Student Loan Blog : veterans

Ohio Schools Prep for No-Cost College Education Program for Vets

Student Loan Girl — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:53:00 GMT

Last summer Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland offered American military veterans worldwide a no-cost education at any of Ohio’s public colleges. The state has just now finished tallying its number of veteran students in preparation for the program’s Aug. 1, 2009 start date, the same day the new GI Bill goes into effect, reports The Columbus Dispatch (“Colleges Put Out Welcome Mat for Vets,” May 13, 2009).

Currently about 10,600 veterans and their family members take classes at Ohio institutions, including about 850 veterans at Ohio State University.

But about 57,000 veterans residing in Ohio who have served in the ongoing Gulf wars will be able to receive benefits under the expanded GI Bill, which covers the cost of in-state tuition at the most expensive public college, a small housing stipend, and $1,000 annually for books.

Veterans may also take advantage of the Ohio GI Promise initiated by Gov. Strickland, which extends in-state benefits, including tuition costs, to out-of-state veterans and their families as part of the state’s effort to eliminate brain drain.

Creators of the Ohio GI Promise program are hoping that the combination of their program with the new GI Bill benefits will attract 230,000 students to the state by 2017.

Programs Expand to Accommodate Anticipated Veteran Enrollment

When the new GI Bill goes into effect this August, Ohio State alone estimates an additional 300 to 400 students will enroll. To accommodate the projected hike in veteran enrollments under the new GI Bill, the school is analyzing what services it currently offers and how its programs can be expanded to meet the needs of these students.

Veterans will be able to participate in counseling, healthcare, and mentoring opportunities as well as attend monthly meetings with other veterans for encouragement and support through Ohio State. The school will offer veterans-only general education classes that facilitate the return of former military members back to civilian life.

Columbus State Community College has also instated a service that puts veterans in touch with counseling, housing, and financial services.

If a large number of veterans choose to remain in Ohio following graduation, Ohio leaders believe that a higher number of skilled workers will repopulate sections of the state that have been depopulated because of military campaigns in the Gulf.

“We see it as a magnet,” said Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut, “to lure veterans to come and build a life in Ohio.”

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VA Keeps Processing of New GI Bill Education Benefits In-House

Student Loan Girl — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:10:00 GMT

The education benefits of the new GI Bill — which will provide eligible veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with four years of college funding — will be processed in-house by the Department of Veterans Affairs and not outsourced to a private contractor as originally planned, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Veterans Affairs Department Cancels Plan to Outsource New Education Benefit,” Nov. 6, 2008).

The VA said it abandoned its controversial plan to put a private contractor in charge of processing the benefits — a proposal opposed by some veterans groups and members of Congress — after the department didn’t receive enough bids.

Out of 10 submissions, five were selected for review, but the proposals failed to prove that the vendors “could deliver in the very short time frame that we have to stand this up,” said Keith Wilson, director of the VA’s education service.

The American Legion lauded the department’s decision, saying that a contractor can’t offer veterans the same level of service that VA employees can provide.

“The VA employs IT personnel with intimate knowledge of how to best serve the veterans’ community,” said David Rehbein, national commander for the Legion.

Administering the new GI Bill benefits will be unusually complex, says Patrick Dunne, the VA’s undersecretary for benefits, since payment amounts are based on both in-state tuition and living costs, meaning benefits would vary by state and by region.

The new GI Bill, which Congress passed in June, will give veterans enough financial aid to cover up to the cost of in-state tuition at the most expensive public college in their state, along with a stipend for housing and books.

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All Veterans Qualify for In-State Tuition at Ohio Colleges With New GI Promise Legislation

Student Loan Girl — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:19:00 GMT

Ohio governor, Ted Strickland, recently announced the implementation of The Ohio G.I. Promise, the first plan of its kind in the nation to extend in-state tuition rates to all veterans who attend an Ohio state public college or university on the GI Bill, according to an article in The New York Times (“Ohio Gives Veterans In-State Rates at Public Colleges,” July 9, 2008).

Just last month, President Bush signed the new national GI Bill which will double veterans’ benefits and allow soldiers to receive the equivalent of full scholarships at any public university or college in the state they reside.

Under The Ohio G.I. Promise, veterans, their spouses, and their dependents who are residents of any state may attend one of the Ohio’s 36 colleges and universities at the same in-state tuition rate enjoyed by legal Ohio state residents.

The move to implement the G.I. Promise bill is to attract more veterans to Ohio’s public colleges, which have experienced declining enrollments over the last several years, and to add some 230,000 students to the state’s school system over the next decade.

“If we are able to attract veterans to Ohio, we can link them and their families to internships, co-op and other opportunities, and if they get good jobs here, we’ll have Ohioans,” said Eric Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. “We want veterans to know Ohio wants them to come here, and that we think they’re incredibly valuable high potential students.”

To meet the needs of the much-anticipated growth in veteran enrollments at Ohio colleges, Fingerhut told the Times that the state school system will significantly enhance the infrastructure that caters to military veteran students.

“We already have a number of very good programs, which we’ll be expanding, to provide the type of counselors, advisers, and mentors who can work one on one with veterans to help them make the transition to civilian life and navigate the academic environment,” he said.

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Colleges May Be Required to Refund Student Loans for Military Members Called Into Service

Student Loan Girl — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:20:00 GMT

At the same time the recently passed GI Bill was being pushed through Congress, legislators have been considering a veterans education “bill of rights” that would protect service members who are called to duty in the middle of their higher education studies, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Congress May Require Colleges to Repay Loans for Students Called to Military Service,” June 27, 2008).

Both the House and Senate are looking at legislation, which has become unpopular among colleges, that would require institutions to refund student loans and other out-of-pocket expenses to students who are called to active military duty mid-semester.

Under the proposed legislation, students would be able to sue colleges that fail to make the refunds and would require colleges to re-enroll veterans at the same academic status they held when they departed for military service.

Opponents say the requirements would be difficult to implement and that the potential changes would conflict with existing rules. They counter that Congress should require the loans to be discharged instead of having colleges repay them.

David Baime, vice president of the American Association of Community Colleges, claims that students should be responsible for the loans they take out, not the institutions they attend.

“It’s kind of outrageous to expect institutions to repay loans” that students take out, he said.

Supporter of the bill Patrick Campbell, legislative director for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, says that the new requirements are only fair, pointing to the many horror stories of vets who have attempted to get refunds or re-enroll at their schools after returning from active duty.

Campbell said, “When veterans come home and their schools make them jump through hoops, some students will not go back.”

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Veterans See Education Benefits Double as New GI Bill Becomes Law

Student Loan Girl — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:00:00 GMT

The new GI Bill, signed by President Bush on June 30, more than doubles veterans’ education funds from the current $40,000 to $90,000, and is seen as a return to the same generous benefits extended to veterans of World War II, according to an Associated Press article (“Bush Signs $162 Billion War Bill,” June 30, 2008).

The new legislation will allow veterans who served in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan for at least three years to attend the most expensive public institution in their state, all expenses paid. Soldiers will also receive a small monthly stipend for housing and may transfer their benefits to their spouse or children.

For those veterans who opt to attend more expensive private schools, the new GI Bill will match any aid that their institutions provide above the cost of the most expensive public college in their state.

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Pending 21st Century GI Bill: New Benefits for a New Era

Student Loan Girl — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:39:00 GMT

Many educators are excited about the potential impact of the proposed GI Bill, legislation that has gotten the nod by President Bush in its current form, according to an article in Inside Higher Ed (“Gauging the New GI Bill,” June 20, 2008).

“I think that expanding the GI bill, making it more generous, can be one component of really expanding access to higher education for people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds,” said Suzanne Mettler, Cornell University professor.

Current GI Bill benefits, worth only $1,101 monthly, have not kept pace with the escalating cost of a college education. Many experts believe that the current level of veterans’ benefits — used primarily by those from low socioeconomic backgrounds — are not enough to help veterans attain a decent college education.

But in the next couple of weeks, the Senate will vote on a revised version of the GI Bill that would:

Increase education benefits to cover up to the cost of in- state tuition at the most expensive public college in a veteran’s state
Offer a monthly housing allowance
Provide $1,000 a year for books
Open up the option of allowing transferable educational benefits for a veteran’s spouse and/or children

Benefits Unlikely to Affect Vets’ Choice of School

Educators at some two-year schools, where about 40 percent of GI Bill recipients pursue their degrees — are concerned that their enrollment numbers will dwindle significantly once these soldier- students are able to attend more expensive institutions.

However Keith Wilson, director of the Department of Veterans Affairs, says that may not necessarily be the case. He says the new bill isn’t expected to radically alter how and where veterans will attend college.

“In my experience, I’m not sure that’s necessarily true. I think convenience is still going to be paramount,” Wilson concluded.

Regardless of how the results of the bill shakes out, James Wright, president of Dartmouth College, says veterans should be able to choose the college that is the best fit for them and believes the new Bill will allow them to do so.

“Those who are coming out of the military should be able to think about going to the best schools in the country,” Wright said. “They should be thinking about going to the colleges that most meet their needs.”

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As Lawmakers Consider G.I. Bill Expansion, Colleges Reach Out to Veterans

Student Loan Girl — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:33:00 GMT

In spite of the financial assistance offered by the current G.I. Bill, military veterans face a series of daunting challenges when it comes to getting their college degree, including administrative hurdles and navigating the often complicated maze of veteran support services, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“As Congress Prepares to Expand GI Bill, Colleges Reach Out to Veterans,” June 9, 2008).

Though 71 percent of veterans use some portion of their G.I. Bill benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, only 6 percent of veterans exhaust the higher education benefits they’re entitled to.

In an attempt to help rectify this problem, Congress is considering ways to expand the current G.I. Bill to enhance veteran benefits and remove some of the existing barriers in place for veterans’ trying to obtaining a higher education.

At the same time, educators are looking at other ways to reach out to vets and to make their campuses more friendly to those who have participated in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. A recent conference in Washington, D.C. sponsored by the American Council on Education, addressed colleges' ideas regarding how to better meet the needs of their veteran students:

Extend scholarships to disabled veterans (University of Idaho)
Award academic credit for military training (Minnesota State Colleges & Universities)
Offer courses in Iraq and Afghanistan (University of Maryland University College)
Hold free entrepreneurial boot camps for aspiring business owners (Syracuse University)

College and university administrators say they have a lot to gain academically and financially from offering increased support services that help attract veteran students and maintain higher veteran student enrollment numbers. If Congress passes the revised G.I. Bill, which covers the cost of attending the most expensive public college in a veteran’s state, the veteran population would have the potential to generate even more tuition dollars for the nation’s colleges.

And as Stephen Weber, president of San Diego State University, told the Chronicle, veteran students typically have better grades, lower drop-out rates than civilians, and bring “a maturity and discipline to their studies that traditional students sometimes lack.”

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Two Colleges to Offer Own Versions of G.I. Bill

Student Loan Girl — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:41:00 GMT

When the original G.I. Bill was introduced in 1944, it covered the entire cost of a college education for returning World War II veterans, as well as a monthly cash stipend for one year.

Today’s G.I. Bill, providing $1,101 a month for 36 months of school, only covers about 73 percent of tuition at public universities and less than 31 percent of tuition at private institutions, according to the Congressional Research Service.

At the same time that Congress is considering the revision of G.I. Bill education benefits, a couple of colleges have chosen to act before Congress does by offering free or partially-free education to state veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Benedictine University – Lisle, Illinois

Beginning in the fall of 2008, Benedictine University will offer resident Illinois war veterans and reservists a free education under its “First Responder Program.” The program, which was funded by a $750,000 grant from the federal government, seeks to provide the state’s police and fire personnel with access to higher education, according to a recent press release from the university (“Benedictine to Begin Offering Illinois Veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan Free Education,” May 19, 2008).

Armed Forces veterans who specifically train for these public service careers may be eligible to obtain either an Associate of Arts in Business Administration degree or a Bachelor of Arts in Management degree, through the university and are only responsible to pay for their textbooks and fees.

“By extending the First Responder Program to veterans, these brave men and women will have access to an education they might not otherwise be able to afford,” Benedictine University, President William Carroll said in the press release. “The lives of many veterans their families will be positively changed, and the opportunity for a better future greatly increased.”

Pace University – New York, New York

Also starting next fall, Pace University will extend a 50-percent tuition scholarship to military veterans who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001, according to a recent university press release (“PACE University Offers Afghanistan And Iraq Veterans 50 Percent Tuition Scholarship,” May 12, 2008).

The scholarship applies to almost all part- time and full-time undergraduate and graduate degree programs, online or on-campus, at both the school’s New York City and Westchester locations.

Scholarships are not applicable, however, to Pace’s law, doctoral and Executive MBA programs, which, in total, only comprise about seven percent of the total degrees awarded.

“We are proud to support the education of veterans, and welcome them,” said Pace President Stephen Friedman. “They often are sought after by employers who recruit graduates of our diverse professional programs. This new scholarship offer recognizes their sacrifice and commitment to our country, and makes their education more affordable.”

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