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Veterans enrolled in Texas A&M University System schools will have access to more online courses and services under a broad plan to make the university more military friendly, officials announced Monday.
"It's the right thing to do," said Frank Ashley, vice chancellor for academic affairs. "These individuals are putting their lives on the line for our country, and if they want to pursue higher education, we need to provide them all the opportunities they need."
The plan -- dubbed "Mission Military Friendly" -- would also aim to provide a one-stop location for services such as financial aid and academic advising, along with a link for information about veterans benefits on the home page of each university's Web site.
Military personnel and veterans, Ashley said, tend to gravitate to five programs: business, education, political science, criminal justice and psychology. System officials want to develop more online programs in those areas, he said, adding that would cost about $300,000.
"Many military personnel start a course, but all of a sudden they're deployed," Ashley said.
Texas A&M University is a military-oriented institution, and students have served in every war since the Spanish American War, said Chancellor Michael McKinney. A tribute listing the deaths of Aggies killed in wars rests in the Memorial Student Center.
"As far as being inviting to the military, there can't be anyone more friendly to the military than A&M," McKinney said.
The extra steps in this plan would earn it a designation of "military friendly" by a group that tracks such matters, McKinney said.
The designation by Servicemembers Opportunities Colleges would place the university on lists and databases of schools that are military friendly and in a guide available on military bases worldwide, officials said.
Universities and colleges are becoming more receptive to the needs of veterans, said Kathy Snead, director of SOC.
"The number of combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has raised an awareness," she said.
Charles Wilcox, a psychology major and president of the Texas A&M Veterans Association, said the university has a good track record with veterans' affairs, but work still remains.
The process for service members who are deployed and want to re-register at A&M could be smoother, he said. Currently they have to go to admissions, then the registrar's office to verify they had attended the university before, then to the veterans services office to get their benefits reinstated, then to financial aid, Wilcox said.
"It would be easier if everything could be taken care of in one fell swoop," said Wilcox, who works as a benefits counselor in the campus' veterans services office.
The system's plan hopes to alleviate that, McKinney said, adding that the changes will help the general student population as well.
He said he wants to focus on shoring up online operations so students can get academic counseling online.
"It's a new day," McKinney said. "It's not the World War II vets. These are soldiers who are technology-savvy."
The new GI Bill takes effect in August. It will provide benefits that cover tuition and fees for in-state universities, along with an allowance for housing and books. Under the current bill, veterans had to contribute $1,200 into the GI Bill. That requirement will be eliminated in the new bill.
Officials expect about a 20 to 25 percent increase in the number of veterans using the new GI Bill.
Gov. Rick Perry wants to provide in-state tuition rates for "all qualified veterans, their spouses and dependents," according to an August statement by the governor's office. The tuition waiver could save veterans $8,100 a year if they take 30 credit hours at a Texas public university, the statement said.
Encouraging the Texas Legislature to pass such legislation is "one of his top priorities," said Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for the governor.
