Talking Stick - November/December 2009 - 39

Yellow Ribbon Program College and university presidents want to ensure that their campuses are veteran friendly. The Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program (Yellow Ribbon Program) is a provision of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. This program allows institutions of higher learning (degree-granting institutions) in the United States to voluntarily enter into an agreement with the Veterans Administration (VA) to fund tuition expenses that exceed the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition rate. The institution can contribute up to 50 percent of those expenses, and the VA will match that contribution. The Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) must agree to • Provide contributions to eligible individuals who apply for the Yellow Ribbon Program on a firstcome, first-served basis, regardless of the rate at which the individual is pursuing training in any given academic year; • Provide contributions during the current academic year and all subsequent academic years in which the student maintains satisfactory progress, conduct, and attendance; • Make contributions toward the program on behalf of the individual in the form of a grant, scholarship, etc.; • State the dollar amount that will be contributed for each participant during the academic year; and • State the maximum number of individuals for whom contributions will be made in any given academic year. Please visit the Yellow Ribbon Web site (www.gibill.va.gov/School_Info/ yellow_ribbon/index.htm) for more information. their campuses as places that support them. In the words of one veteran with whom I spoke, “The military provides all the support you need while you’re in the military, but when you leave, the services are no longer there. In other words, vets have to paddle the boat for themselves; before, the military paddled the boat for them.” From Soldier to Student: The Survey In an effort to get a more comprehensive sense of the assistance available for paddling this boat, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) collaborated with the American Council on Education (ACE), the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC), the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), and the National Association of Veterans’ Program Administrators (NAVPA) to develop the recently published report “From Soldier to Student: Easing the Transition of Service Members on Campus.” The report offers a first-of-its-kind national Is your university housing keeping up with students’ technological needs? Believe it or not, students occasionally use their Internet connection for applications besides Facebook, YouTube and online gaming. Today’s students need access to electronic publishing, collaborative studies and online courses to keep up academically. Unfortunately, all of these demands can put a serious strain on your school’s network. There is a solution. By partnering with Connexion Technologies, you can upgrade to a fiber-optic network that is ready to support students’ Internet, video and telecommunications needs. Find out more at www.connexiontechnologies.net or contact us at 919.535.7329.

http://www.connexiontechnologies.net http://www.connexiontechnologies.net http://www.gibill.va.gov/School_Info/yellow_ribbon/index.htm http://www.gibill.va.gov/School_Info/yellow_ribbon/index.htm

Talking Stick - November/December 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - November/December 2009