Military Education, military education, service programs, G.I. Bill - Military Times

Some states still silent on tuition for new GI Bill

The Aug. 1 launch of the Post-9/11 GI Bill is expected to go smoothly but for one problem outside the control of the Veterans Affairs Department: The tuition and fee caps for some states will not be known.

Among the many positives about the new veterans education benefits program is its promise to reimburse tuition and fees for eligible students up to a cap for every state that is based on the highest tuition and fees charged for undergraduate education at a four-year public college or university at the in-state rate.

To set caps, VA is depending on state approving agencies to determine the highest tuition and fee rates and report the numbers. VA officials have found that some state agencies will not be ready by Aug. 1 to report their highest tuition and highest fees, leaving VA to find a stopgap solution.

For states where a cap has not been established for the 2009-10 academic year, tuition and fee payments will be made based on the 2008-09 rates, VA officials said. Once 2009-10 caps are set for a state, retroactive payments will make up the difference.

Because tuition and fee payments are made to schools, not students, VA officials believe students may not notice a delay. Schools must accept a temporary reduced payment without billing students for the difference, VA officials said.

No problems are expected in calculating the living stipends and book allowances paid directly to students.

States with low public tuition

VA officials may face another hurdle in calculating tuition caps, however, because of legislation approved by a House committee aimed at hiking payments in states that charge little or no tuition because of state subsidies.

At the urging of Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., the House Education and Labor Committee approved legislation July 21 that would increase tuition benefits in states where tuition for in-state students at four-year public colleges and universities is small or, as in the case of California, free.

Because of how tuition caps are calculated, low in-state tuition results in small tuition payments for all Post-9/11 GI Bill students in the state. McKeon’s plan would create a special supplemental grant for veterans in states with low public-school tuition costs that would combine the cost of tuition and fees into a potentially larger single payment.

For example, if the cap for a state was $100 in tuition and $500 in fees, but a student attended a private college where tuition was $800 and fees were $100, current law would provide a payment of just $200 — the $100 in fees plus the maximum $100 for tuition. McKeon’s plan would allow a payment of $600, the combination of the tuition and fee caps for that state.

In California, McKeon’s plan would allow up to $13,000 a year in tuition and fees for someone attending private school. The current maximum is $1,000.

There is a way around the cap for some students attending schools taking part in the Yellow Ribbon Program, in which VA will match, dollar for dollar, any reduction in tuition made by a school for a qualified student using the Post-9/11 GI Bill.