Last week, Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Tom Carper (D-DE), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) urging additional improvements to the agency's GI Bill Comparison Tool.
In the letter, sent Thursday evening, the senators commended the VA for launching the website, but recommended several changes to improve the tool's effectiveness and address several limitations.
Specifically, the senators suggested that the VA: add schools' actual tuition and fees, and the percentage of those tuition and fees covered by Post-9/11 benefits; quickly develop and implement an automated system to more efficiently share and maintain data; clarify schools’ outcome measures; mention schools’ accreditation status; describe any limitations schools may place on veterans’ eligibility for the Yellow Ribbon program; and include a tool developed by the Federal Trade Commission that helps servicemembers choose a college after military service.
"The website is an important first step in providing veterans with targeted information to help them reach their educational goals and find meaningful employment," wrote the chairmen. "While the website certainly provides very useful information, we believe that improvements could be made to further advance the website's goals."
Related Links
U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Press Release
http://www.help.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=e87ff71a-85e0-462d-b1a9-058f0ff7ba6b