How the UW System is Serving Veterans
November 11, 2014
As of 2013, there were more than 400,000 veterans living in Wisconsin, ‘veteran’ being defined as a former member of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard who served on active duty and was discharged other than dishonorably. The UW System has a particular mission to provide services to these men and women who so ably served their country; the UW System campuses are approved for the education of reservists, veterans, disabled or deceased veterans' dependents, and war orphans under programs provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the state Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Wisconsin GI Bill is the most comprehensive state higher education benefit for veterans in the nation - veterans are not charged tuition and fees for up to 128 credits. Assuming a standard course load, the Wisconsin GI Bill provides 4 years of 100% tuition and fee remission. The Wisconsin GI Bill can be used for undergraduate or graduate education and is available to full-time students and part-time students, as well as students enrolled in the Flexible Option. In addition, veterans are given priority registration at all UW institutions so they can more effectively use their benefits. Critically, the UW also provides the vast majority of funding to support the benefit.
Last year nearly 5,000 veterans (self-reported) attended UW System institutions; that total has doubled since 2005. Of those, nearly 4,000 eligible veterans took advantage of the Wisconsin GI Bill and related federal GI Bill benefits. In addition to veterans, children and spouses of veterans disabled 30% or more receive Wisconsin GI Bill benefits. Last year nearly 1,400 children and spouses accessed this benefit.
UW institutions across the state have opened student veteran centers to help veterans better access increasingly complicated benefits as well provide the academic and social support that many non-traditional students find useful as they transition to college life after time away from school.
The UW System and Wisconsin Technical College System have also joined forces to create the Veterans Wisconsin Education Portal, a one-stop online location which provides information to help veterans and their dependents understand and utilize the services and resources available to them. Sections of this web portal include:
Source: UW Service Center
Categories: Employee Reimbursement Account