Student Benefits - Spring 2015 Military & Police Benefits

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1 Federal and State Veterans Education Benefits Spring 2015 WASFAA Conference- April 9 th, 2015 Presented by Miranda Cross-Schindler, Military Benefits Coordinator, UW Eau Claire Dennis Rhodes - Program and Policy Analyst, University of Wisconsin System

2 Summary Federal Veteran Education Benefits State Veteran Education Benefits Financial Aid Other Veteran Benefit Issues Certifying Official s Responsibilities Veteran Benefits Best Practices

3 Who is a Veteran? No consistent federal definition of veteran although eligibility for federal benefits is contingent on recognized active duty service State definition of veteran is appears in Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs statutes but not in UW or WTCS statutes Wisconsin state legislature opposed defining veteran as a student receiving veterans benefits during a debate over priority registration. At the state level National Guard and Reserve soldiers are frequently grouped with veterans by policy makers

4 Array of Federal and State benefits Popularly Referred to as the GI Bill

5 Linking the WI GI Bill with the Federal Post-9/11 GI Bill State law: Federal Post-9/11 benefit to apply before WIGI Bill remissions are applied Federal law requires veterans to relinquish one other VA education benefit (1606, 1607, or Chapter 30) before receiving the Post-9/11 benefit State law requires a supplemental payment to a student each term when the estimated dollar value of their relinquished benefit is greater than the value of their Post-9/11 housing and book payments. Post-9/11 tuition and fee payments are excluded from the estimate State law mandates that any credit hour supported by the federal Post-9/11 benefit does not count against the WI GI Bill 128 credit hour limit and any credit hour not supported by Post-9/11 is remitted under the WI GI Bill for students who are eligible for both Post-9/11 and WI GI Bill.

6 Federal Veteran Education Benefits Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty - Chapter 30 Different levels of payment based on active duty time Montgomery GI Bill Selective Reserve - Chapter 1606 Eligible after completion of Advanced Training Reserve Educational Assistance Program Chapter 1607 Additional benefit due to activation time > 90 days Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment - Chapter 31 20% or greater disability & discharge other than dishonorable Survivors and Dependent Assistance - Chapter 35 Dependent of a Veteran who died or who is permanently and totally disabled as the result of a service-connected disability. Post 9/11 GI Bill Chapter 33/Yellow Ribbon Program Tuition Assistance (TA)

7 Federal Veteran Education Benefits (cont.) Post 9/11 Chapter 33 Based on qualifying service time after September 10, 2001 Percentage of tuition and fees sent to institution Net Tuition Potential Yellow Ribbon* Drops/Withdrawals Student/School debt Tuition Assistance 16 semester hours allowed/$ per credit Army Active Duty or Reserves Navy Active Duty Air Force Active Duty Marine Active Duty or Reservists on Active Duty * Yellow Ribbon greatly diminished by the Choice Act for publics; unchanged at privates

8 Federal Benefit Requirements Academic Advising duties All courses must fall under academic plan Repeats Travel Courses must fall under academic plan; cannot be an elective Reporting for all federal benefit certification F/WF Grades Drops/Withdrawals Probation Graduation

9 State Veteran Benefits Wisconsin GI Bill Tuition and Fees Wisconsin Veterans & Dependents Recent Changes 5 year rule (for Vets only) 2.0 Cumulative GPA requirement National Guard Tuition Grant Army and Air National Guard - Tuition only no fees Vet Ed Grant Tuition and fees 10 year anniversary of leaving active duty Good for students who did not enter active duty as a WI Resident Eligible criteria No Bachelor degree yet, one year of residency required; household income of $50,000 or less. May be eligible to receive Chapter 30 and Vet Ed

10 Funding Veterans Benefits: The Big Picture $40,000,000 $36,000,000 $32,000,000 Support for UW Veterans Benefits by Funding Source: FY 06 to FY 14 $28,000,000 $17,104,461 $16,574,553 $15,884,228 $17,527,443 $24,000,000 $8,167,500 $20,000,000 $16,000,000 $12,000,000 $13,579,560 $16,455,134 $14,275,882 $13,488,027 $13,371,921 $14,710,713 $15,544,649 $8,000,000 $4,000,000 $0 $7,463,303 $4,309,958 $3,909,600 $5,117,700 $4,764,642 $4,665,712 $4,610,387 $4,538,578 $4,776, Federal Funding / Post-9/11 UW Funded State Funded

11 Financial Aid The Financial Aid Award VA and DOD Education Benefits to be excluded from Estimated Financial Assistance (EFA) are those listed in Section 480(c) of the Higher Education Act (HEA).

12 Financial Aid Any benefits provided under any other program must be included as EFA in the calculation of the student s eligibility for Title IV Student Assistance. For Example: Tuition Assistance Program of the Army Continuing Assistance System and Army National Guard Federal Tuition Assistance Program And WI GI Bill & Supplemental Payment National Guard Tuition Grant Vet Ed Grant

13 Financial Aid Definition of Veteran creates confusion Receiving veteran benefits Actively serving/served in the military Financial aid purposes- different definition Dependent vs. Independent due to military service DD214 most recent one Active Duty vs Active Duty for Training

14 Other Veteran Benefit Issues Choice Act (in state tuition for qualifying non-residents) Credit for Military Training Principles of Excellence Shopping Sheet Tuition Assistance MOU Postsecondary Education Complaint System Priority Registration Study Abroad/Travel Courses Rate of pursuit

15 Best Practices Become familiar with the websites Federal: State: Establish/ build strong working relationships between departments Bursar/billing office Financial Aid Registrar Office Academic Advising Other ways to help the veteran/service member/dependent No late fees Defer chapter 31/33 Advances

16 Questions? Spring 2015 WASFAA Conference- April 9 th, 2015 Presented by Miranda Cross-Schindler, Military Benefits Coordinator, UW Eau Claire Dennis Rhodes - Program and Policy Analyst, University of Wisconsin System