Starting fall 2012 semester, some of the 800 student veterans at KSU began having trouble with their financial aid money.
“Because of a policy change at the Bursar’s office over summer semester, financial aid is not being dispersed the same way it has been in the past,” said Transition Coordinator at the Veterans Resource Center David Carper.
On the post 9/11 GI Bill, student veterans would receive a letter of eligibility from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs which proved to the college that tuition would be paid for in full by the VA. Before the summer 2012, when the Bursar’s office received one of these letters the student veteran’s account would be marked as paid in full. After the student’s account was declared paid, the student’s financial aid would then be distributed to them within a week.
Due to the policy change, student veterans’ accounts are no longer zeroed out until KSU actually receives payment for tuition from the VA. This means that part of a student veterans’ financial aid may be held until the VA has paid.
“The problem we’re running into is that the VA is backlogged,” said Derek Ridings, student veteran representative. “Which means they are delayed in paying, and because of the new policy, the school is delayed in dispersing financial aid to student veterans.”
Ridings said this backlog is typical after each conflict the U.S. Military is involved in. When veterans return from conflict and the military downsizes, veterans enroll in universities nationwide. “On top of the estimated 800 thousand claims just for education from the VA, another 80 thousand have been added,” Ridings said.
“While this change was made with the intention of serving students better, recent feedback has suggested it may be causing unanticipated difficulties,” said Dr. Michael Sansiviro, Dean of Student Success. “Since the VA certificates do not include a specific amount to be paid, it creates challenges when processing other forms of aid since a refund does not generate until funds are received to cover all expenses.”
KSU has almost 800 student veterans, many of whom are eligible for the Pell Grant. “Approximately 600 of these students go to school on the post 9/11 GI Bill,” Ridings said.
“It’s a thing that the school has done recently and it’s all a technicality that makes sense, however the waiting time is not accounted for by the school,” said Senior KSU student Ren Stanley.
“The whole idea behind he new GI bill is that it allows soldiers to completely focus on school rather than worry.”
Ridings said he and the Veterans Resource Center have engaged administrators on campus to help alleviate these issues. Ridings did not feel comfortable disclosing who he had been working with but said that the issues were being addressed.
To find out more about the Veterans Resource Center you can visit the office on campus, Room 227 in Willingham Hall. They can also be contacted through email at Veterans_Resource@kennesaw.edu or by phone at (678)797-2970.
The changes recently made to the Sentinel have been much needed and appreciated. The new format is considerably more polished than before, and the columnists and articles appear to be better edited and written. However, I noticed in your cover article on veterans’ struggles with financial aid that the word “disperse” was used incorrectly. “Disperse” is typically used in reference to the distribution of things or people, while “disburse” references money or assets. Thus, “disbursement” would have been the correct word choice for this article. That said, keep up the good work in presenting KSU in a more professional manner.
Tanya Brown