MILITARY EDUCATION BENEFITS

Transcription

1 MILITARY EDUCATION BENEFITS Presented by: John Hockersmith Associate Director of Receivables, Student Loans and Collections University of Illinois October 13, 2014 TEXAS BUC$ 2014 Annual Conference BUC$ by the Bayou

2 Direction and Disclaimer VA Education Benefits Summary Post-9/11 GI Bill Overview Post-9/11 GI Bill Yellow Ribbon Post-9/11 GI Bill Overpayment Refunds to VA Post-9/11 GI Bill and NACUBO Principles of Excellence Montgomery GI Bill, REAP, VEAP, DEA, National Call to Service Department of Defense (DoD) Education Benefits DoD Tuition Assistance Memorandum of Understanding (TA MOU) I don t do this stuff (so I hope a lot of you do and can answer questions I can t)

3 VA Education Benefits Summary Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) offers higher education and training benefits to veterans, service members, and their families who served after Sept. 10, 2001 Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30) assists active duty and reservists with the pursuit of higher education degrees, certificates, and other education and training Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) provides educational assistance to members of the Reserve components called or ordered to active duty in response to a war or national emergency declared by the president or Congress Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP) is available to veterans who elected to make contributions from their military pay to participate; the government matches service member contributions on a 2-for-1 basis. Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance Program offers education and training to eligible dependents of veterans who are permanently and totally disabled due to a service-related condition, or of veterans who died while on active duty or as a result of a service-related condition. National Call to Service Program is a benefit provided to those who perform a period of national service. It is a Department of Defense program that is administered by VA VA School Resources website:

4 Historical Timeline: Post-9/11 GI Bill Overview Summer 2008 President Bush signed into law The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 August 1, 2009 VA began making Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) education benefit payments to qualifying veterans for training pursued on or after August 1, 2009 Service members and veterans with at least 90 days of aggregate active duty service after Sept. 10, 2001, who are still on active duty, have been honorably discharged, or were discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days, may be eligible for Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) benefits. The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides up to 36 months of education benefits, generally payable for 15 years following active duty release. The following payments may also be available: Monthly housing allowance Annual books and supplies stipend Students attending schools that participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program may receive additional funds without a corresponding additional charge to their GI Bill entitlement One-time rural benefit payment Transfer of Entitlement option to spouse and dependents Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship for children of service members who died in the line of duty after Sep 10, 2001

5 Post-9/11 Overview, Cont d. The following assistance is approved under the Post-9/11 GI Bill: Correspondence training Entrepreneurship training Flight training Independent and distance learning Institutions of higher learning undergraduate and graduate degrees Licensing and certification reimbursement Vocational/technical training, non-college degree programs National testing reimbursement On-the-job training Tuition Assistance top-up Tutorial assistance Vocational/technical training

6 Post-9/11 Overview, Cont d. Other Factors to Consider Full tuition and fees are paid directly to the school for all public school instate students. For those attending private or foreign schools, tuition and fees are capped at the national maximum rate. Participants attending a private institution of higher learning in Arizona, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, or Texas may be eligible for a higher tuition reimbursement rate. Participants attending a private or a public institution of higher learning (either private or public) as a nonresident, out-of-state student may be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program and entitled to additional educationrelated costs not covered by VA. Not everyone is eligible for this assistance. Resource:

7 Post-9/11 GI Bill Yellow Ribbon The Yellow Ribbon Program (YR) allows degree granting institutions of higher learning (IHL) in the United States to voluntarily enter into an agreement with VA to fund tuition expenses that exceed either the annual maximum cap for private institutions or the resident tuition and fees for a public institution. The IHL can contribute up to 50% of those expenses and VA will match the same amount as the IHL. Participating IHLs must agree to: Provide contributions to eligible individuals who apply for YR on a first-come first-served basis, regardless of the rate at which the individual is pursuing training in any given academic year Provide contributions during the current academic year and all subsequent academic years in which the IHL is participating in YR and the student maintains satisfactory progress, conduct, and attendance Make contributions toward the program on behalf of the individual in the form of a grant, scholarship, etc. State the dollar amount that will be contributed for each participant during the academic year State the maximum number of individuals for whom contributions will be made in any given academic year Only veterans entitled to the maximum benefit rate as determined by service requirements, or their designated transferees, may receive YR funding. Active duty service members and their spouses are not eligible for YR. Child transferees of active duty service members may be eligible if the service member is qualified at 100 percent rate.

8 Post-9/11 GI Bill Overpayment Refunds to VA The following list explains when schools are responsible for refunding overpayments to VA: The student never attended classes for which he/she was certified (regardless of the reason for non-attendance). The student completely withdraws on or before the first day of the term. (If a student reduces, the debt shall be assessed to the student.) The school received a payment for the wrong student. The school received a duplicate payment. The school submitted an amended enrollment certification and reported reduced tuition and fee charges, reduced Yellow Ribbon amount, or both. The student died during the term, or before the start of the term. VA issued payment above the amount certified on the enrollment certification that was used to process the payment (VA data entry error). All other overpayments are the responsibility of the student.

9 Post-9/11 Overpayment Refunds (Cont d) Always wait for a VA Debt Management Center (DMC) collection notice before refunding Tuition, Fees, or Yellow Ribbon overpayments to VA. When returning overpayments to VA: 1. Schools may send a check, payable to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, to DMC at: VA Debt Management Center Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building P.O. Box St Paul, MN Include the student's name and VA file number together with the tear off sheet from DMC s collection notice when sending a refund check to VA DMC. 2. Schools may pay by major credit card, debit card, or electronic funds transfer (EFT) from a checking or savings account by visiting the DMC website or by calling DMC at or for international calls at Schools paying on-line or by phone will be required to provide details from the DMC collection notice. 3. Schools may remit payment from any Western Union agent location, or by visiting using host city code "VADMC". 4. Should a full check payment need to be refunded, return the uncashed Treasury check to: U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Management Service P.O. Box Philadelphia, PA Should a full EFT payment need to be refunded, school shall request its bank to return the full amount using an R31 ACH return code in accordance with the bank s procedure and time constraints for returning EFT payments.

10 Post-9/11 GI Bill and NACUBO In November 2009, NACUBO organized a VA Work Group to address school concerns about VA Chapter 33 processing issues. The NACUBO/VA Work Group is comprised of representatives from: VA Education Services (ES) VA Office of Resource Management (ORM) VA Debt Management Center (DMC Cross-section of public and private colleges, universities and community colleges NACUBO American Council on Education (ACE) The NACUBO/VA Work Group met in D.C. 3-4 times per year from November 2009 through March 2014, and with varying degrees of success attempted to address a long list of issues including: VA payment delays and inaccuracies, DMC collection and credit bureau reporting procedures, timeliness and consistency of VA communication with schools and veterans, VA customer service, Post-9/11 Veterans Education Improvement Act, VA as first payer vs. last payer, VA definition of school debt vs. student debt, VA Delays in Processing schools Chapter 33 overpayment refunds, dual certification by schools to minimize overpayments, Principles of Excellence, VA implementation of Treasury Offsets, etc.

11 Post-9/11 and NACUBO, (Cont d) Unaddressed NACUBO/VA issues presented by GMU to GAO on Aug 21, 2014: Frequency and causes of school and student overpayments Insufficiency of VA guidance on VA overpayment policies Ineffectiveness of VA overpayment notification and collection processes Financial and academic effects of overpayment debts on veterans Comparison of overpayment/collection policies for GI Bill and federal student aid (e.g., Pell Grants) Suggestions for VA improvements: Automate VA Once by creating a batch load or other automated procedure for certifications to make the system technologically efficient View a Term as a Term - VA s definition is problematic for modular terms Explore mimicking Dep. of Ed. processes and reports that are more transparent to veterans and schools about veteran benefit eligibility Other unaddressed NACUBO/VA issues: Implement a veteran Authorization to Release Information whereby veterans can authorize VA to release privacy protected information to the veteran s school Retrieve graduation dates directly from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) instead of requiring schools to report graduation dates to both VA and NSC

12 Principles of Excellence On April 27, 2012, President Obama signed Executive Order 13607, establishing Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and Other Family Members. The published Executive Order is available at: This Executive Order addresses the following key areas relating to Federal military and veterans educational benefits programs: a) Standardized cost form; b) Federal aid information [ Shopping Sheet, Know Before You Owe, Model Financial Aid Form ] ; c) Aggressive and fraudulent recruiting, state authorization, misrepresentation, and incentive compensation; d) Accreditation; e) Readmission; f) Refund; g) Individual education plans; h) Academic and financial counseling point(s) of contact. The only benefit to schools that sign is being added to the list of schools on VA s website The only penalty that accrues to schools that don t sign is not being added to the list on VA s website Penalty for non-compliance is removal from the list The list does not represent VA endorsement or sanction of schools VA Compliance Surveys, not signing/complying with the Principles of Excellence, are the basis for VA determination of a school s eligibility for VA benefit programs Q&A:

13 Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 On August 7, 2014, President Obama signed H.R Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 into law. Titles I VI and VIII of this law pertain to health care access, quality and administration; but Title VII includes the following education provisions: Public institutions, as a condition of participation in VA education benefits programs, must charge veterans and their dependents in-state tuition and fees regardless of their current state of residence if the following conditions are met: After a period of service of at least 90 days, the veteran was discharged no more than three years prior to enrollment, and remains continuously enrolled The veteran is using VA education benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30) or the Post 9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33), or the dependent is using Chapter 33 benefits. The veteran resides in the state in which the institution is located while attending. Expands the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship to include surviving spouses as well as children of service members who die in the line of duty on or after September 11, 2001.

14 Montgomery GI Bill The Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty program (MGIB-AD, also known as Chapter 30) provides education benefits to veterans and service members who have at least two years of active duty. Assistance may be used for college degree and certificate programs, technical or vocational courses, flight training, apprenticeships or on-the-job training, high-tech training, licensing and certification tests, entrepreneurship training, certain entrance examinations, and correspondence courses. Remedial, deficiency, and refresher courses may be approved under certain circumstances. Benefits are generally payable for 10 years following your release from honorable active service. Eligible service members may receive up to 36 months of education benefits. The monthly benefit paid is based on the type of training, length of service, eligibility category, any college fund eligibility, and contributions to the $600 buy-up program. Participants have 10 years to use MGIB benefits, but the time limit can be fewer or more years depending on the situation. $600 Buy-Up Program. Some service members may contribute up to an additional $600 to the GI Bill to receive increased monthly benefits. The additional $600 contribution may net up to $5,400 in additional GI Bill benefits. The additional contribution must be made while on active duty. Resource:

15 Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) REAP provides educational assistance to members of the Reserve components called or ordered to active duty in response to a war or national emergency declared by the president or Congress. Type of Assistance Reservists are eligible for education benefits or increased benefits to pursue college degrees and other training. Certain Reservists who were activated for at least 90 days after Sept. 11, 2001, may be eligible for benefits. $600 Buy-Up Program. Some service members may contribute up to an additional $600 to the GI Bill to receive increased monthly benefits. The additional $600 contribution may net up to $5,400 in additional GI Bill benefits. The additional contribution must be made while on active duty. Resource:

16 Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP) VEAP is available to veterans who elected to make contributions from their military pay to participate; the government matches service member contributions on a 2- for-1 basis. Assistance may be used for college degree and certificate programs, technical or vocational courses, flight training, apprenticeships or on-the-job training, high-tech training, licensing and certification tests, entrepreneurship training, certain entrance examinations, and correspondence courses. In certain circumstances, remedial, deficiency, and refresher training may also be available. Contributors may use these benefits for degree, certificate, correspondence, apprenticeship/on-the-job training programs, and vocational flight training programs. Benefit entitlement is for one to 36 months depending on the number of monthly contributions. Participants have 10 years from active duty release to use VEAP benefits. If the entitlement is not used after the 10-year period, the veteran s portion remaining in the fund will be automatically refunded. Resource:

17 Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance Program The Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) program offers education and training opportunities to eligible dependents of Veterans who are permanently and totally disabled due to a service-related condition or of Veterans who died while on active duty or as a result of a service-related condition. Benefits may be used for degree and certificate programs, apprenticeship, and onthe-job training. If you are a spouse, you may take a correspondence course. Remedial, deficiency, and refresher courses may be approved under certain circumstances. Eligible dependents may receive up to 45 months of education benefits. Effective Oct. 1, 2013, some DEA beneficiaries may be eligible for up to 81 months of GI Bill benefits if they use the Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance program in conjunction with an entitlement from other VA education programs. Resource:

18 National Call to Service Program This National Call to Service incentive program is a benefit provided to those who perform a period of national service. It is a Department of Defense program administered by VA. Participants who elect to receive an educational assistance incentive are not entitled to additional assistance under Chapter 1606 or Chapter 30 benefits unless the participant completes the service requirements necessary to establish eligibility. An individual who receives benefits under this program who also establishes eligibility under Chapter 1606 or Chapter 30 will have those entitlements reduced accordingly. Participants can choose from the following incentives: Cash bonus of $5,000 Repayment of a qualifying student loan not to exceed $18,000 Entitlement to allowance equal to the three-year monthly Montgomery GI Bill Active-Duty rate for 12 months Entitlement to allowance equal to 50 percent of the less than three-year monthly Montgomery GI Bill Active-Duty rate for 36 months Coordination with Montgomery GI Bill Benefits Resource:

19 DoD Education Benefits Multiple agencies and sub-agencies within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) offer education benefits to active and prospective service members. These benefits are in the form of tuition, fee, book and/or housing payments made directly to the school. Most schools process these benefits through their Third Party/Sponsor Billing process. Agencies include but are not limited to: Air Force: Air Force Institute of Technology, Air Force ROTC, Air Force Tuition Assistance Army: Army Human Resources Center of Excellence, Army Medical, Army ROTC, Army Tuition Assistance Cost Guard Marines Corps: Marine Corps ROTC, Marine Corps Tuition Assistance Navy: Naval Medical Education & Training Command, Naval Post Graduate School, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Navy ROTC, Navy Tuition Assistance Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA) Complicating schools Third Party/Sponsor Billing processes is the fact that several of these agencies have proprietary invoicing and payment systems. For example: Air Force requires invoices to be submitted through AI Portal Army requires invoices to be submitted through GoArmyEd Army Directorate of Medical Education requires invoices to be submitted through its website at Navy requires invoices to be submitted through Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF)

20 Chronology: DoD Tuition Assistance MOU May 2011: DoD announced that any institution of higher education wishing to provide educational services to military personnel must sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with DoD in order for those service members to be eligible to receive funds through the Tuition Assistance Program. Initial signing deadline was Jan 1, 2012 for Spring semester program participation. Aug 2011 Dec 2012: School Bursars and Registrars worked with ACE and NACUBO to collectively present Congress and DoD with a wide ranging list of school and service member concerns. Dec 2011: Jo Ann Rooney, Acting Undersecretary of Defense, informed Senator Harkin of DoD s decision to extend the signing deadline 90 days to Mar 30, Feb Mar 2012: DoD worked with ACE and select schools to draft MOU revisions. Mar 2012: 90 day extension was indefinitely postponed when DoD failed to publish the revised MOU, apparently at least in part because DoD decided to include protections enumerated in Executive Order ( Principles of Excellence ). Dec 2012: DoD published Change 1 and new signing deadline of Feb 28, Feb 2013: Many schools (including University of Illinois) signed; some did not. Aug 2013: DoD posted DoDI , including a revised MOU, to the Federal Register for Comment by Sep 30, 2013.

21 DoD TA MOU, (Cont d) Sep 2013: ACE submitted comments on the following topics to DoD: Return of TA Funds after Withdrawal Title IV Participation Lead Generators Fees Readmission Consumer Information Military Service Approvals Delivery Requirements Approval of New Course or Program Offering Definitional Terms and Structure Failure to Resolve Complaints Grades Air Force Addendum Requirement to Accept Government Purchase Card (GPC) May 2014: DoDI , Voluntary Education, published on Federal Register; included the new MOU.

22 DoD TA MOU, (Cont d) Jul 2014: NACUBO provided additional details on the new DoD TA MOU including: Revised signing deadline of Sep 5, 2014 (original deadline was Jul 23, 2014) Covered charges only include tuition, not fees or books Disclosure of tuition charges for each degree program to the Service branches Return TA funds "on a proportional basis through at least the 60% portion of the period for which the funds were provided" when a service member fails to complete a course Institutions must provide prospective military students with several informational items prior to enrollment, including information to "locate, explain, and properly use" the College Scorecard, College Navigator, the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet, and the "Paying for College" Web site When a service member changes his or her educational goal or major and the Service's education advisor approves the change, the institution will need to "provide a new evaluated educational plan to the service member and the service within 60 days. Institutions must provide academic and student support services specific to the institutions' programs to all enrolled service members, spouses, and adult family members Administrative burden of Army and Air Force specific Addenda

23 DoD TA MOU, (Cont d) Jul 2014: University of Illinois submitted to DoD a list of concerns and recommendations pertaining to Air Force Addendum requirements: Concerns - clause (5) that reads, Register and use the AI Portal to input institution basic information, degree offerings, tuition rates, invoice submission, course grade submission, degree completions, and to pull pre-established educational institution report while conducting business with the USAF. The number and complexity of degree offerings and tuition rates at U of I, together with AI Portal system limitations, render compliance with this requirement impossibly burdensome due to the manual input that would be necessary. AI Portal does not accept +/- grades. Recommendations: Eliminate the need to enter program information; instead, allow schools to enter links to their websites that report the required information Reorganize the cost data to provide necessary flexibility or eliminate it altogether Establish an notification system to alert schools when students wish to initiate contact Allow reporting of +/- grades Aug 2014: DoD complaint office informed U of I we could sign with the understanding that our registered complaint is outstanding and unresolved; they also informed us that AI Portal will now allow +/- grades and a screen dump of our tuition rates. Sep 2014: NACUBO SFS Council discussed impossibility among many schools to comply with the MOU s requirement for a single tuition rate by program for all TA participants.

24 MILITARY EDUCATION BENEFITS QUESTIONS? ANSWERS (if we have them) DISCUSSION