WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Department of Veterans Affairs and the state of California announced an agreement about how tuition and fees at the state’s public colleges and universities are determined that will ensure that veterans who attend any college in California are able to receive the full amount of financial aid they are eligible for under the new GI Bill – and that veterans in other states receive. The agreement was reached after the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee passed a similar fix as part of a larger bill to make college more affordable and accessible for millions of Americans.
“The men and women who have made enormous sacrifices to serve our country deserve every opportunity to get a good education when they return home,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “This common-sense change will help them do just that. I applaud Secretary Shinseki, the Obama administration, and the state of California for taking action to ensure that veterans can receive the full amount of financial aid they are eligible for this coming year, regardless of what type of college they attend. Making sure that veterans who want to attend college in California can afford to do so is the right thing to do for our students, our university system, local economies throughout our state, and our competitive future.”
BACKGROUND
The new GI Bill authorizes the VA to pay the actual tuition and fees charged by a college for up to the maximum in-state tuition and fees charged by the most expensive public university in the state.
Students attending college in California would have been adversely affected by this calculation because the state’s public schools are barred from using the word “tuition” and instead must use the word “fees” when describing an institution’s cost. Therefore, a veteran who attends a private college in California would have received a much lower tuition benefit under the GI Bill than veterans at private schools in other states.
This new agreement will allow for the bulk of California’s “fees” to be characterized as “tuition” for the purposes of paying for the cost at private colleges – removing any unfair penalty that could reduce aid for veterans.
“The men and women who have made enormous sacrifices to serve our country deserve every opportunity to get a good education when they return home,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “This common-sense change will help them do just that. I applaud Secretary Shinseki, the Obama administration, and the state of California for taking action to ensure that veterans can receive the full amount of financial aid they are eligible for this coming year, regardless of what type of college they attend. Making sure that veterans who want to attend college in California can afford to do so is the right thing to do for our students, our university system, local economies throughout our state, and our competitive future.”
BACKGROUND
The new GI Bill authorizes the VA to pay the actual tuition and fees charged by a college for up to the maximum in-state tuition and fees charged by the most expensive public university in the state.
Students attending college in California would have been adversely affected by this calculation because the state’s public schools are barred from using the word “tuition” and instead must use the word “fees” when describing an institution’s cost. Therefore, a veteran who attends a private college in California would have received a much lower tuition benefit under the GI Bill than veterans at private schools in other states.
This new agreement will allow for the bulk of California’s “fees” to be characterized as “tuition” for the purposes of paying for the cost at private colleges – removing any unfair penalty that could reduce aid for veterans.
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