VA announces changes to post 9/11 GI Bill Published Jan. 9, 2011 By Tech. Sgt. Brannen Parrish 931st ARG Public Affairs By MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- Airmen enrolled in the Post-9/11 GI Bill will have more opportunities and means of using their educational benefits. President Barack Obama signed legislation to update and simplify the program, Jan. 4. According to the Veterans Administration, the agency that administers the program, the new legislation includes the following provisions: · Pays for on-the-job training, some flight training; apprenticeship training and correspondence courses · Credits reservists and Guardsmen for time served in support of emergencies called by state governors to qualify for the benefit · Pro-rates housing allowance to exclude payments when students are not taking courses · Allows students on active duty to receive the stipend for books and supplies · Allows eligible members participating in the VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment benefits to choose between the VA's housing allowance and the VR&E's subsistence allowance · Permits reimbursement for more than one license and certification test · Reimburses fees for national admission tests, such as the SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE and LSAT · Establishes a cap of $17,500 annually for tuition and fees in a private or foreign school More than 425,000 veterans and eligible family members have utilized the 18-month old educational program. Many, like Staff Sgt. Clayton Van Daley, a medical technician with the 931st Aerospace Medicine Flight, have utilized the benefit. Sergeant Van Daley, who has used the benefit over the past year to study nursing at Wichita State University in Kansas, says it avoid massive debts many college students incur. "It's a great program. If it weren't for the Post-9/11 GI Bill I would be thousands of dollars in debt," said Sergeant Van Daley "I receive basic allowance for housing along with stipends for books and supplies. You can't get any better than that." The streamlined program should also benefit education offices, making it easier to calculate benefits. "Previously eligible members received the tuition rate of the highest public college in their state," said Staff Sgt. Kristen Adkins, NCOIC of Education and Training, 931st Air Refueling Group. "Now with a national cap of $17,500 regardless of the state you are attending school in, it's easier to understand and explain to our Airmen." Airmen who want to determine eligibility for the Post-9/11 GI Bill can login to the VPCG-R and determine their benefits through the Point Credit Accounting and Reporting System. ' "If Airmen submit their requests to ARPC to count their active duty credits, the request will go directly to the VA and should only take about three weeks to process," said Sergeant Adkins. "It has taken about eight weeks when processed through the unit education office directly." Members who desire more information about the new provisions can visit the VA on the web.