Many North Carolina military veterans have been plagued by tuition inconsistencies in the UNC system for two years, but the system Board of Governors took a step last week to fix student veterans’ difficulties.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill — which provides armed services veterans with financial aid for higher education — was changed by Congress in 2011 to no longer cover the difference in out-of-state tuition for veterans. Many veterans who were stationed out of state are not considered North Carolina residents after they leave active service.
During last week’s Board of Governors meeting, members unanimously passed a resolution from the board’s special military planning committee that requests a policy change from the N.C. General Assembly that would give the board the authority to determine residency for veterans.
“Active-duty members in the armed services usually don’t start making plans to go to school until a few months away from exiting active service,” said Ann Marie Beall, the UNC system’s director of military education.
“By the time they come into one of our schools and say they’re interested in attending, they don’t meet the requirements for in-state tuition and there isn’t enough time by law to change things.”
Raiford Trask, chairman of the board’s special committee on military affairs, said he’s optimistic the legislature will approve the change outlined in the resolution.
“The federal government is going to at some point pass a bill that mandates that, so I think it’s important for us to determine how our bills read (before that happens),” he said.
Still, the approximately 5,000 UNC-system student veterans using federal benefits will have to wait until the General Assembly convenes in May for a final decision.
System President Tom Ross said in a news conference following the meeting last week that he hopes the General Assembly will be open to working with the system on veterans’ tuition during the legislature’s short session.
