§ 3312 — Educational Assistance: Duration

(a) Subject to section 3695 and except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), an individual entitled to educational assistance under this chapter is entitled to a number of months of educational assistance under section 3313 equal to 36 months. (b) The receipt of educational assistance under section 3313 by an individual entitled to educational assistance under this chapter is subject to the provisions of section 3321(b)(2). (1) Any payment of educational assistance described in paragraph (2) shall not— (A) be charged against any entitlement to educational assistance of the individual concerned under this chapter; or (B) be counted against the aggregate period for which section 3695 limits the individual’s receipt of educational assistance under this chapter. (2) Subject to paragraph (3), the payment of educational assistance described in this paragraph is the payment of such assistance to an individual for pursuit of a course or courses under this chapter if the Secretary finds that the individual— (i) in the case of an individual not serving on active duty, had to discontinue such course pursuit as a result of being called or ordered to serve on active duty under section 688, 12301(a), 12301(d), 12301(g), 12302, or 12304 of title 10; or (ii) in the case of an individual serving on active duty, had to discontinue such course pursuit as a result of being ordered to a new duty location or assignment or to perform an increased amount of work; and (B) failed to receive credit or lost training time toward completion of the individual’s approved education, professional, or vocational objective as a result of having to discontinue, as described in subparagraph (A), the individual’s course pursuit. (3) The period for which, by reason of this subsection, educational assistance is not charged against entitlement or counted toward the applicable aggregate period under section 3695 of this title shall not exceed the portion of the period of enrollment in the course or courses from which the individual failed to receive credit or with respect to which the individual lost training time, as determined under paragraph (2)(B).