VA approves NSU's proposal to enter Yellow Ribbon program

(Tahlequah, OK)--In its latest effort to create a campus environment conducive to educating returning veterans, Northeastern State University has won acceptance into the Yellow Ribbon program of the Veterans Administration.

Currently, veterans from surrounding states with which Oklahoma has reciprocity agreements may attend NSU while paying the same tuition they would in their home states.

The Yellow Ribbon program will allow veterans from across the United States who are not covered by reciprocity to enroll at NSU at a payment rate lower than that for traditional out-of-state students. NSU has agreed to provide Yellow Ribbon program status for 100 undergraduate and 50 graduate students.

Mark Kinders, vice president for University Relations, said Yellow Ribbon makes attending NSU more affordable for veterans through the Post-9/11 GI Bill®'s Chapter 33 educational benefits, which on Aug. 1, 2009, were extended to up to four years of enrollment as much as 15 years after discharge. Kinders also said NSU loses nothing financially by participating.

"Having more veterans on campus is a benefit to Northeastern and to Oklahoma," he said. "Veterans are great role models and students because they are mature, motivated, disciplined and they have an ethic of service. They are a quality category of students that every university seeks out."

An ancillary goal of NSU and all colleges that recruit veterans is to attract talent.

"By bringing these individuals to Northeastern, we're always hopeful that they will enjoy their experience here so much that they will choose to permanently relocate to Oklahoma and add their professional talents to our work force and their leadership skills to our communities," Kinders said. "Some of the most prestigious public universities in the nation are in the Yellow Ribbon program with unlimited enrollments for precisely that reason."

NSU joins the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University as the only three public universities who have been certified to date for the 2010 academic year. A total of 11 Oklahoma campuses have been accepted so far.

"Overwhelmingly, the vast majority of institutions nationally participating are private because of an additional payment made by the Veterans Administration to assist with tuition," Kinders said. "Private universities agree to waive the balance of what's not covered by the VA."

This is the second year of Yellow Ribbon and participation is applied for and granted on an annual basis.

NSU has seen a spike in the number of veterans enrolled in recent yearsa challenge shared and welcomed by other colleges and universities as an estimated 500,000 veterans are now enrolled in higher education institutions nationwide. Another marked increase is expected in Fall 2010.

Like many of its peers, NSU continues to vigorously review its policies in preparation for increased veteran enrollment.

In 2009 Kinders chaired a task force comprising all aspects of veterans experiences on campus. The task force included faculty and staff who are veterans, student veterans, administrators who provide direct services to veterans and representatives of the military, as well as VA policy experts from the Cherokee Nation.

The university cabinet adopted the groups White Paper which details 18 recommendations to improve Northeastern's campus climate for veterans. Kinders said "the entire campus community is stepping forward" to make the implementations.

Some of the initiatives that have since been adopted are:

• Reinvigorating the campus Veterans Club to provide leadership and feedback about how to meet veterans' needs. NSU is identifying space to house the club.
• Establishing a Veterans Learning Community in housingSeminary Suiteswhere veterans reside in a learning community. Kinders said he expects this community to grow and praised university housing's leadership in creating it.
• Creating a Student Veterans Mentoring Network in which NSU's 57 faculty and staff who are veterans have been invited to partner with veteran freshmen or transfer students to help in their transition during their first year at NSU.
• Creating selected veterans enrollment preference sections for Freshmen Connections and General Education classes.

"Veterans who have recently been released from active duty are leaving a highly structured environment with predictable daily routines and trading that in for the freedom and occasional chaos of a university experience. We intend to do our part to smooth over this transition," Kinders said.

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.