Starting in the fall, veterans of the armed forces may be eligible for more Georgetown tuition and fee benefits thanks to the university’s participation in a program under the Veterans Educational Assistance Act.

The Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program allows Georgetown to expand its financial commitment to veterans by extending education benefits above and beyond those provided by the Montgomery GI Bill.

Under an agreement with the Department of Veteran Affairs, Georgetown will make more than $2 million in tuition and fee benefits available to eligible veteran accepted to and enrolled at the university. Veterans Affairs will then match Georgetown’s contribution to individual students, providing the veterans with greater opportunities to finance their educations.

“We are proud to participate in the Yellow Ribbon program, and we look forward to this opportunity to give back to the soldiers who have so bravely served our nation,” Georgetown President John J. DeGioia said. About 24 million Americans make up the U.S. veteran population, according to Veterans Affairs. “The men and women of our armed forces have always figured prominently in the life of our university, and we look forward to supporting a new generation of soldiers who come here to further their education.” 

All Georgetown schools and colleges will participate in the program at various levels. All graduate programs, including those at the Law Center and Medical Center, will offer eligible veterans a $2,500 benefit in addition to any financial aid packages for which they may qualify. Eligible veteran undergraduate students on the Main Campus will receive a $1,000 benefit on top of their need-based financial aid package.

The School of Continuing Studies has set aside a $13,400 benefit for up to 75 eligible veterans who enroll in the school’s undergraduate programs and a $10,700 benefit for up to 100 eligible veterans who enroll in the school’s master’s programs.

Vincent Kiernan, who worked with SCS Dean Robert Manuel on the Yellow Ribbon Program, said the program lifts a huge burden off the veterans applying to Georgetown since the Veterans Affairs will pay each student’s allotment directly to the university. “So the veteran will not even have to bother with the hassle of shelling out money upfront and waiting for reimbursement, as is the case with the current GI Bill,” said Kiernan, associate dean of SCS’s liberal studies program.

The Yellow Ribbon Program is intended to make participating private institutions, including Georgetown, more accessible to veterans who are pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees. The initiative was authorized by Congress under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, more commonly referred to as the New GI Bill.

More than 170 Georgetown students enrolled last year using veteran benefits. Eligibility for the benefit is determined by Veterans Affairs and is limited to veterans who served in the armed forces after Sept. 10, 2001.

“The increased military activity on behalf of U.S. service personnel, in particular in Afghanistan and Iraq, since September 11, 2001, prompted Congress to look at the educational benefits provided to our veterans,” said Scott Fleming, federal relations associate vice president, regarding the duty of the more than 145,000 troops serving in the two countries. “This program gives Georgetown the opportunity to express our appreciation for our nation’s veterans while educating them.”

-- Julie Green Bataille

(June 9, 2009)