Military veterans and other service members may have a new way to pay for college after President Barack Obama signed the Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 in May.
The new law will allow veterans who may not hold residence in any state due to their time overseas to pay in-state tuition at federally funded schools by July 2015. The approximate 550,000 veteran student population will be able to pay as state residents, according to Time Magazine.
Tuition for veterans at Georgia State:
The average out-of-state tuition at Georgia State is $10,528.80 for 12 credit hours, according to the Student Financial Services website. In-state residents pay a total of $3,244.80.
Roy Sobelson, professor of law and associate dean for Academic Affairs, said 800-1,000 veterans attend Georgia State.
The act will benefit any veteran who has at least 90 days of active service within three years of leaving the military, according to the text.
“You’ve risked your lives on multiple tours to defend our nation. And as a country, we have a sacred obligation to serve you as well as you’ve served us – an obligation that doesn’t end with your tour of duty,” President Obama said after signing the bill into law June 10, according to the White House’s website.
David Garcia, Georgia State’s Student Veterans Association’s (SVA) vice president and a veteran himself, said he appreciates the new law.
“I think the law is great,” Garcia said. “The original G.I. Bill, which was implemented after World War II, granted veterans a full ride to any university in the nation.”
SVA is made up of students who served in a branch of the U.S. Military since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to its OrgSync page.
Georgia State students who are dependents of veterans, veterans of previous conflicts and wars and members of the other branches of the U.S. Uniform Services are part of the organization, according to SVA’s page.
The page also states supporters of veterans are also welcome in the group.
The Yellow Ribbon Program
Another form of veteran support at Georgia State is the Yellow Ribbon Program. The program is a provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill that bridges the gap between veterans and higher education, according to the New GI Bill website.
Yellow Ribbon also contributes 50 percent toward the payment of veterans’ tuition at Georgia State. The Department of Veteran Affairs also matches the contribution, according to the Georgia State military outreach website.
Scholarships to 30 veteran students on a first come-first serve basis are also awarded through the program.
Sobelson said Georgia State is also allowing a space for lawyers to come help veterans with issues they may be facing at the university’s new Volunteer Clinic for Veterans.
The clinic is expected to open late September or early October. Sobelson said it is likely there will be two four-hour sessions per week.
“Just like anybody else, they [veterans] can have legal problems, but some of those problems are unique to their veteran status and some are not,”he said. We just want to provide a place where they can get easy access to help.”
Sobelson also said the clinic will help veterans with legal issues they may face and will guide those seeking help with criminal cases in other areas outside of the university.
“We are allowing lawyers who have already become part of a network of lawyers who volunteer for veterans to set up shop, so to speak, in part at Georgia State,” he said.
Veterans will be able to call a number and a graduate student will coordinate a meeting between the veteran, a lawyer and a law student. Law students will accompany the professional lawyers in introductory interviews.
Army Lt. Col. William J. Brooks, chair of the Georgia State Department of Military Science and Leadership, said the clinic is a positive step for military-friendly campus
“This clinic is another key component of the comprehensive strategy to be a truly military-friendly campus,” he said in a University release about the clinic. “This is just one more way we’re helping veterans achieve their education, continue their service to the military and realize the benefits they have earned.”
“He has been enormously supportive in pushing us to do this, which is great,” Sobelson said of Brooks.
Garcia said the clinic and other initiatives are helping the veteran community thrive.
“I think it’s a great idea. Emory has a similar program,” Garcia said. “The veteran community at Georgia State is thriving. Georgia State continues to improve its veterans support services.”
