DegreeGo Blog

The Post 9/11 GI Bill has had some exciting things happen this last month. Here’s five June 2009 highlights for the Post 9/11 GI Bill:

1. The Yellow Ribbon Program List of Participating Schools. Military-friendly schools have agreed to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program. The Yellow Ribbon Program allows students to attend universities that would otherwise not be covered by the tuition expenses offered by the Post 9/11 GI Bill by splitting the additional costs of tuition between the participating college and the VA.
2. The Department of Defense released the enrollment form for family transferability. Family transferability with the Post 9/11 GI Bill has finally been finalized by the Department of Defense. As part of military retention, the Post 9/11 GI Bill may be transferred to spouse or child for qualifying active duty members.
3. Vocational studies and career training soon to be supported by the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Originally, only the Montgomery GI Bill offered financial aid for career training. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro introduced legislation for vocational training benefits from the Post 9/11 GI Bill, although this will likely not get passed in time for the first year of benefits starting August 1, 2009.
4. The Veterans Educational Equality Act of California. California’s Cal State University system charges “fees” instead of tuition for college, and this has posed a concern for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, entirely reliant on tuition to determine benefits. The Veterans Educational Equality Act was introduced into the first state of legislation to combat this issue, although it likely will not be passed by the August 1, 2009 date, which means its benefits will go into effect at a later academic semester.
5. Equitable relief for confusing/misleading information. Equitable relief became a concern this June with the confusing legislature surrounding the Post 9/11 GI Bill. If you have applied for the Post 9/11 GI Bill due to misguided information provided by the VA and you would like to revert back to the Montgomery GI Bill, pursue equitable relief.

For military personnel that are looking forward to using the Post 9/11 GI Bill to cover college expenses, expect for there to be continuous twists and turns with this new GI Bill until everything is fixed and set into stone!