Colleges Help Vets Get an Education
Burlington County Times
Peg Quann, Staff Writer
August 2, 2010
Imagine getting a four-year college education at a university for free. That's exactly what service personnel and veterans can do at Burlington County College through programs offered by Drexel, Fairleigh Dickinson and Rider University.
When they graduate, these students might want their diplomas wrapped in a yellow ribbon.
The Veterans Administration's Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program works with many private universities to help service personnel, veterans and, in some cases, family members who meet certain criteria get a free ride tuition-wise.
"You don't walk through the door and they say here you go. It takes several months, (but) it's for real," said Michael Moore, 31, a Navy veteran from Sicklerville, Camden County, now using the program to study computer and security technology at Drexel at BCC, which has campuses in Pemberton Township and Mount Laurel.
Saaed Johnson of Pemberton Township, 33, a Navy veteran and reservist, recently started working for the Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Dix at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst as a construction inspector. He had lost a job in construction in Virginia during the 2008 housing downturn. He expects to graduate in June with a bachelor's degree in construction management at Drexel-BCC, then pursue a master's degree.
"I'm achieving the highest grades I've ever gotten in my life -- a 3.92 GPA," he said.
"The professors, all the administrators are great. They make it easy for veterans and older working adults to enjoy the education experience we didn't enjoy before."
The yellow ribbon program was started as part of the Post 9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008. Eligibility requirements that the student must have served in the military after September 10, 2001, for at least 36 months, or for 30 continuous days if they were honorably discharged and had a service-connected disability. The eligibility also extends to a dependent who is eligible for a Transfer of Entitlement.
Robert Brown, director of military education and veterans services at BBC, said 10 different programs exist to help active duty personnel or veterans and, in some cases, their dependents, receive tuition assistance for up to 36 months of undergraduate or graduate study. In many cases, it works out to free tuition. Under the program, a student may decide to attend a private college or university. But the private schools must decide on the amount of aid they will award above the automatic aid to which the student is entitled through the VA GI Bill. "The private schools are much more expensive," he said.
For example, say a veteran wants to enroll in a private college in a state where the state university's tuition is $10,000. The VA will pay that $10,000 plus half the difference of whatever the private school decides will be its contribution above the state-school tuition. Most private schools charge tuition of more than $20,000 a year. In the case of Drexel, Rider and Fairleigh Dickinson, the three schools give enough aid to provide free tuition when the VA matches their contribution. The offer is available at the university's main campuses and their programs at BCC. Many other colleges and universities nationwide participate in the VA program, but not all offer to cover all the tuition costs.
According to the program's website, www.gibill.va.gov/gi_bill_info/ch33/yellow_ribbon.htm, "Institutions that voluntarily enter into a Yellow Ribbon Agreement with the VA choose the amount of tuition and fees that will be contributed. VA will match that amount and issue payment directly to the institution."
Moore said he found about about the Drexel program by accident. He went to BCC to register for courses and saw a university brochure. "I had no idea they were there," he said. Then he found out Drexel was participating in the yellow ribbon program and was willing to offer free education.
Rider and Fairleigh Dickenson also offer to cover 100 percent of the cost for yellow ribbon participants but currently have no students enrolled at the Burlington campus, said Brown and Sean Ramsden, Rider director of editorial services. Rider has 15 students in the program at its main campus.
Two other colleges also offer degree programs at BCC but do not offer a full-tuition benefit. They are Wilmington University, which offers a $1,500 stipend, and Strayer University, which has a $5,000 benefit, according to the VA website.
Veterans also receive a housing allowance from the VA in addition to the tuition benefit. Both Goodman and Moore receive $1,700 a month. In past years, many veterans couldn't take advantage of the VA education benefits because they had to work to support themselves or their families.
"The bottom line is that a lot of veterans didn't use the GI Bill because they couldn't afford to utilize the benefits because they didn't have enough left over for support," Moore said.
Drexel University has about 300 students receiving VA or military assistance with their education, said Melissa Englund, assistant vice president for enrollment planning and retention services. She is also co-chairwoman of the university's Veterans Task Force.
The yellow ribbon program is providing "some excellent benefits to students who may not have considered a private school," she said.
Drexel sees a bright side to having so many technically trained vets on its Philadelphia and other campuses. "it brings students that have a high level of maturity and different levels of experience to share with colleagues," Englund noted.
Graduate students, including those in the university's law and medical schools, are among yellow ribbon beneficiaries.
Goodman is thankful to Drexel, the VA, the Army and "the grace of God" for his recent good fortune. "I'm in heaven," he said, "They gave me a second shot at life."
For more information on the yellow ribbon program or other military benefit programs at BCC, contact Brown at rbrown2@bbc.edu.