What is old is new again: in this case, the “G.I. Bill 2.0” is really just catching up to what our service people SHOULD have been receiving long ago. “This goes a long way toward making today’s GI Bill a kind of equalizer that the original GI Bill was,†said Suzanne Mettler, a professor of government at Cornell University.
At our own University, a group of key stakeholders recently met to discuss the great benefits of the soon-to-be legislated G.I. Bill 2.0 … this revamped version of the G.I. Bill  finally rises up to meet the challenges of our present social and economic environment; the improved GI Bill benefit will cover up to the cost of in-state tuition at the most expensive public college in a veteran’s state, it includes a monthly housing stipend, and a $1,000 a year for books. There is also a “Yellow Ribbon Program” component to the bill in which the government matches funds to private colleges that cover part of the difference in tuition over and above costs at public institutions.
The bill is sure to encourage veterans to enroll in colleges and universities as it greatly increases their choice and access to education. The veterans are ready and they are coming; Higher Education institutions had better prepare now to address the myriad of issues that will inevitably arise as this new crop of highly-motivated and dedicated students arrives on campus. The incentives will be there, hopefully, to motivate veterans to enroll and graduate. see also …
