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Typo Causes Many Veterans’ Post-Army Plans to Be Put On Hold An issue deemed by many to be a “bureaucratic snafu” and by others as a simple glitch in semantics may cost many veterans the opportunity to attend college after their service to the Army. Due to a semantics issue caused by the term “fee” in the provisions of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which guarantees veterans partial or full college fee coverage (otherwise known as tuition), the Department of Veterans Affairs declared California’s tuition benefit as $0. Nearly 10% of the 400,000 veterans eligible for the GI Bill benefits reside in California and many will not be able to receive the education benefits promised to them. The GI Bill sets its tuition standard at the highest undergraduate tuition charged at public institutions. The problem is, the public colleges in California call “fees” what institutions in other states call “tuition.” Because of this, many students attending or planning to attend private colleges in the state will be ineligible for benefits, whereas students attending the same schools from other states will be covered. Veterans are still able to attend any public school of their choice including community colleges and any public college and university in California. Private and graduate schools are the only schools affected by the glitch. With the August 1st deadline approaching, things are complicated. It doesn’t look good for California Veterans wanting to attend graduate schools. This is unfortunate. It is basically an error in semantics that is costing California Veterans precious benefits. California is home to many veterans and one of the largest contributors to our armed forces. We appreciate the efforts of Congressman Buck Owens for sponsoring the Veterans Equality Education Act. If you are seeking Post 9/11 GI Bill information, MilitaryConnection.com is the place to go. We have information including in-state tuition fees, tax free living expenses, Yellow Ribbon Schools as well as a Directory of Yellow Ribbon Schools. You can find top schools that are recruiting veterans along with Post 9/11 GI Bill information. When the next tour is back home, it’s on MilitaryConnection.com |
