Doing Right by Veterans With College Tuition Fairness

The United States has one of the most well educated and education-minded fighting forces ever. Many new recruits come into the force — both the enlisted and officer ranks — already with college degrees, and most have ambitions to continue their education both during and after military service. Needless to say, educational opportunities are important to those who serve, which is why the GI Bill has been a critically important benefit to our veterans and an important investment for our country for more than a half-century.

In 2008, IAVA strongly advocated for the successful passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill to modernize this important and well deserved benefit for those who have carried the burden of fighting our nation’s wars. And while this “New” GI Bill was a giant leap forward for our veterans, it also required prudent follow-up legislation and continued advocacy to protect and improve the benefit.

When I went into the Army back in 2001, I had already completed my freshman year of college and I entered onto active duty from the place I was living at the time — Greensboro, NC. I was not a resident of North Carolina then, so I naturally had to pay the out-of-state tuition rate to attend a public university in that state. However, when I later ETSed from the Army and returned to finish college in my home state of South Carolina, I was surprised to learned that both North Carolina and South Carolina no longer considered me a resident for in-state tuition purposes…

Read the rest here on The Huffington Post.