Veterans & Service Members

AACRAO recognizes and honors the sacrifices these men and women have made and its members are proud to assist them and meet their educational needs. Veterans and students on active military duty and their families face special circumstances and challenges.

Changes in federal statute and executive actions have greatly promoted the expansion of services toward veterans and their families. Since the Post-9/11 GI Bill was passed in 2009, close to 1 million veterans, service members, and eligible dependents have taken advantage of the educational benefits available to them. With the passage of more recent legislation, such as the Forever GI Bill in 2017 and the Isakson Roe and THRIVE Acts in 2021, there will be significant changes to military education benefits over the coming years.

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Latest Actions

AACRAO recently hosted a webinar to discuss the implementation of veteran legislation passed in December 2020, also known as the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act. This law will have a transformative effect on the mission of Education Service to provide ready access to, and timely and accurate delivery of, education benefits to Veterans, Service members, and their families, as well as further enable the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to empower GI Bill beneficiaries to achieve their vocational and career goals.

Other recent legislation introduced in both the House and Senate include important provisions to help ensure veterans can continue to receive their education benefits as well as technical corrections to the legislation passed last year.

UPDATES

VA Secretary Nominee Questions 90/10 Rule, Supports Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Jul 12, 2018, 12:57 PM
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Summary : Robert Wilkie challenges the current 90/10 rule on for-profit colleges and endorses the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program as a "powerful incentive for public service."
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The U.S. Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee on Tuesday advanced Robert Wilkie's nomination to be the permanent head of the department, likely setting up a full chamber vote on his appointment later this month, The Military Times reported.


During his confirmation hearing last month, Wilkie received strong support from most members of the Senate veterans committee. However, several senators still had unanswered questions after that two-hour public interrogation and submitted additional queries to the nominee for additional clarification. The answers to those questions came this week, ahead of the committee vote.


Responding to that series of written questions, which included inquiries about veterans educational issues, Wilkie challenged the current 90/10 rule on for-profit colleges and endorsed the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program as a "powerful incentive for public service," reported Politico


Wilkie stated in written testimony that "there is an argument" for including GI Bill benefits as part of a cap on federal funding that flows to for-profit colleges. The 90/10 rule prohibits for-profit colleges from receiving more than 90 percent of their revenue from federal student aid—but GI Bill benefits do not count toward that limit. Critics of for-profit schools argue that it provides the schools with a financial incentive to aggressively recruit veterans. Wilkie echoed those concerns.


"Under the present structure, some institutions may be marketing to Veterans because the Federal education benefits they receive are treated the same way as private funds in the 90/10 calculation," he said. "I believe institutions should not aggressively recruit Veterans principally because of financial motives."


Wilkie also praised the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which Trump's budget has proposed eliminating. He said that the program "is a powerful incentive for public service and has been a great recruiting program for the DoD. If confirmed, I look forward to reviewing programs such as the PSLF to see if it makes sense at the VA."


Related Links

The Military Times

https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2018/07/10/va-secretary-nominee-promises-protections-for-transgender-veterans/

Politico

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-education/2018/07/12/cfpb-says-education-is-obstructing-access-to-navient-records-277104

Michelle Mott
Categories :
  • AACRAO Publications
  • AACRAO Transcript
  • Financial Aid and FAFSA
  • Veterans and Service Members
Tags :
  • 90/10 rule
  • for-profit colleges
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness program
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