Posts Tagged ‘GI Bill benefits’

Disabled Veterans: More GI Bill Changes Help Prepare You for College

Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

According to Stars and Stripes, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is looking to improve the benefits offered to school-bound veterans. Since its introduction in 2009, the GI Bill has focused on providing funding to veterans seeking a four-year degree at a state public college. The benefits provide full tuition as well as a monthly living stipend and the ability to transfer unused education funding to a veteran’s spouse or children.

The GI Bill has gone through several changes over the past three years, the most recent focusing on evaluating the state colleges that receive funding for veteran students. Now, lawmakers and veterans’ advocates are seeking changes that will directly benefit incoming veteran students before they set foot in a classroom.

Pre-college counseling is in the spotlight as many veterans have never taken college courses, or have been removed from the college education system for several years. Lawmakers are hopeful that better pre-college counseling can help veterans determine if a degree program is right for them and if the program they are pursuing is legitimate.

Many schools have recently been criticized for marketing heavily to veterans with GI Bill benefits but providing sub-standard education once their tuition is secured. In addition to pre-college counseling, better regulations would be put into effect to establish which courses meet appropriate education standards.

The measures that the GI Bill would put into effect – such as pre-college counseling – could especially help disabled veterans who are trying to adjust and cope with their disability in addition to earning their college degree. Unfortunately, officials do not seem to feel that any conclusive decisions will be reached before November elections.

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veteran’s disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.

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New Student Center Helps Veterans Transition

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

In Northwest Houston, veteran students have an excellent resource at their disposal. The Lone State College (LSCS) – University Park’s Veterans Affairs Center (VAC) offers veterans all the educational and financial aid help they need in order to attend their community college programs under one single roof.

The VAC is very helpful in assisting veterans transitioning back into their communities. It is designed to resemble the one-stop shopping centers veterans are used to existing on military installations. The VAC allows veterans to obtain their education benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, to speak with a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) counselor, and to have any questions answered regarding their education as well as other veteran benefits and resources.

In the spring of 2009, 931 veterans enrolled in LSCS. By fall of 2009, veteran enrollment was up to 1,576. It is expected this semester will put the number of veteran students attending LSCS over 1,700. The need to construct the VAC became very obvious very quickly.

The center focuses on helping veterans to get their maximum amount of educational and housing benefits from the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The center has already received incredible positive feedback from the community. The center provides veterans with:

  • Work and study areas;
  • A computer lab;
  • A break room; and
  • A conference room.

The VAC provides more than just educational benefits, it also serves as a safe harbor for veteran students. The VAC is a centralized location where veterans can find out about their  benefits, or just hang around other veterans.

Learn more about the veteran’s transitional center.

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VA Targets Student Veterans And Schools in Nationwide GI Bill Campaign

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki will not rest. At least not until every last student veteran has taken advantage of their earned education benefit. Over the next two months, the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) will conduct a nationwide campaign designed to enlist both service members and student veterans to apply for the Post 9/11 GI Bill.

Since the Post 9/11 GI Bill has been operational, 209,490 people have taken advantage of the bill to the tune of the VA issuing almost $1.9 billion in benefits. The spring semester numbers from this year show almost 180,000 student veterans enrolled and almost 90% of them have already been paid.

The Post 9/11 GI Bill campaign will tackle many mediums and formats to include:

  • Half-page ads in top college publications;
  • Online and social media;
  • Posters in registrar’s offices, dorms, cafeterias, and student unions;
  • Text messaging;
  • Print, radio, and outdoor advertising; and
  • Public service announcements on college radio stations and local stations with high concentrations of students and military installations.

The goal of this massive campaign is to reach those people that do not understand the GI Bill and how they can take advantage of its benefits. The Post 9/11 GI Bill is the most encompassing educational assistance program since the original GI Bill.

Learn more about how the VA will be attempting to reach student veterans and schools with information about the GI Bill.

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VA Seeking Return of Emergency Funds Paid Under GI Bill

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

During last fall’s school term, the VA failed to process tens of thousands of claims submitted for the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits in a timely manner. As a result, approximately 80,000 student veterans, depending on money from the GI Bill in order to be able to attend school, went without. In an effort to avoid having veterans pay for tuition out of their own pocket or drop out of school because of the expense, the VA issued $3,000 emergency payments to those in need.

The advance payments were issued from October to December in response to the student veterans complaining about the delays in approving their claims. The reason for the failure to timely issue the GI Bill benefits was the complexity of the program used to process and approve the claims. As a result, some student veterans could not afford to stay in school.

The VA considered the $3,000 payments to be advances against the student veteran’s GI Bill benefits. If the checks were never cashed, the VA expects they will be returned to the VA. If the checks were cashed, the student veterans have two repayment options:

  • Repayment through reductions in spring semester GI Bill benefits for those attending school; or
  • Direct payments to the VA for those not enrolled.

Two vital steps that must be met in the claims process before a student veterans is awarded benefits under the Post 9-11 GI Bill:

  • Students must certify their eligibility; and
  • Students must enroll in classes.

Because the VA was not able to process the claims in the 30 days required to ensure the student veterans would receive their benefits on time, they issued the emergency payments in lieu of the above steps being completed.

A new problem arose when some active-duty service members received checks they were not supposed to receive. Those active-duty service members may have qualified for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits but were not supposed to be eligible for the advance payments because those active-duty members are already receive housing or housing allowances from the military, which is what the advance payments were supposed to cover.

The VA believes they have fixed the bugs in the claims processing and will most likely not have the need to supply the advance payments in the spring semester, but only time will tell.

Learn more about the VA demanding repayment of emergency GI Bill funds.

Additional housing benefits are available to disabled veterans which may be based on your disability rating. If you are a disabled veteran who is fighting the VA to receive disability compensation, contact the veterans disability rights law firm of LaVan & Neidenberg.

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VA emergency GI Bill phone number for banks

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

If you have received an emergency GI Bill check from the VA and need to cash it at a bank, bring this number with you – (800)827-2166.

If a bank is reluctant to cash your GI Bill check on the spot, have a bank manager call the number and speak to a VA representative.

According to the Washington Post, some banks are placing a 5-day hold on the checks in order to protect against fraud. In order to process a veteran’s request for the emergency funds, some VA reps needed to handwrite checks and this sent red flags up at the banks.

The VA has distributed approximately $70 million in emergency GI Bill funds since this past Friday and almost half of the students enrolled in the Post 9/11 program are still awaiting their benefitsv

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VA to issue emergency GI Bill checks

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Following a public outcry in recent weeks over the delayed payment of GI Bill benefits, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs announced on Saturday that emergency benefit checks of up to $3000 will be issued starting Friday, October 2.

In a VA press release, Secretary Shinseki said, “Students should be focusing on their studies, not worrying about financial difficulties.”

To receive an emergency check, students must bring a photo ID and a course schedule to one of 57 VA regional benefit offices located across the country. VA representatives are also expected to travel to schools with a significant number of veteran-students to assist the students with processing their advance payment checks. Veteran Service Organizations are also expected to assist with transportation needs.

Contact a VA regional office (VARO) in your area for more information.

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GI Bill payment delays wreaking havoc for veterans

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Veterans who were hoping to take advantage of new GI Bill benefits are finding themselves in financial turmoil as they wait for the government to issue checks for their tuition and living expenses.

According to today’s New York Times, 277,000 veterans and their dependants applied for assistance and only 33,000 tuition payments and benefits checks made directly to applicants have been processed. The VA reports that it takes 35 days to process a claim however, some veterans could wait longer than eight weeks to receive payment.

Veterans and their eligible relatives may have to take out private loans to cover expenses that they expected to pay with money from the VA. Critics are questioning the department’s failure to communicate details of the program and an inability to efficiently process the tide of claims that came with the announcement of revisions to the GI Bill.

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