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UH opting out of vet program

The University of Houston will not apply to participate in the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Yellow Ribbon Program.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki is encouraging colleges and universities to join the program for the 2011-2012 academic year.

The program is a provision under the Post 9/11 GI Bill that allows degree-granting institutions to enter into an agreement with the VA to fund tuition and fee expenses that exceeds the highest state undergraduate tuition rate.

Under the agreement, colleges may contribute up to 50 percent of the veteran’s tuition and fees, and the VA will match them to the dollar.

The program benefits veterans paying out-of-state tuition or attending a private institution, which tend to be more expensive than state universities.

“UH does not have any programs that exceed the cost of the highest in-state tuition,” Registration and Academic Records Program Manager Kristopher M. Butler said. “For this reason, it would not benefit the University or the veteran community to be a Yellow Ribbon school.”

Starting in August, the amount of assistance under the program will be capped at $17,500 for private and foreign schools.

The current maximum that the 9/11 GI Bill will pay in Texas is $13,426 per term. The non-resident cost for UH is just over $14,000.

Veterans who are required to pay out-of-state tuition can take advantage of Texas Senate Bill 297, which allows non-Texas veterans and their families to immediately start paying in-state tuition and fees at a public university without having to establish the twelve-month residency requirement.

Universities like Texas A&M and the University of Texas-Arlington also have non-residency cost that exceed what the 9/11 bill pays out.

“Our tuition is not that high for a public school,” Veterans Service Office Director Allen Grundy said. “Even the graduate school is not that exorbitant.

“When we get to that point, then we may possibly have to apply to get more students in.”

To be eligible for the program, a veteran must have served a period of 36 months of active duty service after Sept. 10, 2001, and have an honorable discharge from a service-connected disability after 9/10. Dependants or spouses of an eligible veteran are also eligible.

Any veteran receiving benefits under the 9/11 Bill but lacking the 36 months of service would not be eligible.

Most veterans at UH come from Texas, and would have access to a variety of sources to cover the cost of tuition.

Most use The Hazelwood Act once they have exhausted veteran’s benefits.

The Hazelwood Act provides veterans and their families up to 150 credit hours of tuition and fee exemptions at state colleges and universities.

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