PHILADELPHIA (June 30, 2009) Drexel University has committed $2 million to offer free education to an unlimited number of military veterans across all of the University’s full- and part time undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional programs, both on campus and online, as part of its participation in the new GI Bill’s Yellow Ribbon Program.
In the program, a partnership between the federal government and Drexel, the University will match the government’s contribution to the cost of an education allowing eligible veterans to attend Drexel with no out of pocket expenses. The federal government will pay up to the highest in-state school tuition, any remaining cost will be covered between the government and the University offering eligible service persons a free education.
Unlike other institutions participating in the new program, Drexel is among a small group of universities with no cap on the number of veterans who may enroll. The University’s contribution allows veterans who meet government and University admissions requirements to receive a completely free education at all of the University’s schools and colleges including the Drexel University College of Medicine, Earle Mack School of Law, Drexel at Burlington County College and the Sacramento Center for Graduate Studies.
The educational assistance in the new GI Bill, including the Yellow Ribbon Program, differs from the Montgomery GI Bill’s benefits by expanding the government’s financial commitment to educational assistance. The new program allows the government to pay each student’s costs directly to the University rather than requiring veterans to request a reimbursement, as in the original GI Bill. Other new educational benefits include monthly housing and textbook stipends.
“Drexel University will continue its long tradition of providing educational opportunities to military personnel, be it on one of our three campuses or in one of our 60-plus fully online degree programs” University Provost Mark Greenberg said.
“We are proud to be able to give back to those who have sacrificed so much to serve their country,” Greenberg added.
In addition to its 73 full-time undergraduate programs, 78 master's programs and 32 doctoral programs, Drexel offers comprehensive online undergraduate and graduate programs through Drexel Online (www.drexel.com).
Drexel Online, winner of the 21st Century Best Practice Award for Distance Learning from the United States Distance Learning Association, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Drexel University, specializing in innovative, Internet-based distance education programs for working professionals and corporations in the United States and abroad Online degree programs include engineering, teacher education, nursing, library science and business administration.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill, passed by Congress last year, is the most extensive educational assistance program authorized since the original GI Bill was signed into law in 1944. The Yellow Ribbon program was authorized by Congress under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 and will take effect August 1, 2009.
The Department of Veterans Affairs expects 460,000 veterans to participate during the first year of the program. VA officials anticipate a 20 to 25 percent increase in the total number of applications for veteran’s educational programs.
According to the VA, eligible veterans include those who served an aggregate period of active duty after Sept. 10, 2001, of at least 36 months or were honorably discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability and served 30 continuous days after Sept. 10, 2001.
For information on the new GI Bill and specific benefit questions contact the Department of Veterans Affairs at 1-888-GIBILL-1
For more information about Drexel’s on campus programs contact Drexel University at 800-2-DREXEL or enroll@drexel.edu or visit our website at www.drexel.edu
For more information about Drexel’s online degree programs contact Drexel Online at 877-215-0009 or info@drexel.com.
For more information about using your military benefits to fund a Drexel education contact Jeffrey Linskens, associate director, Student Resource Center, at 215-895-6413 or jeffery.r.linskens@drexel.edu
More information can be found at http://www.drexel.edu/financialaid/yellowribbon
--Chuck
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