July 1, 2009 – News & Views

Red, White, & Blue – and Yellow Ribbons, Too
Ohio Wesleyan joins national program to help veterans attend college

Image courtesy of Microsoft Office Online

Ohio Wesleyan University announced Tuesday that it was joining the national Yellow Ribbon Program to help U.S. military veterans obtain their college educations. At Ohio Wesleyan, eligible veterans will be able to attend the university tuition-free beginning in fall 2009.

“Ohio Wesleyan is proud to take this step to thank the nation’s veterans for their dedicated service,” President Rock Jones says.

The Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program (Yellow Ribbon Program) is part of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. The Yellow Ribbon Program allows U.S. colleges and universities to voluntarily collaborate with the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to help fund tuition expenses for veterans who meet specific guidelines.

To be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program, veterans must:

• Apply to and meet the participating college’s requirements for admission.
• Be entitled to the maximum (100 percent) benefit rate from the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
• Have served an aggregate period of active duty after September 10, 2001, of at least 36 months.
• Have been honorably discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability and have served 30 continuous days after September 10, 2001.
• Be the dependent of a veteran eligible for Transfer of Entitlement under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. (Among the requirements for this benefit transfer are that the veteran has served at least six years and agrees to serve four more after the benefit transfer.)

For more information about the Yellow Ribbon program, including complete eligibility requirements, visit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Yellow Ribbon Program Web site. For information about admission to Ohio Wesleyan, contact the Admission Office at (740) 368-3020.

– Cole Hatcher