InTheNews

In the News

10 Tips for Veterans at College
U.S. News & World Report
September 8, 2010

Just two days ago, in his Labor Day speech, President Obama had this to say about veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan: "On the day I announced the end to our combat mission in Iraq, I spent some time, as I often do, with our soldiers and veterans. This new generation of troops coming home from Iraq has earned its place alongside that greatest generation. Like them, they have the skills and training and drive to move America's economy forward once more. And from the time I took office, we've been investing in new care, new opportunity, and a new commitment to their service that's worthy of their sacrifice." A central part of this new opportunity is the chance to attend college under the new GI Bill.

We were interested in what advice could be given to returning veterans embarking on a college career. We asked visiting blogger Dorothy Gillman, vice president of the National Association of Veterans' Programs Administrators (NAVPA) and veterans administrator at Ramapo College of New Jersey, for her 10 best suggestions. Here's what she advises.

VA Has Begun Updating Housing Payments with the 2010 BAH Rates for Post-9/11 GI Bill Students
Department of Veterans Affairs
Announcement
September 2, 2010

Effective January 1, 2010, DoD adjusted most housing rates. VA's housing payments under the Post-9/11 GI Bill are based on the DoD basic allowance for housing at the E-5 with dependents level for the zip code where you attend school. Our new education claims processing system will begin phasing in the new rates September 1, 2010. You can see the new rates at www.defensetravel.dod.mil/perdiem/bah.html. Read full article, here.

VA Publishes Final Regulation to Aid Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange
Department of Veterans Affairs announcement
August 30, 2010

Veterans exposed to herbicides while serving in Vietnam and other areas will have an easier path to access quality health care and qualify for disability compensation under a final regulation that will be published on August 31, 2010 in the Federal Register by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The new rule expands the list of health problems VA will presume to be related to Agent Orange and other herbicide exposures to add two new conditions and expand one existing category of conditions. Read full announcement, here.

Nominate a Local Service Hero to Stitch the National 9/11 Flag - In celebration of Constitution Day on September 14, famous flag will come to Montclair State for New Jersey's only flag-stitching ceremony.
Montclair.edu
August 25, 2010

In celebration of Constitution Day, the commemoration of the 223rd anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the National 9/11 Flag, which was destroyed in the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001, will make its way to Montclair State University on September 14, where FDNY firefighters will assist local service heroes in an historic stitching ceremony to help sew the New Jersey restorative patch onto the flag. Read full story, here.

Governor Christie Signs Series of Bills to Honor New Jersey's Military Veterans
GovNetNJ.com
August 23, 2010

Governor Christie today signed a package of bills recognizing the loyal service, bravery and sacrifice of New Jersey's active duty service men and women and retired military veterans. The bills signed today -- A-1945, A-515, A-1944 -- honor the service of members of the New Jersey National Guard, recognize veterans of the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, and expand the membership of the Veteran's Services Council. S-795, previously signed into law and recognized today by the Governor, pays tribute to the sacrifices of Vietnam Veterans from South Jersey in Southern New Jersey. Read full story, here.

Veterans Advocates Combat Misdiagnosis
Soldiers Carry Personality Disorder Stigma
Star Ledger
August 16, 2010

At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely fired hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggest.

Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army later acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality disorder, making them ineligible for military health care and other benefits. Read full story, here.

Colleges See Increase in Military Enrollments
Operation College Promise has helped student population at state schools grow.
Burlington County Times
August 12, 2010

Veterans and active-duty military personnel have swelled the ranks of New Jersey colleges and universities in the past year since the Post-9/11 GI Bill has taken effect, thanks in part to a new program called Operation College Promise.

A survey of New Jersey's nine state colleges and universities by Operation College Promise, the veterans project of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities, shows that enrollment of military personnel was 60 percent higher in the past year, with three institutions seeing military-related enrollment increase by more than 90 percent. Read full story, here.

1,1100 Colleges Join Vetearns Affairs' Reduced-Tuition Program for Students
Washington Post
August 5, 2010

A year after the Post-9/11 GI Bill took effect, about 1,100 private and public colleges and universities signed on with the Department of Veterans Affairs to reduce tuition for student veterans in the coming school year, the agency said Wednesday. Read full story, here.

Combat Vets Face More Unemployment
Military.com
August 5, 2010

Many U.S. combat veterans face significant socioeconomic challenges including higher rates of disability and unemployment, researchers found.

"Veterans who saw combat started their work lives at a relative disadvantage that they were unable to overcome," Alair MacLeon of Washington State University Vancouver said in a statement. Read full story, here.

One Year After the Passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, State Colleges Median Enrollment Increases by Nearly 60%
Several More than Double Veteran Enrollment
Press Release
August 4, 2010

Enrollment of servicemember and active-duty populations has surged at New Jersey's nine state colleges and universities in the year following the enactment of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, according to a survey by the Operation College Promise (OCP), the veterans project of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities. With a median of approximately 60%, three schools logged increases of 90 percent or greater -- Rowan University (94%), Montclair State University (161%) and Richard Stockton College (192%). Read press release here.

Colleges Help Vets Get an Education
Burlington County Times
August 2, 2010

Imagine getting a four-year college eduation 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 universities.

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. Read full story, here.

VA is Long Overdue in Updating Health Care for Female Veterans
The Olympian
July 22, 2010

Despite some progress, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has a long way to go in improving health care for female veterans.

The Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2009 was signed into law in May. The bill, spearheaded by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., directs VA to get serious about reforming a veterans medical care system designed for male veterans. Read full story, here.

Officers Group Objects to new MyCAA Limitations
MilitaryTimes.com
July 22, 2010

The Defense Department's revised policy for the My Career Advancement Account program "yanks the rug out from under career spouses yet again," said Steve Strobridge, government relations director for the Military Officers Association of America.

MOAA has expressed strong disagreement with the Pentagon's decision to severely limit military spouses' eligibility for tuition funding through the MyCAA program, announced Tuesday. Read full story, here.

Retooling the GI Bill
Inside Higher Ed
July 22, 2010

Gathered at a hearing here Wednesday, U.S. senators grappled with legislation that would attempt to simply the often dizzying formula for calculating veterans benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.But proposed legislation to streamline the process could wind up reducing benefits for some of those attending private colleges, higher education leaders argue.
At issue for the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs is S.3447, legislation that would revamp the benefit formula that has been in place since the Post-9/11 GI Bill took effect last year.While the proposed bill would make few changes for the funding of undergraduate education at public institutions, it would establish a new national cap on benefits for private colleges -- both for-profit and non-profit. Rather than base the maximum benefit on the highest tuition of any public program in a given state, the new cap would be derived from the average tuition and fees of all private and public baccalaureate programs across the nation.That baseline would be around $12,000, meaning veterans at private colleges would receive less funding in almost half of states, according to the American Council on Education. Read full story, here.

Witnesses Rally Round Post 9/11 GI Bill Reforms
Military.com
by Tom Philpott
July 22, 2010

Senior officials at the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense have joined veterans' groups and representatives of academia to endorse a comprehensive bill from Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) to reform the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Still to be determined is how to pay for the many provisions in the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010 (S.3447) with estimated costs seen as high but still to be calculated, and alarms sounding across government over soaring budget deficits. Read full story, here.

GI Bill Offers Expanded Educational Opportunities to Veterans
EzineArticles.com
by Natasha Bright
July 2010

Veterans benefits from new and existing GI bills are such that those eligible might consider easing what National Public radio has called the "combat to campus" transition by enrolling in online college offerings.

Many who provided military service on or after the September 11 terrorist attacks have the option of utilizing education benefits from a Montgomery GI Bill. This bill provides for average college and university tuition costs or a more recent Post 9/11 GI Bill that provides living and book expenses, as well as tuition. The amount of tuition is up to the amount of the most expensive public colleges and universities in states where the schools are located, according to the Department of Veteran's Affairs. Read full story, here.

GI Bill Stipend Make-Up Checks Coming in August
The Military Times
July 21, 2010

Underpayments of living stipends to 153,000 veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill will be corrected in August when the Veterans Affairs Department issues one-time catch-up checks to anyone who has received the stipend since January 1. Read full story, here.

Cuts Made to MyCAA Education Program
Virginia-Pilot
July 21, 2010

The Defense Department announced Tuesday that it is placing limits on a popular career education program for military spouses in order to contain costs.

The program, called Military Spouse Career Advancement Account or MyCAA, will now be limited to spouses of lower-ranking servicemembers, in the paygrades E1-E5, W1-W2 and O1-O2.

The maximum amount of aid will drop from $6,000 to $4,000, with an annual cap of $2,000. And the program can no longer be used for bachelor's or graduate degrees -- only for associate's degrees and professional licensing and certification. Read full story, here.

ACE to Testify at Senate Committee Hearing Tomorrow on Post-9/11 GI Bill
July 20, 2010

On May 27, Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) introduced the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010 (S.3447), designed to make needed changes to the landmark legislation passed in 2008 and implemented last year.

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on this bill tomorrow, July 21, at 9:30 a.m. American Council on Education Senior Vice President Terry Hartle will testify at the hearing on behalf of the higher education community.

Among its provisions, the bill would:

Make National Guard members eligible for benefits (not all National Guard members can receive benefits now);
Make all types of training (i.e., non-college degree training, on-the-job training, apprenticeship, flight, etc.) eligible for benefits;
Eliminate the confusing state tables, cover all degree-granting programs at public institutions and base benefits paid to private institutions on a national average cost of education indexed for inflation;
Provide a modified living allowance for individuals pursuing a program of education solely online; and
Provide a book allowance of up to $1,000 for individuals enrolled while on active duty.

For more information and to read the testimony from the hearing tomorrow, see the committee's website.

Young Veterans Become New Face of the Homeless
SignOn SanDiego News
July 16, 2010

Charles Worley stood in the smoking area, looking at the uniformed Marine volunteers walking around Stand Down for the Homeless.

That used to be him, with the confident stride, bulked-up muscles and full stomach.

Instead, this marine veteran who served two years in Iraq is a Stand Down client. Two years after being discharged, Worley is homeless. Read the full story, here.