The Standard

Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Matt Kile

The new GI Bill is set to go into effect Aug. 1, bringing with it what could be more education funding for more people, but those who could benefit say there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

The bill, passed last summer, is designed to make it possible for veterans and veterans' families to go to college for little to no cost out of pocket, but many are skeptical.

"When it actually gets down to the (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs) to actually implement it, then all these little things pop up," said Shonna Marshall, VA Certifying Official for Missouri State. "For the ones who actually qualify and get to reap the full benefits of it, I think it'll be a great deal."

For the first time since it's inception in 1944, the language in the GI Bill allows spouses to use the education benefits active-duty and reserve soldiers earn through years of service.

"There are some interesting things in this new bill," said Jess Rollins, who will be returning to Missouri State next semester to become Editor in Chief at The Standard after two tours of duty in Iraq.

"The biggest one, of course, is that even reservists, even reservists' spouses, can use this bill. That's something that soldiers have been asking for for years and years and years."

But the details about how the benefits change hands aren't easily understood.

"It's very unclear, I'll definitely agree with that," said Lindsey Becker, who hopes to be able to use her fiance's GI Bill benefits some time in the future. "He will most likely not use any of his GI Bill, so if I was not eligible for it and if I was not able to use it, then it would basically just sit and go unused."

Marshall said there isn't much available as far as who would qualify or how the application process would be administered, but she did know that this program would only apply to soldiers who had served for at least six years and had enlisted for an additional four.

"It's a problem when even the veterans affairs office doesn't know, and I'm not blaming veterans affairs, they're just not getting complete insight," Rollins said.

Marshall said a lot of the confusion with the new GI Bill is the fact that it is very individualized, whereas the old system had specific regulations.

"All it does right now is give them a monthly stipend and the amount they get depends on the chapter they're under," she said. "The chapter is: are they national guard, reserves or active duty. It's also prorated based on if they're full-time, three-quarters time or part-time, but all that money goes straight into their pocket for them to use how they need."

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools