Role of State Approving Agencies History, Functions and Future

1. Role of State Approving AgenciesHistory, Functions and Future Dr. Joseph Wescott II, President, NASAA

2. GI Bill History Congress passes the GI Bill in June of 1944 President Roosevelt signing the G.I. Bill of Rights, June 22, 1944

3. History of the GI Bill“One of the finest education benefits ever devised” 1776 Continental Congress approves measure to provide pensions to disabled soldiers 1943 Harry Colmery (WWI vet) writes 1st draft of new veterans education program on hotel stationery at Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C. Jan 1944 GI Bill of Rights introduced in Congress Jun 1944 FDR signs GI Bill of Rights into law 1947 Veterans account for 49% of all college students • Veterans Adjustment Act extends many benefits of original GI Bill to Korean War vets • Original GI Bill ends; 7.8 million WWII veterans had participated in the program

4. GI Bill History A view of the Quonset huts used for temporary classrooms during the boom in the student population after World War II. This photo was taken in February 1948. Photographs courtesy of Special Collections, NCSU Libraries.

5. GI Bill History Unexpected consequences… • 7.8 million veterans use GI Bill • 2.23 million attend college • 3.48 million attend trade/business & high schools • 1.4 million on-job training • 690,000 on-farm training

6. GI Bill History Return on Investment… • 2.6 million skilled trades people • 1.375 million business people • 451,000 engineers • 238,240 teachers • 175,000 scientists • 66,000 doctors • 22,000 dentists • 12,000 nurses

7. GI Bill History GI Bill Beneficiaries… • Presidents, including Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush • Senators: Bob Dole, George McGovern, Pat Moynihan • Supreme Court Chief Justice: William Rehnquist • Congressman: Charles Rangel • At least 14 Nobel Prize winners • Two dozen Pulitzer Prize winners, such as Frank McCourt   • Hollywood stars: Bill Cosby, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood

8. GI Bill History • LBJ signs Veterans Readjustment Benefits Act—extended benefits to veterans serving during times of war and peace. 1973 Military draft ends, all volunteer force begins • VRBA ends—6.8 million Vietnam-era veterans had used their benefits 1985 Congress introduces revamped GI Bill, the “Montgomery GI Bill” Sen. “Sonny” Montgomery Maj Gen, US Army (ret)

9. GI Bill History Other organizations also played key roles in the success of the GI Bill(s) • Congress authorizes formation of the Veterans Administration—it consolidated numerous organizations supporting vets 1945 American Legion distributed 2.7 million copies of “Gateway to Opportunity”—explained VA benefits 1945 Congress recognizes responsibility of States to determine education of its citizens Late State Approving Agencies (SAAs) created;1940’s overseen by the Governor, but funded by the VA

10. SAA History • Provided information on state approved programs to the VA • By late 1940s and early 1950s, the SAAs were operating under specifically mandated federal standards, the Code of Federal Regulations, and providing approval and oversight activities. Role went from simple advisory to oversight. • Became the primary source of assuring institutional accountability with specialized authorization to: • Approve & disapprove • Monitor education and training programs for veterans • Began to assist states and the VA with exposing fraudulent and criminal activity involving the payment of veterans’ benefits.

11. SAAs in the 21st Century New Agencies , with roots in the past

12. SAA Mission State Approving Agencies help make the GI Bill work . . .

13. SAA Mission . . .ensuring that students know about and have access to well-managed, efficiently-run, educationally-sound programs that they can trust to help them succeed in meeting their vocational goals.

14. SAA Vision SAAs are seen as significant contributors to an effective and responsive education benefit program. . .

15. SAA Vision . . . where every eligible person makes good choices about education and training opportunities they can trust, and where every approved school and training establishment offers programs from which students can benefit and understands and successfully fulfills its obligation to support VA students and the GI Bill.

16. SAA • SAAs have responsibility to review, approve and monitor ALL education programs/schools within their States. • SAAs provide training and technical assistance to all schools, in cooperation with VA. • SAAs assist veterans with school/program and GI Bill benefit information. • SAAs assist VA with compliance surveys to insure institutional compliance.

17. The National Association of State Approving Agencies

18. NASAA History By late 1940’s, SAAs were operating in nearly every state • Provided approval and oversight activities • Authority rested with Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) • But… nearly 50 distinct, geographically (and politically) isolated entities were occasionally providing inconsistent interpretation of regulations! 1948 – NASAA was formed to: • Create professional and ethical standards • Exchange ideas • Represent mutual interests • Protect schools and veterans from fraud, waste, and abuse

19. NASAA History Mission Statement • The National Association of State Approving Agencies works in cooperation with its partners: • To facilitate the efforts of the state approving agencies to promote and safeguard quality education and training programs for all Veterans and other eligible persons • To ensure greater education and training opportunities that meet the changing needs of Veterans • To protect the GI Bill resources available for those programs

20. The Players • The “Triad” • VA • SAA • Institution/SCO • Other players • ED • DoL • FAA • Accrediting agencies • State L&C agencies Mutual trust, Mutual dependence!

21. SAA & VACO • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) • Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) • Veterans Affairs Central Office (VACO) • VA Regional Processing Office (RPO) – Atlanta • Education Liaison Representative (ELR) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald Undersecretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey

22. SAA & VACO • Veterans Affairs Central Office (VACO) • Atlanta • Buffalo • St. Louis • Muskogee • Services provided • Guidance • Instruction • Coordinates claims processing

23. Education Liaison Rep (ELR) State Approving Agency (SAA) Regional Processing Office (RPO) VA Central Office (VACO) VA School Certifying Official (SCO) It Takes A Team! • SAA & VACO collaborate to • Interpret laws and regulations • Maintain integrity of programs • Train the SCOs • Encourage greater use of VA benefits • Help schools/training establishments better serve veterans!

24. NASAA A New Era of Student Veterans • The DVA estimates that the number of post 9/11 veterans will double over the next 20 years from 2.1 million to 4.1 million. • More than 200,000 service members are expected to transition from active duty service each year for the next five years. • In the 2011-12 academic year veteran students averaged a 2.98 GPA and had a 90.5% success rate in earning college credits.

25. NASAA A New Era of Student Veterans Student Veterans of America’s Million Records Project • Track the academic outcomes of approximately 1 million student veterans. • Correlate on-campus services to high graduation rates. • Implement on-campus best practices at 1100+ SVA chapters across the US with the goal of increasing veteran degree attainment.

26. NASAA VA & NASAA Initiatives • National VA Online Complaint System • The centralized online reporting system • Report negative experiences with educational institutions 1628 to date • Identify and address unfair, deceptive, and misleading practices • Ensure high quality academic and student support services • VA Online Comparison Tool • Easier to calculate Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and learn more about VA’s approved colleges, universities and other education and training programs across the country. • http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/comparison_tool.asp

27. NASAA WHO WE ARE National Association of State Approving Agencies “We are not mere clerks or bureaucrats. We are not just state employees drawing a federally funded check. We are educators. We are the engineers of excellence and the gatekeepers of quality. We will not fail in our commitment to safeguard the public trust, to protect the GI Bill and to defend the future of those who have so nobly defended us.”

28. Role of the SAA Today

29. SAA What We Do Approvals • Evaluate educational programs for approval • Provide written evaluations and approvals to VA and the schools Inspections and Compliance Survey Visits • Visit and inspect each active educational institution • Confirm compliance for approved courses and programs Technical Assistance • Respond to institutional and veteran requests for information and assistance • Provide written reports to DVA, as requested • Maintain records and files for the State

30. NASAA Our Principles • SAAs, as state agencies, believe states should approve schools and programs. • Accreditation, while a good tool, is not the ONLY tool for approving programs. • ALL schools need both consistent oversight and constructive technical assistance. • TOGETHER we (Higher Ed and SAAs) serve those who served us!

31. NASAA Changing Laws Changing Roles

32. NASAA Changing Laws, Changing Roles • The Post 9/11 GI Bill • Public Law 111-377 • President’s Executive Order 13607 • Public Law 112-249 • Latest Developments…

33. Post 9/11 GI Bill • Became effective on August 1, 2009 • A complex program! • Many levels of eligibility • Confusing concurrent eligibility • New benefits similar to original WWII GI Bill • Difficult to understand and administer • SAAs took on new “consultant/trainer” role

34. Public Law 111-377 • Became effective October 1, 2011 • Many positives • More programs now covered by Post 9/11 GI Bill • More potential beneficiaries • A “Game-Changer” for SAAs • Changed State/Federal approval authorities • SAAs acquired new role of assisting VA with Compliance Surveys

35. Public Law 111-377 • Changed States’ authority to approve programs • Accredited, non-profit degree programs “deemed” approved without continuing State review. • States no longer processed approvals for public and non-profit private institutions. • SAAs retained jurisdiction over for-profit schools and Non-College Degree (NCD) programs at all schools.

36. Public Law 111-377 • Changed States’ role in Compliance Survey process • Compliance Surveys were primarily an audit of federal entitlement program; focus shifted from academic programs (old “supervisory visits “) to more emphasis on finances (Note: Compliance surveys redesigned with NASAA’s help) • Schools with deemed approved programs provided approval/change notifications to ELR with courtesy copy of catalog/forms to NC SAA

37. President’s Executive Order 13607 • Signed by President Obama on April 27, 2012 • Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and Other Family Members • Ensure that educational institutions assist prospective students in making right choices about how to use their Federal educational benefits. • Prevent abusive and deceptive recruiting practices that target the recipients of Federal military and veterans educational benefits. • Ensure that educational institutions provide high quality academic and student support services to active-duty service members, reservists, members of the National Guard, veterans, and military families.

38. Public Law 112-249 Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Public Law 112-249, signed on January 10, 2013, mandates, among other things... • A centralized mechanism for tracking/publishing feedback from students and SAA regarding quality of instruction, recruiting practices, and post-graduation employment placement of institutions of higher education. • SAA’s will share with accrediting agencies or associations information regarding the SAA’s evaluation of an IHL.

39. Approval Changes Big Change Last Year • Effective October 1, 2013, VA no longer accepted modification form—all requirements for approval go to state approving agency (SAA). • All institutions submit an approval package to the SAA. • All approval related concerns and questions come to the SAA.

40. Passed In State Residency for Veterans H.R.357 – GI Bill Tuition Fairness Act of 2014 S.1982 – Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014 S.2450 (H.R.4841) – Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014

41. New Law… S.2450 (H.R.4841) – Veterans’ Access, Choice and Accountability Act 2014 • Approval of courses of education provided by public institutions of higher learning for purposes of All-Volunteer Force Educational Assistance Program and Post-9/11 Educational Assistance conditional on in-State tuition rate for veterans (Sec. 702.) • Expansion of Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship (Sec. 701.) • Congress passed and President signed – PL 113-146 • Implementation ongoing

42. Passed… H.R.4841 – Veterans’ Access, Choice and Accountability Act 2014 (Cont.) • Requirements for GI Bill recipients to receive in-state tuition rate: • (A) A veteran who was discharged or released from a period of not fewer than 90 days of service in the active military, naval, or air service less than three years before the date of enrollment in the course concerned. • (B) An individual who is entitled to assistance under section 3311(b)(9) or 3319 of title 38, United States Codes, by virtue of such individual's relationship to a veteran described in the above subparagraph (A).

43. The latest… The Future… • Our continued partnership with SOC, VA and VSO’s • Compliance Survey Redesign Working Group (CSRWG) sunset 2014 after real achievements • Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) begins work this January 2015 • Congress revisits the Role of the SAAs in hearings and with a new law to clarify and strengthen role of the states.

44. Progress through Partnerships • NASAA, VA, and our other partners continue to work with Congress to inform the process. • Assist Members’ and Committees’ staffs with technical advice and information • Suggest combined proposals, bills • And we look forward to a continued partnership with you and further joint accomplishments next year!

45. Pending Legislation HR 456 – Reducing Barriers for Veterans Education Act of 2015 • Allows CH33 to be used for application fees at IHLs HR 475 – GI Bill Processing Improvement Act of 2015 • Potential extension of deadline for implementing Section 702 HR 476 – The GI Bill Education Quality Enhancement Act of 2015 • Clarification and codification of approval authority • Capping tuition and fees for flight programs • Changing requirements for Compliance Surveys

46. Thank you, and any questions?