The Veteran's Administration said all systems were go for last Friday's official start of student application processing for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. Officials there expect the new bill to be a game-changer. It provides the most comprehensive educational benefit package since the original World War II-era bill, officially called the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki told the American Forces Press Service that he expects the new bill to have as monumental an impact as the first did. By the time the original GI Bill ended in July 1956, almost 8 million veterans had taken advantage of its education and training benefits.
"What that bill did for the country was to change the course of our history and the latter half of the 20th century," Shinseki said. "When those veterans went back to their communities with their college degrees, they ended up being our leaders in religion, education, business, government - you name it." The new bill "has the opportunity to create in the 21st century the same kind of impact for development, social change [and] leadership across a lot of institutions."
The VA is working hard to get the word out about the new GI Bill, but it's also emphasizing that students with eligibility under multiple VA programs need to take time to fully evaluate which program is best for them. The decision to elect Post-9/11 benefits is irrevocable. Keith Wilson, Director of Education Service said "It's a great program, and it's going to be beneficial for a lot of veterans ... [but] the important thing to remember is that this is one of several programs we administer, all of which have different eligibility criteria ...The program that is best for the individual veteran is not always going to be the Post-9/11 GI Bill." Students with questions can call 1-888-GIBILL1 (442-4551) to speak with an Education Case Manager, or contact the VA via its secure e-mail service. The VA is now accepting student applications for the Post-9/11 GI Bill via its VONAPP Web site. Once logged in to VONAPP, students should select Form 22-1990 to apply.
One of the benefits long requested by military family readiness and advocacy
groups is finally coming to fruition: transferability, which allows service members to share their education benefits with immediate family members. The Department of Defense has proposed rules for Post-9/11 GI Bill transferability which are nearing final stages of approval. They include provisions to make sure that long serving military members nearing retirement are able to take advantage of the new benefits and are not penalized by an additional service requirement. Officials hope to begin accepting requests to transfer benefits to spouses or children in June; payments could begin as early as August 1, 2009.
The VA announced last week that the deadline for institutions to submit the Yellow Ribbon Program Agreement, an optional add-on to the GI Bill where the VA matches school contributions, has been extended to June 15, 2009 to allow more time for schools to prepare and make decisions about their participation. It also clarified the meaning of "unrestricted funds" in the school's contribution. Schools may designate how they will make contributions to students, either by direct grant, scholarship, or otherwise. Funds received directly or indirectly from Federal sources (including Title IV funds) may not be counted toward the institution's contributions to a Yellow Ribbon Program participant, nor can a scholarship from a third party sent directly to an institution on behalf of an individual or specific group of individuals. However, funds received from a third party that are restricted for use in the Yellow Ribbon Program may be counted towards the school contribution. The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) reports that this is "not meant to preclude institutions from using any restricted endowment funds such as any scholarship funds (including those raised for serving veterans) as their match. Rather, the provision is intended to prevent situations where an institution wants to count funds raised by an outside party for a particular veteran or a particular type of veteran."
More Resources
Related Media Coverage
New GI Bill Transfer Rules Offer More Control (Stars and Stripes)
VA Emphasizes Education Before Post-9/11 GI Bill Switch (American Forces Press Service)
By Darrill Anderson
NASFAA Associate Director of Communications
Posted 05/04/09 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
