Noteboom The Law Firm

University Of Houston Not Participating In Yellow Ribbon Program

There are a record number of veterans going to college all over the country by taking advantage of their educational benefits through the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The Yellow Ribbon Program exists as part of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Sec.

Eric Shinseki has been campaigning for all colleges and universities to enlist in the program for the upcoming academic year. The University of Houston (UH) has chosen to not participate in the Yellow Ribbon program.

Under the Yellow Ribbon program, colleges and universities sign a contract with the VA in which the college or university subsidizes any fees, expenses, or tuition exceeding the tuition rate for the most expensive undergraduate program in the state.

The VA will match the money the colleges contribute up to 50% of the total amount of the veteran's tuition and fees.

Those most benefitting from this program will be veterans paying out-of-state tuition and/or choosing to attend private institutions, which tend to charge higher tuition than state universities.

According to UH representatives, the UH offers no programs more expensive than what would be charged by the most expensive in-state undergraduate program. Therefore, neither veterans nor the UH would benefit from the UH's participation in the VA's Yellow Ribbon program.

There are multiple programs available for Texas veterans to utilize in order to attend colleges and universities both in-state and out-of-state. Some of these programs compliment the available Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits in light of changes being made to the GI Bill this coming fall semester.