The state’s public colleges, bracing for a wave of veterans enrolling this fall under the improved benefits from a new G.I. Bill, are finding relatively few are taking advantage so far.
The University of Rhode Island reported late last month that about 20 vets had enrolled under what has been dubbed the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, which offers not only financial aid for education, but a monthly housing allowance and a stipend for textbooks to soldiers on duty on or after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
At the Community College of Rhode Island, enrollment officials said 61 veterans had registered under the new G.I. Bill as of Aug. 26, although 138 student veterans already enrolled for the fall semester, which begins this week, were getting other benefits.
Deborah J. Aiken, associate dean of CCRI’s enrollment services, said the numbers in the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill program – technically known as Chapter 33 – would likely grow, but she was at a loss to explain why a higher rate of vets weren’t signing on.
“It does surprise me, but I don’t know the reasons,” she said.
Of the three state schools, Rhode Island College had the highest Post-9/11 G.I. Bill enrollment at about 90, according to RIC spokeswoman Jane Fusco. She attributed that to a reasonable tuition and an effort to welcome veterans to campus.
Last October, the presidents of the three schools vowed to put special focus on helping veterans transition from life in combat areas to life on campus.
The effort, which included the formation of student veterans groups and the addition of special advisers, came ahead of the new G.I. Bill’s enactment.
The thinking was that with the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and thousands of people leaving the military annually, veterans fresh from active duty would be flooding onto campuses to take advantage of the improved benefits.
John Powers was one of those who had visions of waves of new veterans attending college this fall, particularly with a poor job market and unemployment among recently returned veterans running higher than the national average, according to a government survey.
Powers, a Rhode Islander who founded a national student veterans group – the Student Veterans of America – has revised his forecast, saying former soldiers would sign on in growing numbers over the next few years.
He said hundreds of veterans – or their spouses and children – at each campus will be using the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits in just a few semesters.
The interest has been there. Schools say they have fielded hundreds of inquiries from veterans. But the reasons for the lagging usage are two-fold, Powers and others say.
The program went through many tweaks before it was enacted on Aug. 1, leaving many soldiers and veterans unclear about its provisions.
Jeff Johnson, director of veterans’ affairs at URI, recalled how things were unsettled when he attended a national conference on the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill in July. “It was changing while we were in the conference,” he said.
Depending on the circumstances, in some cases veterans who qualify for the new benefits may be better off under the older but still existing provisions, such as the Montgomery G.I. Bill.
That might be why some aren’t leaping into the new benefits. “That decision is irrevocable,” Powers said.
Also, school officials said the Department of Veterans Affairs, working the kinks out of a new program, has been slow in issuing certificates that confirm benefits.
For now, the state’s three public schools have all agreed to allow veterans to enroll even if they don’t yet have a certificate of eligibility.
As of Aug. 26, the Department of Veterans Affairs had received 196,000 requests for letters in the months leading up to the enactment of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill; 136,000 have been responded to.
So far, VA spokesman Steve Westerfeld said the agency has only received about 5,000 enrollment claims for the new G.I. Bill program from schools nationwide.
Older versions of the G.I. Bill offered benefits to cover the full tuition at CCRI, but didn’t cover all tuition costs at RIC or URI.
The new bill – officially known at the “Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008” – offers not only education assistance, but also a monthly housing allowance and a book stipend.
And an additional VA program dubbed the Yellow Ribbon Program makes it easier for veterans to attend more expensive private schools, or out-of-state public institutions.
If, for instance, a veteran wanted to attend Johnson & Wales University, the G.I. Bill would cover the $22,100 annual tuition up to about $13,000, and then the school agrees to split the difference with the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Lynn Robinson, JWU’s executive director of student financial services, said about 10 veterans are participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program so far. The school had agreed to provide the match for up to 62 students.
Bryant University officials said they were offering to provide an $8,000 match under the Yellow Ribbon Program for up to 10 students. Two veterans had enrolled as of late last month.
The improved benefits were too good for Jeremy Garcia to ignore.
Garcia left the Air Force in February after four years of active duty, some of which was spent in a security unit in Kuwuit. He’s been unable to find a job since, and at 23 is now set to attend URI to study computer science.
He said he joined the military thinking that he’d get some financial assistance when he left. Then the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill was enacted.
And because he’s living in a home in Cranston rather than a dorm, Garcia qualifies for a living expenses allowance.
His wife, Rachel, also an Air Force veteran, enrolled at URI, too, but since she was only in the military two years, she qualifies for 80 percent of the benefits.
Garcia acknowledged being nervous about going back to school.
“I’ve been out of a school situation for a bit now,” he said. But he added, at least he doesn’t have the pressure of finding full-time work in a down economy.
“That stress is not there,” he said. •
