Effective Aug. 1, Duke will provide eligible veterans with $770,000 in cumulative annual financial aid from all of its schools, with matching aid from the Department of Veterans Affairs, University officials announced Wednesday.
The initiative is in response to the Yellow Ribbon Program of the Post-9/11 GI Bill to help veterans pursue their educational goals.
When University officials decided to join the voluntary program, they concluded that the benefits veterans bring to campus outweigh the financial cost, said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations.
"[As] much as we have made need-based financial aid an imperative for the institution, this really builds on the University's commitment to making a Duke education affordable, accessible and available for anybody," Schoenfeld said. "And it is especially important for veterans-people who have really made extraordinary sacrifices and commitments to the country-and one of many ways we hope both Duke and the Department of Veterans Affairs can repay our debt to them."
President Richard Brodhead could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The Post-GI Bill pays up to the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition and fees for the state in which eligible veterans wish to attend college. To be eligible for the full amount, a veteran must have served 36 months of active duty after September 10, 2001 and been honorably discharged-or have served at least 30 consecutive days of active duty before being discharged due to a service-related disability, the VA Web site states.
The Yellow Ribbon Program allows private institutions to fund up to half the difference between their institution and the highest public in-state tuition. To qualify for Yellow Ribbon assistance, a veteran must qualify for maximum assistance under the Post-GI Bill. The aid is provided on a first-come, first-served basis, the VA reports.
Although the University as a whole has pledged $770,000 from its institutional financial aid budget to veterans, the amount of money available and the number of veterans who are eligible varies between schools, according to the VA Web site. Only $15,000 will fund undergraduates.
Duke, for example, can cover up to half the difference in expenses between its $39,080 undergraduate tuition and fees, according to the admissions Web site and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's in-state undergraduate tuition and fees of $5,626 according to its student aid Web site. Of the potential $16,727 Duke could pledge to eligible veterans, it has only offered $5,000 per year to two qualifying veterans per year seeking a degree from the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. The Pratt School of Engineering offered the aid to one eligible veteran. After VA matches Duke's $5,000 grant, a veteran would still be responsible for $23,454 a year in tuition and fees.
To help finance the cost of attending Duke, Schoenfeld said both current eligible veteran students and prospective eligible veterans qualify for the new aid, in addition to other scholarship and need-based funds available to all students seeking financial aid.
It is unclear whether eligible veterans receiving aid under the Yellow Ribbon Program also receive the monthly housing allowance and $1,000-per-semester book stipend veterans receive through the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Schoenfeld said he thinks the financial aid officers "look at the whole package."
Schoenfeld said the number of eligible veterans each school will fund is based on current enrollment patterns. If enrollment increases, Schoenfeld said the University will reevaluate how many could receive aid and how much money will be available.
Still, it is unclear how thoroughly the University tracks those statistics, said sophomore Paul Salem, vice president of the Student Veteran's Association at Duke University. He said that when his organization requested veteran enrollment data to reach out to veterans on campus, the University could only provide him with a "best guess of around 40."
Duke's schools have allocated assistance for at least 54 veterans who might qualify for aid.
It is also unclear how funds are determined for eligible veterans seeking graduate degrees from Duke schools-the VA Web site states the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon Program provide funds in accordance with public in-state undergraduate costs. VA representatives could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Salem, who served for four years in the Marine Corps before enrolling last Fall, said one of his association's goals this year was to encourage the University to join the Yellow Ribbon program. He added that he is "pleased but not surprised" Duke joined the Yellow Ribbon Program.
"This has always been a very veteran-friendly school. For us the next step is recruiting veterans who would be a good fit here," Salem said. "There's a lot of potential, especially at the undergraduate level... going to school here-even with very generous financial aid-was still out of reach for many veterans. I think with this program... we might see a larger veteran community here."
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