We all know the fabled stories of the GI Bill of Rights and how it assisted returning veterans after the Second World War and the conflict in Korea. Many who never would have thought of going on to college were able to do so with support from Uncle Sam who lent a hand in other ways as well, for example, making it possible for people to buy homes as they put their military service behind them and embraced civilian life.
So how are we doing on behalf of veterans these days? Well, stories about the quality of medical care provided at Walter Reed Hospital run alongside others regarding the thousands of veterans who, upon coming home from combat, are discovering that their benefits aren’t sufficient to actually make matriculation possible.
The print and media ads and military recruiters imply that after service in the armed forces lies a higher education. Turns out that the old GI Bill, the one that our fathers and a couple of mothers received, provided funding for tuition, housing, and living costs. The Boston Globe reports that 8 million veterans took advantage of that program before it was scaled back. According to the article, today the most a veteran can receive is $9,600 a year for four years, no matter what college costs, so the GI’s better limit their plans to a community college or Harvard.
The average tuition at a public four-year school is $13,589 and the average private four-year is $32,307. Of course this is the gross, not the net. The schools have scholarship programs that will make attendance more accessible as they complement the government benefits, but still. Some people in Washington want to take a new look at the GI benefit package; others — particularly in the Defense Department — worry that if the benefits are too good, people will stay in service less time than they currently do, a problem for an all-volunteer military. Lowering the re-enlistment rate could be a serious matter.
Running parallel to this issue is that veterans are having problems getting academic credit when they reach campus for the training and education they had while in uniform. Some colleges are more accommodating than others, but one has a sense that there is no general scheme to it all. There is a consortium of institutions, known as Service Members Opportunity Colleges, with 1,800 schools committed to working with GI’s to get their degrees. While the Ivy League and others are taking a look at their financial-aid policies, they might also try to make Senator Charles E. Grassley and others happy by redoubling their efforts to serve those who have served our country. Is anybody writing speeches for Senators Clinton, Obama, and McCain reading this blog? I see an opportunity.
