Westminster joins veterans program

The tuition-assistance effort will benefit veterans who have served since 2001.

STAFF REPORT

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — Westminster College is participating in a program that will allow qualified military veterans to earn a degree tuition-free.

The college has agreed to become a party to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Yellow Ribbon Program under the Post-9/11 GI Bill that provides veterans and other qualified military personnel a subsidy for tuition equivalent to the highest tuition of any public institution in Pennsylvania.

Westminster will cover half of the difference between the subsidy and Westminster’s tuition, with the federal government covering the other half through the Yellow Ribbon Program.

The highest in-state annual undergraduate tuition at a public institution of higher learning in Pennsylvania is $14,406. Based on that number, Westminster’s tuition contribution will amount to about $6,800 for the 2009-10 school year.

The Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program is a provision of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. This program allows institutions of higher learning in the United States to voluntarily enter into an agreement with the VA to fund tuition expenses that exceed the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition rate. The institution can waive up to 50 percent of those expenses, and VA will match the same amount as the institution.

Westminster has agreed to the 50 percent mark.

Veterans in the program can enroll in Westminster’s traditional undergraduate program, adult education Lifelong Learning Program or graduate program as long as they meet admission criteria. The program begins Aug. 1.

“Our veterans should be able to reap the benefits of attending one of the nation’s top private liberal arts colleges, and we look forward to helping them succeed,” said Westminster President Richard H. Dorman.

To be eligible, veterans must have served at least 36 months of active duty since Sept. 10, 2001; or be honorably discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability and serving 30 continuous days since Sept. 10, 2001; or be a dependent eligible for Transfer of Entitlement under the Post-9/11 GI Bill based on a veteran’s service eligibility criteria.

Westminster began offering two Patriots Scholarships per year in 2006 providing full tuition for a four-year undergraduate degree at Westminster for dependent children of U.S. military personnel who were killed in action in Afghanistan or Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.