GI Bills

Since World War II, veterans and U.S. higher education have shared a dynamic and complex history. Since the latter half of the 20th century, veterans and military personnel have constituted a small but critical undergraduate student population in U.S. colleges and universities. This phenomenon is fueled partly by their need to transition from military to civilian life and by the incentives of GI educational benefits. Veterans and military personnel constitute a demographically diverse undergraduate student group, demonstrate unique patterns of educational benefits use, and exhibit behavioral and attitudinal characteristics that are distinct from their civilian peers on campus. Beginning with the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights, the federal government has provided a wide range of benefits to ...