Each year, more than 700,000 veterans rely on the GI Bill to pay for their education, but those who pursue online degrees don’t receive their benefits in full. We must show veteran students pursuing online degrees that the country appreciates their service by asking Congress to address this oversight.
GI Bill benefits include a monthly housing allowance based on the college’s ZIP code. Students are allotted more funding in cities and towns where housing is more expensive, and less where housing is less costly. When veterans pursue degrees online, however, the housing allowance is reduced to half the national average, regardless of location or housing costs.
At Oregon State University, where I serve as the executive director of our Ecampus, the 493 veteran students who pursued their degrees online full-time with us in 2021 faced a shortage of $871.50 per month. (The shortage for part-time students is pro-rated, so a student taking three classes instead of four per semester would receive 80% of the housing allowance).
