Ohio Now Offering In-state Tuition Rates to All U.S. Veterans

Last week, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland signed an executive order that immediately allows all U.S. veterans eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill, their spouses, and their dependents to enroll at in-state tuition rates at Ohio’s public colleges and universities. Titled the Ohio GI Promise, the policy effectively allows all U.S. veterans to attend college for free in Ohio, once the new federal GI bill goes into effect on Aug. 1, 2009.

Ohio law gives the Chancellor of the state’s system of higher education the ability to determine which students can be deemed residents of Ohio. As outlined in Gov. Strickland’s executive order, all veterans along with their spouses and children who decide to live in Ohio to attend the state’s public colleges and universities will effectively be considered Ohio residents eligible for the reduced tuition rates. Other components of the executive order include:

• Establish a council to market and monitor the educational opportunities for veterans at Ohio colleges and universities;
• Hold a university system-wide conference in the fall of 2008 to advance policies to assist veterans and share best practices;
• Expand the Ohio National Guard Scholarships to include housing, books, supplies and transportation in addition to the current support of tuition and fees; and,
• Work to certify all Ohio colleges and universities as “Servicemember Opportunity Colleges” that will allow transferability of college credits attained in the military.

The Ohio GI Promise program aligns its initiatives with the federal “post 9/11” GI Bill signed by President Bush on June 30, 2008. Under the new federal GI bill, depending on the length of each veteran’s active duty service, a scalable percentage of the following will be paid by the U.S. government: tuition and fees not to exceed the most expensive in-state public college or university; a monthly housing allowance; book and supplies up to $1,000; and, a one-time relocation payment from rural areas of $500.

A factsheet on the benefits of the new GI bill, produced by the Department of Veterans Affairs, can be accessed at: http://www.gibill.va.gov/S22/Post_911_Factsheet.pdf