VA Making Progress in Post 9/11 GI Bill Roll Out
Be patient while applying for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits
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The Post-9/11 GI Bill, which went into effect in August, pays tuition for approved training, including undergraduate and graduate degrees, vocational/technical training, as well as for tutorial assistance and licensing and certification tests.
If you qualify the bill will provide money for education and housing. To find out if you might qualify, visit the VA Post 9/11 GI Bill website. For education, the program pays the highest in-state tuition in the state where the school is located. Under the Yellow Ribbon Program, educational institutions agree to assist with costs if a program costs more than the highest in-state tuition. Rather than providing funds and having the student pay the tuition, the Post-9/11 GI Bill gives the education costs directly to the school.
The program drew much interest; The Department of Veterans Affairs received more than 25,000 applications in the first two weeks. However, some who support the bill say that it was not all smooth sailing in the beginning.
"It was a little slow getting started," said Gordon Nero, education services specialist at the Detrick Center for Training & Education Excellence at Fort Detrick, Md., who thinks the program is getting on track. "There were so many growing pains. Everything from the Web site on down is evolving every day and getting better and better. Payments are coming in a lot faster now."
Rebekah Havrilla, a disabled Army veteran, is less than pleased with the Post-9/11 GI Bill. "The idea was good, but the implementation was horrible," said Havrilla. "They didn't have the staff they needed and underestimated how many people would file." Havrilla is still waiting for her housing benefits and a portion of her tuition. "I filed May 1 (2009), the first day they opened for filing. I have yet to see a BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) payment and I'm in the second semester," she said. Havrilla chose to switch from the old GI Bill to the Post-9/11 GI Bill and says she regrets making the change. "It's a huge hassle," she said.
Her school has been paid, although there is still a minor discrepancy to be resolved. She has filed for the $3,000 emergency fund to make up for the BAH payment she is still awaiting. Havrilla admits that when she did the math, the BAH payment under the Post-9/11 GI Bill was better than under the previous bill, but remains unimpressed by the program's implementation.
Nero, who spends his days helping soldiers reach their educational goals, advises those who are eligible to compare the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill. "Before you switch, think past the dollars and cents of today. What is your ultimate goal? Do you want get out and go to school more than part-time? If you are taking courses online or part time, you might want to think about the Montgomery GI Bill, which also pays for training and trade school," said Nero. He also suggested looking at the comparison charts and questionnaire provided on the VA Web site.
"Given the timeframe that the VA had to react to the new GI Bill, along with the large number of veterans who took advantage of it, I think they did as well as possible," said Barbara Merlo, Central Texas College's Director of Community Relations & Marketing. "The VA leadership has been very proactive in dealing with the backlog, and took the extraordinary step of providing veterans with advance payment in the fall to ensure they did not miss out on classes. I think as they are able to hire more staff, the backlog will be reduced and the process should be relatively painless for all. Of course, (our college) processed students as soon as their certifications were received, regardless of whether the tuition payments had been made by the VA."
The VA had been transparent about the progress in processing claims, even offering a page on its Web site that gives statistics on the number of claims paid on a periodic basis. On March 1, 2010, the Total Unique Students Paid for spring 2010 was 184,326.
When the program first began, the VA took steps to increase its ability to handle call volume, but Nero acknowledges that still it may take time to speak with someone. Veterans who wish to take advantage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill would do well to follow the advice that Patrick W. Dunne, VA's under secretary for benefits, offered in May 2009: "Because of the large number of applications expected to be received, we encourage Veterans interested in attending school this fall to apply early online."
Tell us what you think of the Post 9/11 GI Bill and it's implementation on our Discussion Board!
If you qualify the bill will provide money for education and housing. To find out if you might qualify, visit the VA Post 9/11 GI Bill website. For education, the program pays the highest in-state tuition in the state where the school is located. Under the Yellow Ribbon Program, educational institutions agree to assist with costs if a program costs more than the highest in-state tuition. Rather than providing funds and having the student pay the tuition, the Post-9/11 GI Bill gives the education costs directly to the school.
The program drew much interest; The Department of Veterans Affairs received more than 25,000 applications in the first two weeks. However, some who support the bill say that it was not all smooth sailing in the beginning.
"It was a little slow getting started," said Gordon Nero, education services specialist at the Detrick Center for Training & Education Excellence at Fort Detrick, Md., who thinks the program is getting on track. "There were so many growing pains. Everything from the Web site on down is evolving every day and getting better and better. Payments are coming in a lot faster now."
Rebekah Havrilla, a disabled Army veteran, is less than pleased with the Post-9/11 GI Bill. "The idea was good, but the implementation was horrible," said Havrilla. "They didn't have the staff they needed and underestimated how many people would file." Havrilla is still waiting for her housing benefits and a portion of her tuition. "I filed May 1 (2009), the first day they opened for filing. I have yet to see a BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) payment and I'm in the second semester," she said. Havrilla chose to switch from the old GI Bill to the Post-9/11 GI Bill and says she regrets making the change. "It's a huge hassle," she said.
Her school has been paid, although there is still a minor discrepancy to be resolved. She has filed for the $3,000 emergency fund to make up for the BAH payment she is still awaiting. Havrilla admits that when she did the math, the BAH payment under the Post-9/11 GI Bill was better than under the previous bill, but remains unimpressed by the program's implementation.
Nero, who spends his days helping soldiers reach their educational goals, advises those who are eligible to compare the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill. "Before you switch, think past the dollars and cents of today. What is your ultimate goal? Do you want get out and go to school more than part-time? If you are taking courses online or part time, you might want to think about the Montgomery GI Bill, which also pays for training and trade school," said Nero. He also suggested looking at the comparison charts and questionnaire provided on the VA Web site.
"Given the timeframe that the VA had to react to the new GI Bill, along with the large number of veterans who took advantage of it, I think they did as well as possible," said Barbara Merlo, Central Texas College's Director of Community Relations & Marketing. "The VA leadership has been very proactive in dealing with the backlog, and took the extraordinary step of providing veterans with advance payment in the fall to ensure they did not miss out on classes. I think as they are able to hire more staff, the backlog will be reduced and the process should be relatively painless for all. Of course, (our college) processed students as soon as their certifications were received, regardless of whether the tuition payments had been made by the VA."
The VA had been transparent about the progress in processing claims, even offering a page on its Web site that gives statistics on the number of claims paid on a periodic basis. On March 1, 2010, the Total Unique Students Paid for spring 2010 was 184,326.
When the program first began, the VA took steps to increase its ability to handle call volume, but Nero acknowledges that still it may take time to speak with someone. Veterans who wish to take advantage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill would do well to follow the advice that Patrick W. Dunne, VA's under secretary for benefits, offered in May 2009: "Because of the large number of applications expected to be received, we encourage Veterans interested in attending school this fall to apply early online."
Tell us what you think of the Post 9/11 GI Bill and it's implementation on our Discussion Board!