you must submit a request through Parchment Exchange. You will either need to log in to an existing account, or you will be required to create an account with Parchment to request your transcript.

Once you create an account, follow the steps to have your official transcript sent via mail or electronically secured. SDI provides transcripts at no cost to students in support of continuing education and personal and professional pursuits.

For paper transcripts, if you select overnight delivery with FedEx, you will be responsible for the fees associated with that delivery option. FedEx does not deliver to PO Boxes and does not deliver on Saturdays and Sundays. If you are concerned about a delay in processing your order, please contact transcripts@sdi.edu.

Please keep in mind that you must have no outstanding financial obligations with Sonoran Desert Institute to release your academic transcript. Any questions regarding your account balance should be directed to studentaccounts@sdi.edu.

Yes, Sonoran Desert Institute accepts the recommendations of the American Council on Education (ACE) College Credit Recommendation Service as listed in The Guide to Educational Credit by Examination. ACE recommends a credit-granting score of 50 for each CLEP exam. These include Advanced Placement Examinations, College Level Examination Program General Examinations (CLEP), and Excelsior College Examinations (ECEs). Semester hours of credit toward graduation earned on the basis of these tests are granted with a grade of P (Pass), and neither raises nor lowers a student’s grade point average. SDI does not offer testing for credit by examination.

Please email transcripts@sdi.edu . The Registrar’s office will complete this request.