Higher Education Assistance for

Deserving Members Families

Colin R. Read

Professor Babcock
English 138T-003
April 15, 2018
 Abstract

When analyzing the rising costs of attending college in addition to the outdated aid for

military personnel and families, it can easily be seen that more assistance is required. The

increasing budget for the military is leading to a future of more fighting and a greater number of

injured soldiers who will need support for their families. Caring for an injured soldier is difficult,

often forcing the spouse or loved one to work less. Families are forced to make drastic decisions

regarding their budget in order to put a child through college. If the same bills and acts are used

to offer aid to families, they soon will be swept up by the roughly flowing current of college

debt. Individual colleges may offer a helping hand through various methods that could lead to a

successful and opportunistic future for these much deserving families.

 The United States of America has an everlasting history of war. For hundreds of years,

men and women have selflessly put themselves in the line of fire to protect the lives of the

people of this nation. There appears to be no end in sight for this tradition of war. As federal

funding for the armed forces throughout many subdivisions including weapons, machinery,

facilities, and medical care increase each year, the need for brave service members will also be

on the rise. Conflict between nations and people will also continue to be an issue in this world

we live in. Only in a Utopia would a time of universal peace and agreeance upon relations occur.

Although dejected, this is the reality of the world as we know it.

A major consequence of war is the casualties that occur because of it. Due to the

improved medical practices and surgical operations, soldiers are now surviving catastrophic

injuries from battle. As this is a great success and achievement to save more lives of our troops,

this also means the fight has not stopped; a great amount of care is needed back home such as

therapy and assisted living. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has the

tremendous task of providing much needed care and assistance to service members upon return

to the United States. This is more important now more than ever because of the larger amount of

surviving soldiers, as well as the aging veterans who also need care.

The department has arguably the greatest challenge in the country, and requires a large

budget. By having the largest portion of the federal budget devoted to the military, the families

of the service members are often overlooked. There are assistance programs in place with the

intentions of relieving the financial stress the family is under, but it is often not enough.

Programs are offered that assist a family while a member is serving on active-duty, however, the

families of fallen or disabled veterans are far too often forgotten about. The active-duty programs
do not apply in these situations, and the current assistance is not enough. In addition to this, if a

dependent child of these veterans is pursuing a higher education, far too much financial stress is

placed on the family. College costs are continuously on the rise and the help for the families of

our veterans are on the decline. Where is the help when they need it the most? The federal

budget is already thinly stretched, including cuts to the Department of Education. Individual

colleges and universities, including The Pennsylvania State University, should take it upon

themselves to offer assistance to individuals coming from families that are supporting a disabled

or have tragically lost a member from the armed forces. This could be achieved through the

offering of a tuition based scholarship, the creation of an alumni mentorship program that would

match the student with a caring and knowledgeable alumni, or the offering of housing and or

meal accommodations for the student. These options would give the families much needed relief

from the financial trouble of college in addition to the struggle of caring for their veteran. Due to

the decreasing attention on higher education support for families of an injured or fallen service-

member, colleges and universities need to increase financial support for these individuals.

Veterans Affairs By the Numbers

Regarding the United States Military casualty numbers during the Iraq War, a total of

6,938 soldiers passed away due to injuries, and a total of 52,674 soldiers were wounded in action

during their service 1. These soldiers that are returning home are in need of advanced care from

the Veterans Affairs Clinics that are scattered throughout the country. Now as caring for roughly

52,000 soldiers would be controllable, this is then compiled onto all surviving veterans of

previous years who are also in need of care. In total, the Veterans Affairs Clinics provide
medical care and assistance for approximately 22 million veterans. Funding and providing the

best medical care possible for these deserving service members is a great task, which explains

the trouble and difficulty that the VA is facing today. Many patients are experiencing long waits

to receive care as well as difficulty being granted the funding for any surgeries or equipment that

they may be in need of. The spouse of the injured veteran is often the primary at-home caregiver,

which often goes unnoticed or disregarded 2. This could be considered a full-time job in terms of

time devotion as there are many tasks to perform such as transportation, medical assistance,

feeding, cleaning, and making VA appointments. The issue that comes with this is the spouse is

not compensated for their duties. They are forced to take time away from their regular work or

career to provide full care at home, but are no longer receiving the same income as before.

Families should not be forced to endure these difficult times after making such great sacrifices

simply because they have been forgotten about after coming home from serving their country.

A possible solution to the ongoing problems of the Veterans Affairs Clinics often talked

about is the option for veterans to go to private sector hospitals and send the bill to the federal

government. This would decrease the overload faced by the VA and allow for better care for the

troops, but at an incredible cost. If this were to happen, the private sector hospitals would send

drastically over-expensive bills for medical care and operations that may or may not have been

needed to the government, which would have no choice but to pay. The private sector would

have the upper-hand as the government would have no choice but to pay what the private sector

hospitals request, unless they wish to hold out on paying for the medical care of the troops,

which would surely generate activity from the public. If a price system was negotiated that

would prevent an abuse of power situation, then this type of relationship could possibly bring
benefits. However, the government is likely not willing to put the private sector hospitals in a

position to possibly take advantage of them.

Source: ivmf.syracuse.edu/article/2482/

Now as this war ranged from the years of 2001- 2014, many of the families and children

of these soldiers are beginning the higher education process. Due to the service members no

longer being considered active-duty and receiving the benefits and assistance that they once did,

a great budget problem is created within the family as it becomes troubling to play necessary

bills as well as pay the expensive fees and bills that go along with the college process. The moral

issue within this is the veterans who have passed away or who have been severely injured would

wish to see their children grow up with great success; by making the advancement to college or a

university more and more difficult yearly, we are setting roadblocks in these families’ path to

success. There should not be punishment for their mother or father making the sacrifice to
defend our country; this should be met with reward and reassurance that they will be assisted in

receiving a greater education to better themselves.

Based off of the numbers based off of the recently passed $1.3 trillion spending bill, a

total of $708 million will be devoted to military medical clinics, in addition to $68.8 billion to

the VA Clinics 3. Now as this is a great deal of money devoted to the troops, it equates to

approximately $3,000 per veteran, assuming every veteran receives care. The millions of dollars

devoted to medical clinics overseas in battle zones as well as in the United States, including

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, will greatly benefit the troops and save lives,

thus adding to amounts of troops that need care back on American soil. Now as not every veteran

will require care and medical procedures, this budget will quickly see trying times. This budget

anticipates providing care for approximately 7 million patients, out of 22 million living veterans.

Being able to provide care for 7 million people is an amazing achievement, it is not even half of

the veterans who possibly could be in need of care. What if a larger number needed medical

care?

Current Government Bills & Acts

 The GI Bill is currently the main source of support for military personnel as well as their

families. Families may exchange benefits they may not be using for assistance in paying for

tuition for a member of the family. This is a useful trait of the bill that greatly benefits families.

However, families often have more

than one child to put through college,

meaning that the bill is only so

helpful. With the average cost of

attending a four year public

university and private university

rising by approximately 3.15% and

3.5%, respectively, from 2017-2018

4
.

A positive incentive offered

to military families is the Higher

Education Opportunity Act. This

requires public universities and

colleges to charge no more than in-state tuition for military spouses and dependent children 5.

The only stipulation associated with this is the Source: collegeboard.org/college-

pricing/figures military member must be considered active-duty for longer than thirty days, as

well as stationed in the state of the college or university. Regarding the state of Pennsylvania,

there are currently nine active-duty military bases that would work in relation to this act 6. This is

a strong initiative for the educational beginning of military families, however, if they have

already been living with their military member in that state for a year, this is already offered.
Now this does lower the requirement to only thirty days, but also requires an active-duty status.

Also, there is no statement on the impact of moving to another state due to relocation. The family

would likely be advised to transfer schools in order to receive the in-state tuition offer. An

additional void of the act is if the service member has been injured or passed away the active

duty status is no longer an option, thus making the family unable to be approved. This act is a

start to aiding these deserving families, but surely is not the solution.

Additional offerings that are made to service member families are the Iraq & Afghanistan

Service Grant and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Referring to the service grant, if a

military family does not qualify for the Pell Grant, a subsidy of the United States Federal

Government, they are rewarded an amount equal to what would have been offered through the

Pell Grant. This is an ensuring way to offer the families of veterans assistance as the maximum

awarding for the 2018-2018 school year will be $6,095 7. Additionally, a student is eligible to

receive a larger grant if they experienced to loss of a parent in Iraq or Afghanistan after 2001, as

long as they were enrolled in college at the time and younger than 24 years of age. This

additional effort is a positive funding offering, but comes with the restriction of being enrolled in

college at the time. If a student was in high school at the time of the passing, they unfortunately

do not receive this aid, as they deservingly should. As for the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act,

this is the capping of federal and private student loan interest rates at 6% if the account was

created before the military member was considered active-duty. Further, for all loans disbursed

on or after 2008, no interest shall be applied for no more than sixty months while on active-duty.

This allows military families to have a period of relief from the stress of paying back loans 8. As

this appear to be a viable solution for tuition aid, it comes with flaws. The relief of interest rates

only delays this extra payment, it does not eliminate it. By putting a ceiling on the interest rates
at 6%, the government is still requiring military veterans and their families to repay more than

they initially borrowed, even though they already have risked their life for the country. This

concept is undervalues the sacrifices that veterans have made.

College Offerings for Solutions

To alleviate all these problems that have arisen with the funding and support of military

families is a great task that cannot be done with one solution. However, there are small steps that

can be taken and possibly pieced together to create a better support system for these deserving

Americans. The first possible solution is the creation of college scholarships aimed at decreasing

the tuition costs for military family students. This could be done individually by the specific

college or university, allowing them full discretion on the amount of aid as well as the recipients.

This would benefit both parties as the families would receive much needed funding while the

university would create a strong public image by being a military friendly school. This would

give them positive publicity among the public that could lead to a greater enrollment or support.

The second possible solution to decrease the stress of college on military families is the

creation of an alumni mentorship program. This program would match these needing students

with a thoughtful alumnus of that school that would voluntarily provide them with advice

regarding school, careers, and overall life. Additionally, the alumni could voluntarily help the

student with the large costs of attending school. This option may not provide as much monetary

aid, but guidance in getting the most out of their college experience. This would allow the

student to have a connection to an individual that could help them create a future for themselves,

rather than just simply receive a check in the mail.

 The last incentive that could be offered to military families to decrease the burdens of

college funding is the offering of housing and/or meal accommodations. This would alleviate the

trouble of finding and paying the large costs of housing as well as the necessary dining.

Additionally, this would provide much needed relief for the parents of military students as they

know that their students are living in a safe and comfortable dorm room or apartment and are

guaranteed to have access to the meals that are obviously much needed.

To conclude, the prospecting students of military families are most definitely worth

fighting for. The sacrifices that these families have made far outweigh the current level of

support offered. The system offering aid today is not broken, rather outdated. It is difficult to

understand the daily struggles and obstacles that these Americans have to balance while planning

for the steep budget of putting a loved one through college. This can often cause some to avoid

furthering their education, which should never have to happen with these much deserving

individuals. Doing nothing to help this cause is equivalent to turning your back on them when

they need support the most. Do not ignore their future, but embrace it.

Endnotes

1. United States, Congress, “Casualty.” Casualty, 2018, p. 1.

2. “Wounded Caregivers.” National Military Family Association, 2018,

www.militaryfamily.org/info-resources/wounded-caregivers/.
3. Office of Budget. “Office of Budget.” Go to VA.gov, 12 Sept. 2008,
www.va.gov/budget/products.asp.

4. “Average Published Undergraduate Charges by Sector and by Carnegie Classification, 2017-

18.” The College Board, trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/average-
published-
Undergraduate-charges-sector-2017-18.

5. Nyenhuis, Adam. “School of Law.” Obtaining In-State Tuition for Military Spouses and Children
| Veterans Legal Clinic | Wake Forest School of Law, Wake Forest School of Law, 26 Oct. 2016,
veteransclinic.law.wfu.edu/2016/10/obtaining-in-state-tuition-for-military-spouses-and-children/.

6. “2014 Military Family Lifestyle Survey -Infographic.” IVMF, 16 Sept. 2014,

ivmf.syracuse.edu/article/2482/.

7. “Federal Pell Grants.” Federal Student Aid, 10 Apr. 2018, studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-

scholarships/pell#iraq-afghanistan.

8. “Aid for Military Families.” Federal Student Aid, 13 Feb. 2018,

studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-scholarships/military#iraq-afghanistan-pell.

9. DeBonis, Mike, et al. “Here's What Congress Is Stuffing into Its $1.3 Trillion Spending Bill.” The
Washington Post, WP Company, 22 Mar. 2018,
www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/03/22/heres-what-congress-is-
stuffing-into-its-1-3-trillion-spending-bill/?utm_term=.a97702681513.

10. “Bills & Resolutions.” Bills & Resolutions | House.gov, www.house.gov/the-house-

explained/the-legislative-process/bills-resolutions.

11. “Trump Budget Request Takes Military Share of Spending to Historic Levels.” National
Priorities Project, 15 Feb. 2018, www.nationalpriorities.org/analysis/2018/trump-budget-request-
takes-military-share-spending-historic-levels/.

12. Chughtai, Alia. “Understanding US Military Aid to Israel.” Al Jazeera, 8 Mar. 2018,
www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2018/03/understanding-military-aid-israel-
180305092533077.html.