Can I receive unemployment benefits while attending college in Washington State? (school, community college)

[okiku_neko]

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[jinj]

Yes, you can do this.

You can also apply to extend the unemployment past the 6 months until you finish your course.

[okiku_neko]

Thank you! Do you know anyone who has personally done this?

[jinj]

Yes.

If you are to go past 6 months for your course, make an appointment with Work source if you need help filling out the forms. Your college will have to send them a form, they should know all the steps.
You will not have to look for work while studying, but you will still have to file your online form each week.

[motor80]

Originally Posted by okiku_neko

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When I was laid off 5 years ago, I could not go back to school for a graduate program and collect unemployment - you had to be available for work every day. No exceptions. I'm not sure if the laws have changed, but I would wager they have not.

[chrisms86]

Yes. I'm not an expert, but I was on UI and got a lot of info on this that I'll share.

WorkSource is not a good source of info on this. From what I can tell they are more about finding jobs for you.

The folks who handle this are the colleges. So ask the college you want to go to about worker retraining benefits. The trainings has to be vocational, that's why the other poster was denied for a grad program.

Worker retraining benefits are twofold. The college provides tuition/book assistance. The state continues to provide UI benefits that are so-called "commissioner-approved." To receive both of these benefits, you must be approved for the latter, which is a decision made by the UI office.

The application for "commissioner-approved" benefits asks many questions. How was your previous occupation categorized locally at Demand Decline Occupations What about the occupation you want to train for? How do you plan to pay for college if your benefits run out or are denied?

The first two questions are maybe the most important. You need to be coming from an occupation of "not in demand" to one of "in demand." I don't know if that is set in stone, if yours is "balanced" maybe you can still qualify, but from what I gather the purpose of the program is to help people whose skills are no longer relevant.

Don't use what I say as a guide, just a basic idea of what to expect. Your college will be a great source of info on this and most have former UI people to help you make the best application possible.

edit: I neglected to read your entire post. I would still look into what I'm talking about because you can get that tuition assistance. But if you don't mind paying tuition yourself, ask the unemployment office if its ok to take the online classes.

[wajahat ali]

i am getting unemployment from 3 months and i want to do pharmacy tech course which is 7 months long and its in campus not online can i do it while reciving my unemployment

[Molly11*]

If I attend online college classes can I collect UI?

[odie91]

I think the main criteria is that you are actively looking for full-time work, and it wouldn't intefere with your classes. WHen I was laid off a few years ago, I enrolled in community college, but made sure to take night classes. The unemployment office was fine with that. In fact, I eventually did find a full time job, and stayed enrolled in my night classes until the semester ended.

[dorset01]

My daughter works for child care agency private.She wants to go back to school but the only way she can go is to work less hours. Her employer is willing to give her less hours so she can go to school.But can she apply for partial unemployment benfits