Campuses Draw Vets as New GI Bill Benefits Kick In
With the “21st Century GI Bill” set to take full effect in August
2009, colleges and universities throughout the country are preparing
to receive the large numbers of veterans that will soon be
transitioning from soldiers to students, reports The Detroit Free
Press (“With New GI Bill, Campuses Prep for Influx of Veterans,”
Dec. 29, 2008).
Campuses could see as much as a 25 percent increase in enrollment by
military veterans in the next 2-3 years due to the new GI Bill, said
Keith Wilson, education services director at the Veterans Benefits
Administration.
The new bill will nearly double the college benefits offered under
the old Montgomery GI Bill: anyone who has been on active duty for
at least 36 months will get full tuition to the most expensive
public university in their home state as well as monthly and yearly
stipends to cover the costs of housing, books, and tutoring.
U of Michigan Students Push for Veteran Assistance Programs
Two veterans at the University of Michigan say that the state can
leverage the new GI Bill and boost the state’s economy by catering
to veterans at colleges.
Carl Ireland, president of the Student Veterans’ University of
Michigan chapter, and Derek Blumke, co-founder of the Student
Veterans of America, want Michigan to extend in-state tuition rates
to all vets. They’re also lobbying colleges to establish on-campus
veteran’s offices that assist students with any financial, housing,
and mental health issues veterans may confront during their
transition from active duty to academia.
School programs that assist veterans are a great marketing tool for
universities, said Shaftone Bryne Dunklin, assistant director of
Veterans Services at Eastern Michigan University. Dunklin believes
that the new GI Bill will open classroom doors next fall to veterans
who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford a college education.
Proposed Legislation May Soon Help Veterans
To ensure that veterans get the help they need statewide, both
Ireland and Blumke have drafted a plan that they hope will become
law sometime in 2009.
Besides requiring Michigan institutions to extend in-state tuition
to veterans, their plan would require state universities to
establish veterans’ offices that would assist vets in claiming their
benefits, offer tutoring and other services, and act as a university
liaison if a veteran is unexpectedly deployed. The proposal also
seeks to waive the admissions fee for veterans and mandates that
universities review a veteran’s military training to see if they can
get college credit for their training.
Ireland’s and Blumke’s proposed legislation has the backing of two-
time veteran and former U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz, who said he will help
the two veterans get their proposal before lawmakers. “The whole
idea is make Michigan veteran-friendly, a place that is welcoming
and a place where they’d want to pursue their education,” said
Ireland.