Northwest Education Law Blog : Northwest Education Lawyer & Attorney : Williams Kastner Law Firm : Tacoma, Seattle, Portland

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The Department of Veterans Affairs' problems with the Post-9/11 GI Bill's benefits seem to linger, no matter what the government does.

Tens of thousands of veterans, active-duty service members and their dependents have been waiting for promised higher-education benefits from VA since fall classes began last month. The agency attempted to address the backlog by granting $3,000 in emergency checks, but that has just created a new problem. It turns out that VA was hustling so to get checks in the right hands that officials began distributing benefits checks that had been filled out by hand. Not surprisingly, that sent up alarm bells at banks.

VA contacted banks, university officials and other program participants over the weekend to alert them. Concerned bank employees can call VA at 800-827-2166 to confirm a check's amount and whether it was previously cashed. (Those with the checks might want to write that phone number down, too, just in case there's a question at the bank). The department has distributed roughly $70 million in emergency checks since the payments began Friday, Roberts said. Roughly 30,000 of the 64,000 students enrolled in the Post 9/11 GI Bill are still awaiting payment. VA is authorizing payment for about 3,000 students per day. [The Washington Post]

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Thousands of veterans who returned to school this semester under the Post-9/11 GI Bill and have yet to receive tuition, housing and textbook payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs will each be eligible for $3,000 in emergency aid, agency officials announced Friday. "Students should be focusing on their studies, not worrying about financial difficulties," Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said in a statement.

The agency has been overwhelmed by a flood of applications. Of the 251,000 students who have submitted claims this year, 24,186 -- less than 10 percent -- have received checks, according to Veterans Affairs officials. They point out, however, that not all of those students intend to use the benefits this year. Although many universities are deferring tuition payments, the delays have forced students to take out loans, rack up credit card debt and consider dropping out of school in order to meet living expenses, according to veterans and groups that advocate on their behalf.

Now, starting Oct. 2, veterans can request a $3,000 advance on their housing and book allowances by bringing a photo ID, course schedule and eligibility certificate to one of the agency's 57 regional offices, including in the District and Baltimore. The agency said it would also send officials to some college campuses and help coordinate transportation to regional offices. [The Washington Post]

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Beneficiaries of the new Post 9/11 GI Bill may be more likely to attend four-year universities and enroll in college full time than were their recent veteran counterparts, who typically enrolled at community colleges and attended part time, according to a new report from the American Council on Education.

“Veterans and service members who are eligible for the new GI Bill will receive more generous benefits that will broaden the choices they have when pursuing higher education,” Alexandra Walton Radford, the report’s author and a research associate at MPR Associates, an educational consulting firm, said in a statement. “While these students have previously been concentrated at public two-year colleges, these new benefits may encourage them to seek entry into more expensive colleges, particularly if those institutions demonstrate responsiveness to their needs.”

In 2007-8, veterans and active-service military members made up only 4 percent of undergraduates enrolled in American institutions of higher education. Of that group, 43 percent attended community colleges, 21 percent attended public four-year colleges, 13 percent attended private four-year colleges and 12 percent attended for-profit institutions. The rest attended more than one type.

Given the expansion of benefits now available through the new GI Bill, Jacqueline E. King, assistant vice president of ACE’s center for policy analysis, said she believes it is “reasonable to assume” that veterans will “make use of these benefits in a way they have not in the past.” As a result, she and others argue that this full-time/part-time data from the 2007-08 cohort of veterans make the case that, as many more veterans will benefit from the new GI Bill, more of them will seek to attend college full time. [Inside Higher Ed]

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More than 75,000 members of the U.S. National Guard will not be eligible for benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill unless Congress passes corrective legislation, the independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported today.

Guard members called to active duty since September 11, 2001, in Iraq and Afghanistan do qualify for the benefits. But Guard members called to active duty within the United States do not qualify, the newspaper reported.

Members of the National Guard with domestic assignments include those who responded to Hurricane Katrina and those who have been deployed to the United States-Mexico border. [The Chronicle of Higher Education]