Yooj(in)Boston

Changing the landscape of higher education for veterans – additions to the GI Bill passed in 2009.

“GI bill to bring veterans to private colleges” April 21, 2009

New provisions of the GI Bill of Rights will allow private higher education institutions to participate in the decades-old program in a more involved manner, although administrators said they are not sure how exactly the new rules will work.

Under the new Yellow Ribbon Program, private schools and public graduate school programs that go above a state’s tuition cap that give scholarships and tuition forgiveness to veterans will have those funds matched by the government. It will go into effect on Aug. 1.

The original GI Bill, passed after World War II, included community colleges only. United States Department of Veterans Affairs has not yet released exact guidelines on how the new Yellow Ribbon Program will work with private institutions.

Boston University spokesman Colin Riley said the rules are new to BU.

“There is no way right now predict how many more veterans students will enroll at BU in the future because it depends on whether they are academically fit or not,” Riley said.

BU Veterans Affairs manager Barbara Doherty said BU representatives will attend a conference at the end of May to learn more about the bill.

“We do not really have much information on this yet,” she said. “We are still waiting to hear from Massachusetts Veterans Affairs how the new provisions will affect BU.”

There are still some problems to be fixed with the new provisions, Fisher College Recruitment and Enrollment Manager Mike Wall said.

“Veterans Affairs and the military have an odd relationship, as if they are almost going in separate directions, but they nevertheless have the same goals,” he said. “Military wants to help the soldiers, and V.A. is supposed to be there, but sometimes, it seems like there is so much bureaucracy.”

Because the changes are new, he said colleges and universities around the country are still trying to figure out the details of this bill and how it will affect their institutions because VA will give money to colleges instead of directly to veterans.

“That may make it a bit more hectic for colleges to determine who is eligible for what benefits, depending on what kind of a program the veterans apply for,” Wall said.

Although veteran students can now receive support to attend private universities, each state has a varying amount of money it plans to give per credit hour. According to the V.A., Massachusetts’ maximum charge per credit hour is $71.50, the lowest of all 50 states. Other states, such as Texas, may have up to $1,330 per credit hour.

“I feel it is Massachusetts’ loss that they do not provide more financial support for veterans compared to other states, though the excellent schools here will always attract prospective students anyway,” Navel ROTC member Timmy Wall said.

Regardless, Timmy Wall, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, said he thinks the new additions will have a positive impact on the number of student veterans’ enrollment in higher-education programs.

“These provisions sound fantastic since very few public universities outrank private universities in college reports,” he said. “Veterans will now have assistance attending colleges with more to offer due to their endowments and research grants.”

Original Link: http://www.dailyfreepress.com/gi-bill-to-bring-veterans-to-private-colleges-1.1725659#4