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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif., (May 15, 2009) -- Marine Corps Air Station Miramar hosted the Troops to College Education Summit at the air station’s Officers’ Club, May 15.

Joan Putnam, the veterans’ coordinator with San Diego State University, discusses the progress that the campus has made in supporting veterans in the past year, during the Troops to College Education Summit at the Officers’ Club aboard the air station, May 15. College representatives from throughout the nation attended the Summit.

The event provided attendees with information about financial programs that assist service members with resources to attend college after separating from the military, and highlighted the benefits of pursuing higher education.

Troops to College is a California-based initiative instituted by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. The program was established to encourage veterans to attend California’s public higher education institutions with outreach efforts, financial aid, academic advice and admissions programs.

“A lot of good questions were asked and we made good connections with the college representatives and service members,” said Nathaniel Donnelly, the assistant veterans’ coordinator with San Diego State University. “A big reason that service members don’t attend college is because they don’t have enough information about available resources to assist them with obtaining a degree.”

Only about 50 percent of service members use their GI Bill and even less use it to complete college, added Donnelly.

Service members also learned about the new Post-9/11 GI Bill that takes affect Aug. 1, 2009. The bill will cover the highest public in-state tuition. Marines can submit applications for the new bill at the GI Bill Web site, www.gibill.va.gov.

In addition to discussing the benefits and nuances of the new GI Bill, service members also learned about the Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program.

“It would usually cost a student $1,270 per credit hour to attend our university, while the new GI Bill only covers $970 per credit in New York,” said Curtis Rodgers, dean of enrollment management for undergraduate studies, Columbia University in New York., N.Y. “With the yellow ribbon program, we pay half of the remainder while the VA pays the other half for qualified applicants.”

The yellow ribbon program is a provision of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. This program allows institutions of higher learning in the United States to voluntarily enter into an agreement with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs to fund tuition expenses that exceed the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition rate. The institution can contribute up to 50 percent of the excess, and the VA will match the university’s contribution.

Near the conclusion of the Summit, a panel of college representatives and Marines discussed ways to reach out to the veteran student population and answered the attendees questions.

People can visit a GI Bill fact Web site at, www.mygibill.org, for more information about the new G.I. Bill and other benefits for service members.

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