October 8, 2008

Focus on HEOA: Military and Veteran Benefits

Over the next several months, OGSLP’s Online News will highlight various provisions contained in the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA). This month, we’ve provided a summary of the benefits for military service members and veterans.

• Service Members Civil Relief Act
  

  The Service Members Civil Relief Act, which provides a wide range of protections for individuals entering the military, service members called to active military duty or deployed service members, applies to Title IV loans. For requests received on or after August 14, 2008, eligible service members can have the interest rate on their Title IV loans reduced to 6 percent.

• Institution Readmission Requirements for Service Members
  • Institutions must readmit students upon their return from military service without an application.
  • This doesn’t apply if the student's service is terminated due to dishonorable or bad conduct discharge, dismissal under section 1161(a) of U.S.C. 10 or removal of the student from the rolls pursuant to 1161(b) of U.S.C. 10.
  • An institution of higher education may not delay or attempt to avoid readmission of a student by demanding documentation that doesn’t exist or isn’t readily available at the time of readmission.


• Tuition Rates
  

  Tuition at a state school can't exceed in-state rates for a member of the armed forces (or spouse or dependent) who's on active duty for at least 30 days and whose domicile or duty station is in the state (effective July 1, 2009).

• Estimated Financial Assistance Calculation
  

  When determining Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loan eligibility, the following factors won't be included in the calculation of the student's Estimated Financial Assistance (effective July 1, 2009):

  • Veterans' educational benefits.
  • National service education awards.
  • Post-service benefits received under Title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990.


• Title IV Eligibility Calculation
  

  Veterans' education benefits won't count as available financial assistance when determining Title IV eligibility. The cost of attendance for students living in military housing or receiving a housing allowance can't include an allowance for room, but may have an allowance for board (effective July 1, 2010).

If you have questions about HEOA benefits for military personnel and veterans, please contact our Policy, Compliance, and Training department at 405.234.4432 or
pct@ogslp.org.