At a time when skyrocketing tuition is on nearly every student’s mind, student veterans might see some relief.
Members of the N.C. General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee recently met to talk through the possibility of charging out-of-state student veterans outside in-state tuition rates.
Such a bill needs to be passed in order to make valuable undergraduate degrees more accessible to student veterans.
While the GI Bill was revised in 2008 to cover in-state tuition to a four-year public undergraduate university, veterans often lose their residency status after multiple deployments.
It seems groundless for those serving in the armed forces to lose their access to in-state tuition because they do not reside in their state while abroad.
As is, the readjustment period after deployment is difficult. Financing the gap between the in-state tuition covered by the GI Bill and the cost of out-of-state tuition would be one less worry on student veterans’ minds.
As with any new piece of legislation, there are concerns that the estimated annual $7 million to $10.5 million needed to finance the proposed bill would be unsustainable.
Additionally, more veterans will be attracted to UNC schools knowing the cost of their education will be covered.
North Carolina would not be a pioneer in this venture. Virginia and Georgia have both waived the residency requirement in their applications for student veterans. It seems a worthy goal for N.C. to make some adjustments in the state budget to finance this initiative.
