VA Outlines Plans for New GI Bill Implementation

On Tuesday, November 18, 2008, the Department of Veterans Affairs offered details on their implementation plans for the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008. Keith Wilson, Director of the Office of Education Service, unveiled their interim plan to meet the requirements of benefits delivery in the short-term and long term.

According to Wilson, VA has begun improving the current information technology (IT) system internally in order to meet the August 2009 deadline and he expects to keep this system in place until November 2010.
Wilson told congress that the plan relies on increased automation and an expected increase in staffing of as much as 400 employees. The report indicates that VA will begin hiring in January and expects to be fully staffed by March 2009.

Mr. Wilson also detailed their long-term plan, expected to go into effect near the end of 2010. The long-term plan will rely on support from the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) to help develop a permanent rules-based automated system.

Related Articles:
VA’s GI Bill Implementation Timeline

The full article by 10Meters.com.

Please read more about the Post 9/11 GI Bill on Military.com.

You are also encouraged to visit the VA GI Bill website to make sure you fact-check all the rumors and completely understand the new benefit and its purpose.

Now's the Time to Improve the Post 9/11 GI Bill

By Terry Howell

Many of my recent articles have been about the Post 9/11 GI Bill. I have covered both the pros and cons of this new education benefit. The more significant issues with the new GI Bill are that online students are excluded from receiving the “living stipend” and the tuition payment rate is set too low to cover the full cost of online education.

I have also noted in my blog that we can expect congress to tweak the law after the first of the year. It is assumed that the changes will include an amendment to include “distance learning” (online education) programs in the eligibility for the “living stipend” and/or create a higher tuition payment rate for the more expensive private schools and online programs.

Word is that they are considering opening the stipend to online students, but there is no talk of increasing the tuition rate to cover the more expensive online course work. Unfortunately those involved in the current discussions don't see the value of online education.

Based on my discussions with key individuals, it seems many of our elected officials and representatives on the Veterans Advisory Committee on Education want to apply a 1944 academic approach in today’s education environment. Apparently they assume that today’s service members all want (or are able) to go back to school and enjoy the lecture hall experience.

They couldn’t be more wrong, in fact, a recent Associated Press article, Soldiers, Vets Turning to Online Education, addresses the popularity of online education among military students (active duty, reserve, and veterans). The article explains how online education gives service members and veterans - especially those dealing with PTSD, or physical disabilities - a way to earn their degree in a more comfortable, self-paced, less public environment.

Another point that seems to escape the decision makers is that nearly all current service members are being brought into the world of education through "non-traditional" education. The Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) makes it possible for military students to use a mix of online, Credit-by-Exam (CLEP/DSST Exams) and ACE credits (college credit for military experience and training) to work toward their degrees. The same AP article quotes the assistant vice president for lifelong learning at the American Council on Education (ACE), Jim Selbe, as saying that “about 50 percent of active duty service members receiving tuition reimbursement from the Department of Defense are taking online courses.”

These programs are a great way for servicemembers to get a head-start on their education goals. However, the new Post 9/11 GI Bill does the exact opposite. It not only penalizes veterans who want to go online, it encourages them to attend “public” universities; many of which will not recognize their ACE credits and/or CLEP and DSST exams.

Time to Step Up

In my opinion it's time for those of us who want the Post 9/11 GI Bill to serve all our veterans to step up and be heard. The responsible committees are already meeting to plan their strategies for fixing the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Some of their ideas include doing away with the Montgomery GI Bill. This may be the right approach, but if they do not make the Post 9/11 GI Bill more useful to the non-classroom bound veterans, it will be a huge mistake and hurt more veterans than it will serve.

If you want to reach out to your elected officials, I suggest you visit our the Military.com Legislative Center, locate your officials and send them both an e-mail and a hard-copy letter asking them to expand the Post 9/11 GI Bill to better serve veterans who are unable to go back to the classroom.

About the Author: A Retired Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer, Terry completed his BS in Management and Communications using a combination of CLEP exams, credit for military service, and distance learning while on active-duty. Terry now serves as Managing Editor for the Education Channel at Military.com.

Va. Vets May Get Automatic College Admissions

Virginia State Delegate David Poisson (D-Loudoun) introduced legislation directing the governing boards of public colleges and universities in Virginia to automatically admit in-state students applying for admission who have graduated at the top 10% of their class from a public or private high school in Virginia and have been honorably discharged from military service.

The original cosponsors of include Delegate and U.S. Air Force veteran William Barlow; Delegate, U.S. Naval Academy graduate and retired U.S. Navy Captain Joseph Bouchard; Delegate and U.S. Army veteran Robert Brink; Delegate and U.S. Air Force Academy graduate David Englin; Delegate Paula Miller; and Delegate Kenneth Plum.

The program would apply to those who have been honorably discharged from service in the United States Armed Forces, the United States Armed Forces Reserves, the Virginia National Guard, or the Virginia National Guard Reserve.

Read the press release.

Note: What do you think? Since this program is limited to the top 10% of high school grads is this benefit useful for most Va. vets?

Grants, Scrutiny for Veterans Education

The following article by Jack Stripling, Inside Higher Ed Magazine explains how schools that are truly veteran friendly can hope to receive large grants.

The new GI Bill is likely to bring an influx of veterans to college in 2009, but there’s precious little consensus about how best to help these students succeed once they arrive on campus, according to the American Council on Education.

ACE unveiled a program Monday that aims to grow programs that serve student veterans. Perhaps more importantly, ACE officials say they’re determined to find out whether programs that purport to help veterans navigate through higher education actually work.

With the help of funding from the Wal-Mart Foundation, ACE is offering a total of $2.5 million in grants to institutions that will operate model programs specifically designed for veterans on campus. Those programs could be as diverse as on-campus veterans’ organizations, peer mentoring groups and counseling services geared toward veterans.

The one-time $100,000 grants will be distributed to colleges that agree to publish an analysis of their programs’ effectiveness, potentially examining outcomes like graduation and retention rates.

“The intent is to have empirical data that can drive decisions on the appropriateness of replicating those programs across sectors,” said Jim Selbe, assistant vice president of lifelong learning with ACE.

The grants will be awarded on a competitive basis, and a premium will be placed on funding institutions that have clear plans for tracking outcomes, Selbe said.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs tracks college-going rates for veterans, but the outcomes for student veterans – and how those outcomes might be affected by support programs — have not been followed closely, Selbe said. There’s also little definitive data about the prevalence of veteran-specific programs across higher education, he said.

“Right now that’s information that no one has,” Selbe said.

Read the full article at the Inside Higher Ed website.

Beyond the GI Bill

By Terry Howell

A recent New York Times article, Beyond the Bill, outlines the programs that can help servicemembers and veterans supplement the GI Bill (either MGIB or Post 9/11) and cover the additional costs of earning a college degree.

Reporter, Cecilia Capuzzi Simon, outlines five ways to help veterans fund their education and three organizations that offer special programs designed to help veterans transition in the civilian world of business.

Due to the large variety of veteran education programs, the article is unable to offer a comprehensive list of programs. However, many veterans and education counselors should find the article helpful.

It is good to see a large news organization with the reach of the New York Times provide information that can help our veterans excel in the civilian world. Thanks Cecilia!