Veterans play a critical role in the U.S. economy. For many returning veterans, education is the first step to successfully reentering civilian life and the workforce. Since the inception of the first GI Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act) in 1944, higher education has been responding to the needs of military students. There were over 555,000 veteran and active duty beneficiaries of the Post-9/11 GI Bill in 2011, up from nearly 35,000 in 2009, according to the Veterans Benefits Administration. When combined with the veterans and active duty service members receiving other forms of educational support, this number jumps to 925,000 for 2011, totaling more than $10 billion. The Veterans Benefits Administration states that, “educational benefits are meant to enhance the nation’s competitiveness through the development of a more highly educated and productive workforce.”

Veterans are dedicated employees and entrepreneurs with invaluable skill sets, excellent teamwork and leadership skills, and commendable devotion to their employers or businesses. Without the assistance of higher education, it’s probable that the current 12% jobless rate among post-2001 veterans would increase. Higher education must do more to meet and exceed the educational needs of military students by maximizing Post 9/11-GI Bill benefits, providing supplemental programs, offering practical degrees and assisting in career placement.

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) explains that “the Post-9/11 GI Bill provides financial support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service after September 10, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days. You must have received an honorable discharge to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.” Benefits of the Post-9/11 GI Bill include up to 100% tuition and fee coverage, a monthly living (housing) stipend, up to $1,000 a year for books and supplies, a one-time relocation allowance, and the option to transfer benefits to family members.

Challenges of the Post-9/11 GI Bill

The implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill created many challenges for colleges. The administrative burden of monitoring GI benefits has caused college administrators to report a workload increase of 50% to 200% since the bill was implemented, according to a 2011 report by the RAND Corporation and the Lumina Foundation for Education on behalf of the American Council on Education.

Reasons for increased workload were cited as: 1) managing a 35% to 100% increase in total GI Bill enrollments; 2) familiarizing staff with new benefit details and a new certification software system; 3) working with the student accounts office to ensure that the institution received the correct tuition payments and to troubleshoot payment errors with the VA; 4) resubmitting enrollment verifications to the VA each time a student added or dropped a course; and 5) assisting students in understanding their benefit options.

To manage the increased workload, colleges have added staff and rely on VA work-study students when possible. Some colleges have also applied for grant money to fund additional veteran-related staff positions.

Supplemental programs

The Post-9/11 GI Bill is a main reason military students begin or continue their postsecondary education. For military students to obtain the maximum benefits from the Post-9/11 GI Bill, they must select a college that recognizes the challenges presented by this version of the GI Bill and is experienced in managing the benefits it offers.

A qualified college should also be able to help military students use supplemental programs like the Yellow Ribbon Program. A provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the Yellow Ribbon Program is designed to help students avoid up to 100% of the out-of-pocket tuition and fees that may exceed GI Bill tuition benefits. Military-friendly colleges will help military students receive additional funds through GI Bill provisions like the Yellow Ribbon Program without additional charges to the student’s entitlement.

Besides helping students leverage military student assistance, military-friendly colleges should provide additional accommodations for veterans and active service members. Military-friendly colleges will accept College Level Examination Programs or DANTES Subject Standardized Test exams for credit, and most will accept military training and experience for credit through the American Council on Education. Additionally, military-friendly colleges offer military student benefits such as: tuition discounts; in-state tuition without residency requirements; fee-waived applications; flexible schedules through evening, weekend, and online courses; and reenrollment without penalty for military students who are called to active duty.

Most military-friendly colleges will offer programs that further assist military students, their spouses and family members in achieving their education goals. Colleges will often partner with organizations like the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Degree Network System, an organization that works to provide educational opportunities to military students who, because of frequent relocation, have difficulty completing their college degrees. Furthermore, military-friendly colleges may offer programs like the Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts, a program that provides up to $4,000 (over two years) of financial assistance for military spouses pursuing degree programs, licenses or credentials that lead to employment in portable career fields. A military-friendly college’s commitment to military students is demonstrated by its ability to leverage benefits and supplemental programs.

Degree options

Veteran and active service members demand degree options that will serve them in today’s challenging economy. Colleges looking to appeal to the military student should offer two- and four-year degree options in areas such as management, leadership and public administration. Furthermore, military students typically require flexible degree schedules through day, night, and online courses. Military-friendly colleges must take note of these unique needs and respond accordingly.

In addition to flexible degree options, colleges must focus on career placement to ensure that military students are supported during their transition into the workplace. Colleges that offer support through internship opportunities, access to career counselors, and a network of military-friendly employers are able to provide the most essential support. Military-friendly colleges that have experienced veteran advisors and counselors on staff are able to connect military students with local VET REPS for career placement and guide students through upcoming transitions. Colleges should also leverage their business and community connections in order to guide military students from the classroom to the workforce in a systematic manner that generates career readiness and success.

With an estimated one million servicemembers, military spouses and family members expected to reenter the civilian workforce over the next five years, colleges’ roles have become more important than ever in the effort to decrease the unemployment rate among these individuals. By supporting veterans through their transition from the military to the workforce, colleges can make a significant impact on the individual success of each servicemember and the economy as a whole.

Thomas M. McGovern is president of Fisher College and a U.S. Army veteran. Email: tmcgovern@fisher.edu.

Related Posts:

Support the Troops ... with Education

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced March 5 that it will now accept complaints from borrowers about problems with their private student loans. These problems could include difficulty with taking out a loan, repaying an existing loan or handling a loan which has gone into default. Under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, the CFPB has the authority to oversee private, non-bank issuers of student loans. The CFPB's announcement coincided with a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on total outstanding debt. According to the report, U.S. student loan debt has reached $870 billion, more than the total credit card debt ($693 billion) and total outstanding car loan debt ($730 billion).

On Thursday, the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity held a hearing to consider a slew of bills, including three dealing with veterans' education benefits. The first bill (H.R. 3483) would increase the tuition benefit cap for students attending out-of-state public colleges to $17,500—the same as the cap on in-state private colleges—under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that between 25,000 and 35,000 veterans currently attend out-of-state public colleges. The second bill (H.R. 4057) would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop a proposal requiring colleges to provide information and counseling to prospective students and to be more responsive to student feedback. Currently, veterans must opt in to receive counseling, and few do. Information from state oversight agencies on academics, accreditation, recruiting practices and job placement rates would also be collected and made public under the bill. The final bill (H.R. 4052) would require the secretary of Veterans Affairs to recognize colleges offering "superior services" to veterans based on criteria including graduation rates. Federal graduation rate statistics have been criticized for including only first-time, full-time students, excluding many "nontraditional" students who attend community and for-profit colleges in disproportionate numbers. New legislation (S. 2179) introduced Thursday by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) requiring institutions to meet Education Department eligibility requirements for federal student aid in order to receive aid from the military tuition assistance program and the G.I. Bill would also fall heavily on for-profit colleges.

As a member of New England Council, we publish the DC Shuttle each week featuring higher ed news from Washington. This edition is drawn from the Council's Weekly Washington Report Higher Education Update, of March 12, 2012.

Founded in 1925, the New England Council is a nonpartisan alliance of businesses, academic and health institutions, and public and private organizations throughout New England formed to promote economic growth and a high quality of life in the New England region. The Council's mission is to identify and support federal public policies and articulate the voice of its membership regionally and nationally on important issues facing New England. For more information, please visit: www.newenglandcouncil.com.

A new $5 billion Education Department program aims to improve teacher training and career paths. The Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching (RESPECT) project encourages states and districts to work with teachers and education colleges to reform teacher training, compensation and professional development. Education Secretary Arne Duncan introduced the program, part of President Obama's FY2013 budget proposal, on Wednesday. The program represents the latest in a series of competitive grant programs designed to encourage states and districts to implement reforms favored by the Education Department. Priorities for the RESPECT project include higher admission standards for teaching colleges, linking teacher compensation and tenure to student achievement and implementing incentives like higher pay to keep the best teachers at otherwise difficult-to-staff schools.

On Thursday, House Education and Workforce Committee Chair John Kline (R-MN) held a hearing on two pieces of legislation he introduced last week to replace portions of the No Child Left Behind Law. The Student Success Act (H.R. 3989) would allow states to replace federal achievement standards and standardized tests with their own. The Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act (H.R. 3990) would revoke federal requirements for teacher qualification and allow states and districts to establish their own teacher-quality tests and metrics. Congressman Kline contrasted his proposals' wide flexibility for states to use federal funding however they wish and develop their own teacher-evaluation systems against the administration's proposals for legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as a "one-size-fits-all federal accountability system." Other Republican committee members praised the bill for moving away from a "teach to the test" mentality by allowing states more freedom to tailor standards to their unique student populations. Democrats and some witnesses expressed concern at the bills' lack of accountability measures, which they say would allow some states to continue without real impetus for reform. President of the Council of Chief State School Officers Tom Luna argued that the common core initiative is one example of schools driving improvement without federal mandates. Other provisions which received heavy criticism were the removal of a federal requirement to assess science learning and a cap on funding for English language learners.

On Thursday, a group of Senate Democrats led by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) introduced legislation (S. 2116) to remove the incentive for for-profit colleges to pursue veterans and active-duty members of the military over concerns about abuses in the sector. Currently, for-profit colleges may receive a maximum of 90% their revenue from federal sources, not including Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and Defense Department tuition benefits. Sen. Carper's bill would include those military benefits in the 90% maximum. Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) also introduced a companion bill in the House. Both measures are similar to bills introduced last year by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) which would have included military benefits under federal aid and reduced the maximum percent of revenue to 85. Heavy Republican opposition means that neither bill is expected to advance very far.

As a member of New England Council, we publish the DC Shuttle each week featuring higher ed news from Washington. This edition is drawn from the Council's Weekly Washington Report Higher Education Update, of Feb. 20, 2012.

Founded in 1925, the New England Council is a nonpartisan alliance of businesses, academic and health institutions, and public and private organizations throughout New England formed to promote economic growth and a high quality of life in the New England region. The Council's mission is to identify and support federal public policies and articulate the voice of its membership regionally and nationally on important issues facing New England. For more information, please visit: www.newenglandcouncil.com.