VA Education Benefits: VA Needs to Improve Program Management and Provide More Timely Information to Students

The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) recent report VA Education Benefits: VA Needs to Improve Program Management and Provide More Timely Information to Studentsexplores challenges veterans face in accessing their GI benefits, how they are supported on the college campuses they attend, and their student outcomes including college completion. GAO presents a number of concerns with the Department of Veteran Affairs’ (VA) administration of the Post-9/11 GI bill and makes recommendations to improve management of the program and to provide more timely information to students eligible for GI Bill benefits.

Among the report’s findings:

• In 2011, the Post-9/11 GI Bill spent over $7 billion to support more than 500,000 veterans and service members.
  • This is an increase of 200,000 participants since the program first became effective in 2009.
  • Participation is expected to increase to 5 million by 2020.
• Delays with the VA’s processing time of new applications (31 days on average) and its delay with processing time for claims (17 days on average) for education benefits create several financial challenges that negatively affect student veterans.
  • Students experienced financial hardship (such as taking on large amounts of personal debt) due to these delays.
  • These kinds of delays can force students to drop out of school or reconsider their decision to pursue higher education.
  • Additionally, some schools withhold other federal grants and loans until GI Bill benefits have been received and confirmed.
• The VA offers little information about benefit processing times and housing allowance policies, leaving students unprepared to deal with the effects of the delays in VA processing.  
• Concerns over the quality and usefulness of the VA Call Center creates challenges for veterans looking for further clarification on their benefits.
  • The GAO has previously questioned the accuracy and consistency of information provided to students and schools through the Call Center and has also previously noted the long wait times.
  • In the past year the VA Call center reported waits of one hour or more.
  • 38% of calls were blocked (meaning the system could not handle them at all) and 22% were abandoned (meaning students hung up before getting an answer or speaking to a representative).
• Though the VA has launched VetSuccess, a pilot program that places VA counselors on a school campus to provide opportunities for direct interaction with student veterans and school staff, the vast majority of campuses that serve student veterans are working to create their own support services.
  • This report encourages the VA to partner with local efforts in order to expand the goals of the VetSuccess program and to provide high-quality, responsive services to student veterans on campuses across the country.
• There is not a reliable source for national data on student veterans’ postsecondary outcomes.
  • The VA has, however, contracted with the National Student Clearinghouse to conduct annual studies comparing degree completion rates for veterans receiving VA benefits with other students.
  • Additionally, the VA is coordinating with other federal agencies to develop student outcome measures and implement efforts to collect more data on student veterans.
• The GAO recommends that the VA do the following:
  • Develop materials to inform student veterans about education benefits before they enroll, including housing allowance policies and payment timelines.
  • Work with schools to provide more timely access to other federal financial aid options for student veterans.
  • Share best practices of schools providing student services with others working to serve student veterans better.
  • Develop a plan for using new sources of data on student veteran outcomes to improve the program.