GI Bill 76th anniversary school tour reaches thousands

VA today celebrated the 76^th Anniversary of the GI Bill. Since its debut 76 years ago today, the GI Bill has impacted millions of Veterans, their families and the military community. VA’s Education Service continues to see its impact, even now as it meets and virtually greets beneficiaries on the GI Bill School Tour.

The VA GI Bill School Tour is reaching thousands across the country and virtually.

From July 2019 through February 2020, the GI Bill leadership team set out to reach GI Bill students across the country. Adapting to the present situation, the team visited 24 schools, training programs and industry leaders, and connected with nearly 1,000 individuals in person and many thousands more virtually.

The GI Bill Tour brought important information to its beneficiaries, like recently implemented sections of the Colmery Act expansion, and other enhancements and opportunities. The most notable changes include updates to Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) rates, the Edith Nourse Rogers Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Scholarship, Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses (VET TEC) and more.

Through the GI Bill School Tour, VA GI Bill leadership met face-to-face with students, school leaders, administrators and other stakeholders to discuss how these updates help further support GI Bill beneficiaries. Watch the GI Bill School Tour video to see ground footage.

Tour highlights

• Joined industry leaders, including Google, LinkedIn, Facebook and Microsoft to discuss workforce trends, Veteran initiatives and future collaboration.
• Spoke at SVA’s NatCon 2020 on using VA education benefits to build a future; presented at National Association of Veterans’ Program Administrators (NAVPA) and National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) conferences.
• Received direct feedback from School Certifying Official (SCO) and GI Bill students to create a ratio recommendation of one full-time SCO to every 200 GI Bill students at an educational institution.
• Streamed Facebook LIVE events reaching thousands.

Positive feedback

• “This visit came at the perfect time because I’m working to further my education. For the VA to come to my school helps me because I can ask them personal questions and get credible information.” –GI Bill beneficiary, John Jay College student
• “I applaud your efforts for the GI Bill School Tour. It is really important to have grassroots engagement and get boots on the ground.” –Associate Provost of Veterans and Military Affairs, University of Texas – San Antonio

Take a look at our GI Bill School Tour Infographic to see additional key milestones.

As we celebrate the 76^th year of the GI Bill, VA is committed to providing steady communication with our GI Bill students and those who support them. Stay up-to-date with VA Education Service by liking the Post-9/11 GI Bill Facebook page and learning about VA education benefits by visiting VA.gov/education.

Terry Warren is the chief for VBA’s Education Service’s Stakeholder Engagement Team.