Ohio Gives Veterans In-State Rates at Public Colleges

[Woodmonkey]

In an effort to attract more veterans to Ohio’s public universities, Gov. Ted Strickland announced Tuesday that the state would charge in-state tuition to all veterans attending college on the G.I. bill.

The Ohio plan, the first of its kind in the nation, makes all veterans “honorary Ohioans” for the purpose of a college education.

On June 30, President Bush signed into law a new G.I. bill, doubling college benefits for eligible troops and veterans, essentially guaranteeing full scholarships at their in-state public colleges or universities, as well as providing monthly housing stipends. But generally, veterans can attend college under the law only in their home states.

The Ohio plan, called the Ohio G.I. Promise, changes residence requirements at the state’s 36 colleges and universities to allow all veterans, their spouses and dependents to attend Ohio colleges and universities at in-state tuition rates.

Ohio, which has about 470,00 students enrolled in its public institutions, recently adopted a 10-year strategic plan with a goal of enrolling about 230,000 more over the next decade.

“We have for years had a net out-migration, not only for the state generally, but for people with college degrees,” said Eric D. Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. “So one of our goals, specifically delineated in the strategic plan, is to reverse the out-migration of people with degrees. In order to achieve that, we have to graduate more students and keep them here, and also attract more from out of state.”

Mr. Fingerhut said the veterans plan will work in tandem with other new programs to encourage students to stay in Ohio.

“If we are able to attract veterans to Ohio, we can link them and their families to internships, co-op and other opportunities, and if they get good jobs here, we’ll have Ohioans,” he said.

“We want veterans to know Ohio wants them to come here, and that we think they’re incredibly valuable high potential students,” Mr. Fingerhut said. “We already have a number of very good programs, which we’ll be expanding, to provide the type of counselors, advisers, and mentors who can work one on one with veterans to help them make the transition to civilian life and navigate the academic environment.”

Currently, out-of-state students make up about 7.2 percent of those enrolled in Ohio’s state colleges and universities.

The Source