IU to welcome first Yellow Ribbon vets

By  Lindsay Eckert 

IU will welcome its first group of Yellow Ribbon Program veterans this fall.

The Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program, known as the Yellow Ribbon Program, is an amended version of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, which expanded educational benefits and funding for tuition reimbursements for military veterans who have served since Sept. 11.

     IU will award up to $2,000 in additional funds that will be matched by the Veterans Administration for the program – or a total of $4,000 per person – for up to 20 new qualified students annually, according to an IU press release.

“The Yellow Ribbon Program provides crucial support to a new generation of military veterans as they pursue college educations,” Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson said in a statement. “Indiana University Bloomington has a long tradition of supporting the men and women of our armed forces, and we are proud to participate in this worthwhile program.”

Higher education specialists question how efficient the new legislation will be, but say it might have a positive influence.

“We expect that benefits will go down if veterans use the new GI Bill,” said Kathy Crowder, spokeswoman for the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation.

But it’s still too early to tell how state and federal relations will shake out.
“When the regulations are finalized, we will implement them accordingly,” Crowder said in a press conference.

The 2009 Yellow Ribbon Program GI Bill will provide 100 percent of funding for a public four-year undergraduate education to veterans serving three years on active duty since Sept. 11. Veterans serving 10 years could potentially offer the education reimbursement benefit to a spouse or child.

If a veteran’s tuition fees exceed public in-state undergraduate fees, additional funds may be available for exceeded costs and possibly postgraduate education, according to the GI Bill Web site, www.gibill.va.gov.

“This new program is a great way to get student veterans to attend the top schools without worrying about student loans,” said Nicholas Bielinski, president of the IU Student Veterans Association, in a press release. “With the funds of the Yellow Ribbon program, we can focus more as veterans to become leaders and be involved on campus.”