UA offers veterans residency status for tuition discount

Greetings!

I thought you might find this article helpful. Veterans will now have the opportunity to receive at tuition discount at any of the UA Schools. This is great news for veterans!

- Lael

UA offers veterans residency status for tuition discount

The University of Alaska is now granting eligible veterans, their
spouses and children in-state tuition at any of the UA system’s 16
campuses.

The move was intentionally timed to coincide with the new post-911 GI
Bill, which offers eligible veterans generous benefits based on the
highest in-state tuition rates in all states, a housing stipend and
textbook allowance. The Post-911 GI Bill went into effect Aug. 1.

“We’ve offered the in-state tuition benefit to active military
personnel for years,” said UA President Mark Hamilton, who is also a
retired U.S. Army Major General. “Our veterans deserve this benefit
every bit as much, as well as our thanks for their sacrifices and
service.”

The UA Board of Regents approved granting veterans residency for
tuition purposes in June. Students accepting the benefit must move to
Alaska and live here while taking classes.

There are approximately 1,400 Alaska veterans using GI Bill education
benefits; about one half of those attend UA. Without the policy
change, veterans attending UA would have had to come up with the
difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition themselves, a
cost of almost $4,000 per semester.

“The University of Alaska’s policy change, coupled with the new Post
911 GI Bill, makes it very affordable and attractive for veterans and
their families to attend UA,” said Saichi Oba, associate vice
president of Student and Enrollment Services at the UA System.

It’s difficult to know exactly how many veterans will take advantage
of the new UA policy and federal benefits, but it’s realistic to
anticipate an increase, Oba said.

“In any given semester, we have about 700 veterans enrolled in UA.
We’d like to see that number increase, so we changed our policy to
make it more financially attractive to our veterans and their
families,” Oba said.

For specific enrollment information, visit or call:

· UAF: http://www.uaf.edu/veterans/
UAF Admissions Office 907/474-7500

For more information on VA benefits under the new GI bill, go to
http://www.gibill.va.gov/