Federal Cuts, Benefit Delays, Errors Derailling Veterans’ Education

At the start of the spring semester in January at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, a dozen military veterans waited for their GI Bill student benefit checks to show up. They waited, and waited some more, until the money finally arrived — in April. By that time, three had left. It typically takes weeks for veterans to receive GI Bill benefits from the Veterans Administration — funding used for tuition, textbooks and housing. But under the Trump administration it’s been taking at least three times longer, said Jeff Deickman, assistant director for veteran and military affairs on that campus.

Frustration Mounting

Deickman’s counterparts at other colleges say the VA’s paperwork often has errors, causing further delays — and some student veterans are dropping out. “I can spend, on bad days, three hours on the phone with the VA,” said Deickman, himself a 20-year Army veteran and a doctoral student. “They’ll only answer questions about one student at a time, so I have to hang up and start over again.” Nearly 600,000 veterans received a total of about $10 billion worth of GI Bill benefits last year for education, according to the VA. But Trump administration efforts to scale down the size of the VA by about 30,000 positions and to dismantle the Department of Education, which manages some student aid for veterans, have caused funding delays and are hampering students’ ability to understand and get answers about their education benefits, advocacy groups say.

Vets Struggle to Get Benefits

“The whole process” has become a mess, said one 33-year-old Navy vet in Colorado, who asked that his name not be disclosed for fear of reprisal from federal authorities. “It’s making a lot of us anxious.” Social media lays bare that anxiety and frustration. In posts, veterans complain about stalled benefits and mistakes. “I just wish I could speak to someone who could help but all of the reps seem to be unable to assist and simply tell me to reapply, which I have 4x, just for another denial,” wrote one on Reddit, about attempts to have a student loan forgiven. “Complete nightmare,” another Reddit poster wrote about the same process. “Delays, errors, and employees that don’t know anything. No one knows anything right now.” Federal law guarantees that student loans of disabled vets will be forgiven. But some veterans with permanent disabilities have reported that their loan discharge applications were denied.

Delays and Errors

The VA disruptions threaten “access to veterans’ education benefits, just as even more veterans and service members may be turning to higher education and career training,” the American Council on Education, or ACE — the nation’s largest association of colleges and universities — wrote in June. That’s on top of existing frustrations. Veterans already struggle to get the education benefits they’ve earned. “Eligibility rules can be confusing,” ACE wrote, and are rife with “time-consuming red tape.” As a result, “many students and the institutions that serve them rely on VA staff to interpret the rules, resolve disputes, and ensure benefits are processed on time. With fewer staff, that support system is at risk of breaking down.” Student Veterans of America, one of the largest advocacy organizations, did not respond to repeated interview requests. Ten colleges and universities with the largest veteran enrollments in the nation — including San Diego State, Georgia State, Angelo State, Arizona State and Syracuse — also did not respond to, or declined to answer, questions.

Impact on Veterans

Veterans and advocates also are concerned that Education Department cuts could erode oversight of the primarily for-profit colleges that take GI Bill benefits. Veterans are twice as likely to attend those colleges as other students, according to the Postsecondary National Policy Institute. The risk is particularly high for low-income veterans and those from diverse backgrounds, said Lindsay Church, executive director of Minority Veterans of America. Those student veterans are less likely to come from college-educated households, Church said, making them more vulnerable to fraud. But the most immediate problems are payment delays and paperwork errors, student veterans and their advisors said. In the military city of San Diego, where thousands of former and current service members go to college, student veterans at Miramar College this year waited months to hear about VA work-study contracts, which previously had been approved within days.

Conclusion

The delays and errors in the VA’s processing of education benefits are having a significant impact on the ability of veterans to access higher education. The Trump administration’s efforts to scale down the size of the VA and dismantle the Department of Education have caused funding delays and are hampering students’ ability to understand and get answers about their education benefits. As a result, many student veterans are facing increased anxiety and stress, and some are even dropping out of college. It is essential that the VA and the Department of Education take immediate action to address these issues and ensure that veterans receive the education benefits they have earned.

FAQs

Q: What is the GI Bill and how does it work?
A: The GI Bill is a federal program that provides education benefits to veterans. It covers the cost of tuition, textbooks, and housing for eligible veterans.
Q: Why are veterans experiencing delays in receiving their GI Bill benefits?
A: The delays are due to a combination of factors, including a shortage of staff at the VA, errors in paperwork, and a lack of oversight.
Q: How are the delays and errors affecting veterans?
A: The delays and errors are causing increased anxiety and stress for veterans, and some are even dropping out of college as a result.
Q: What can be done to address the issues with the GI Bill?
A: The VA and the Department of Education need to take immediate action to address the staffing shortages, improve the processing of paperwork, and increase oversight to ensure that veterans receive the education benefits they have earned.
Q: Are there any resources available to help veterans who are experiencing problems with their GI Bill benefits?
A: Yes, there are several organizations that provide assistance to veterans, including the Veterans Administration, the Department of Education, and advocacy groups such as Student Veterans of America and Minority Veterans of America.