Campuses Prep for Influx of Veterans

The Detroit Free Press ran an interesting article about the return of veterans to college. The article offers some helpful insight for both veterans and college staff and faculty.

The author points out how critical it will be for campuses to understand the needs of veterans who become university students, whether their needs are financial, mental or related to housing and other college-life decisions.

According to the Veterans Benefits Administration Education Services Director, Keith Wilson, the new Post 9/11 GI Bill is expected to send a surge of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and other military personnel and dependents onto U.S. college campuses -- up as much as 20% to 25% from current levels in the next two or three years.
Read the full article at Military.com.

'09 BAH Rates Sweeten New GI Bill

The DoD has released the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) Rates for 2009. These new rates represent an average increase of 6.9 percent in BAH. So why am I writing about this in an education blog?

Because the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing stipend is based on the DoD BAH payment rate for an E-5 with dependents for the zip code of the school in which the veteran is enrolled. This means any BAH increase will result in an increase in the value of the Post 9/11 GI Bill when it goes into effect in August of 2009.

It is important to note that the increase in the housing stipend will differ from school to school, for example a student going to school in San Francisco will see the Post 9/11 stipend increase 10 percent from $2512 to $2763 ( an increase of $250 a month). A student in Miami will see the stipend increase from $1707 to $1798 (a $91 increase).

To learn more about the new BAH rates visit the Military.com Benefits section on Basic Allowance for Housing. To learn more about how BAH effects the Post 9/11 read the Post 9/11 GI Bill Overview.

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.