New GI Bill victim of its own popularity
A new GI Bill took effect this summer. In commemoration of Veterans Day this coming week, Tess Vigeland takes a look at the new bill, the thousands of people who are affected by it, and the backlog it has created.
Veterans display their medals. (Greg Wood/Staff)
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TEXT OF STORY
TESS VIGELAND: This coming week marks Veterans Day. So we thought we'd take a moment to look at the new GI Bill that took effect this summer. It brings the benefit more in line with current costs for tuition, books and housing. So far more than 200,000 people have signed up and that's caused a big backlog for applications.
David Segal is a sociology professor at the University of Maryland who studies military organization. He says the new GI Bill has been a victim of its own popularity.
David Segal: There was not much lead time between the passage of the bill and opening of school for the fall semester. It was clear that the veterans administration was not going to be in a position to deal with all of their applications before the fall semester began.
The new bill pays tuition directly to schools. But because of the backlog, schools weren't getting the checks, so vets weren't getting the OK to start classes.
Sergeant Richard Smith was one of them. He joined the Army in 2003, right out high school.
Sgt. Richard Smith: I had dreams of going to a good school, but apparently when you skip a bunch of school to go surfing, it doesn't work out so well, so I chose to join the Army.
Smith started at the University of Alabama last year under the old GI Bill, meaning he had to take out loans. So he was thrilled that the new bill meant his tuition and housing were paid for. Many schools are floating veterans' costs while the system catches up. But Smith had to front his tuition out-of-pocket.
Smith: Honestly, it was kind of a big problem. I had like $106 in my checking account, and my rent was coming due.
The VA has issued emergency $3,000 checks to help GI students pay bills. Smith was about to drive several hours to get one of those checks, when his tuition payment finally arrived.
Another service member, Lieutenant Eric Petrevich, has spent much of the past 20 years in the armed forces and reserves. He now lives in New Jersey. He says the old model of the GI Bill was to go to school after service. But many soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan enroll while deployed. And the new bill makes that easier.
Lt. Eric Petrevich: You pretty much either work out in a gym, you go to school online or hang out and play video games. So a lot of people end up start going to the classes just because there's really nothing else much really to do. And they start to really enjoy the whole aspect of learning. And doing missions, if there's a long drive to their objective, might be studying, might be taking notes while that vehicle is moving en route.
Petrevich isn't eligible for the new GI Bill, since he got a master's on the old one. But the new benefit can be transferred to a spouse or a child. And Professor David Segal says that changes the motivation for military service.
Segal: Just as educational benefits were incentive for joining the service, they were incentive for leaving once the benefit had been earned. It's a tremendous advantage to pass them on. And that's a reason for staying in the service rather than leaving.
Professor David Segal speaking about the new GI Bill as we mark Veteran's Day.
Comments
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From belfair, WA, 11/13/2009
I am currently working towards teaching certification in the sate of Washington after serving over 20 years, and 3 deployments in support of OIF. It's now mid November and I have yet to receive anything under the new GI Bill. Is the system overwhelmed? Not from my viewpoint. The "system" is being completely mismanaged from the top down.
Somehow my initial paperwork under the new GI is not going to be looked at until NOV 30th. Two phone calls indicate my paperwork falls into a "Phase 3" category. My terms are only 8 weeks long, and the VA got really excited about multiple enrollments-- I also was taking two online courses as well.
The VA does not tell people about this particular backlog because the problem originated with them. Initially the VA outsourced the processing of claims, but the company hired to process the claims made it FUBAR, and the VA pulled all those claims back in their system, and essentially put these onto the bottom of the stack.
I paid for one term of classes and books out of pocket--close to $3000, which is actually quite cheap.
It is hard to pay for books with disappointment- I've tried. It is hard to have faith in a system (the new GI bill) in which I've received nothing- but have done everything asked of me. The only good thing so far is that my school knows Im paying for tuition under the new GI Bill. The school still sends me a bill every couple of weeks, which I was told not to worry about. Supervisors at the VA have yet to return calls, as promised (a supervisor was supposed to call me within 48hrs-- and that was 12 days ago--I'm still waiting), I'm on hold for 30 minutes at a time, and sometimes get hung up on before I get to talk to a live person.
yes it's frustrating, but hopefully, some day, I might see something in the mail that says--"Hey we know it's been five months, here's a bone"--I would be happy with table scrapes right now....
From Fayetteville, NC, 11/07/2009
As a Kurt Knudson said in the above comment, because the housing allowance is not paid to students of an online program, I have continued to use the older GI Bill. Though I am considering the change, I have been using the payments which come directly to me for bills, books, mortgage, etc. and relying on a student loan for tuition.
If the school were paid directly, for the entire cost, I would likely not be drawing the student loan. I'd be forced to get a full-time job with overtime to handle the financial needs I suspect. That would lower my chance of making my way through courses.
Eliminating online students from the benefit of a housing allowance is a gross miscalculation of the needs of those students in comparison to traditional classroom students. It is a sad thing that seems to indicate that this GI Bill does not serve nor target students with homes, families, debts, etc. but instead focuses services on younger students which could leave behind rent to live in dorms and are free from other obligations financially.
From Wichita, KS, 11/07/2009
Unfortunately, the LT. is slightly misinformed. The student in the field taking online courses is ineligible for the largest benefit of the bill, the housing allowance.
In what I feel is a tremendous error in judgment, the bill specifically excludes distance learning from any housing benefit. This is, without a doubt, the largest benefit of this Bill when compared to the Montgomery GI Bill. Based on E-5 BAH, this can be up to $3000 a month depending on location. It is the provision of the bill that allows veterans to go to school full time when they separate.
I also believe it punishes those of us who choose online classes due to work schedule, geographic location or choice of degree program.
Please do a follow up on this aspect of the story, I personally have not had a problem with delays in payments but I and many others have a huge problem of being excluded from benefits due to an apparent misconception of online schooling.
Just for an example, I'm from a tiny town in North Dakota, obviously it has no local college. If I were living there and wanting to take courses, my choices are to move or take online courses at a lower benefit level than other veterans.
In my current situation, I work in aviation and an enrolled in a specialized degree program with Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, which is a gold standard for education in aviation. The vast majority of my classes are online, no housing allowance received is equivalent to paying an extra $1002 a month to get the degree I want, rather then attend a local college for a generic degree.
This is the real story on problems with the GI Bill. I am considering suspending use of the program until graduate school or until this is fixed. Hopefully HR950 passes.
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