Dr. Joseph Wescott II, President, NASAA

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
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History of the GI BillOne 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.
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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

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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

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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

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GI Bill History

• LBJ signs Veterans Readjustment Benefits
  Actextended benefits to veterans serving
  during times of war and peace.
• 1973 Military draft ends, all volunteer force
  begins
• VRBA ends6.8 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)
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GI Bill History

• Other organizations also played key roles in the
  success of the GI Bill(s)

• Congress authorizes formation of the Veterans
  Administrationit consolidated numerous
  organizations supporting vets
• 1945 American Legion distributed 2.7 million
  copies of Gateway to Opportunityexplained VA
  benefits
• 1945 Congress recognizes responsibility of States
  to determine education of its citizens
• Late State Approving Agencies (SAAs) created
  1940s overseen by the Governor, but funded by
  the VA

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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.

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SAAs in the 21st Century

• New Agencies , with roots in the past

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SAA

• Mission

• State Approving Agencies help make the GI Bill
  work . . .

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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.

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SAA

• Vision

• SAAs are seen as significant contributors to an
  effective and responsive education benefit
  program. . .

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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.

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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.

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The National Association of State Approving
Agencies
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NASAA History

• By late 1940s, 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

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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

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The Players

• The Triad
• VA
• SAA
• Institution/SCO
• Other players
• ED
• DoL
• FAA
• Accrediting agencies
• State LC agencies

Mutual trust, Mutual dependence!
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SAA VACO
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A.
McDonald
Undersecretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey

• 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)

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SAA VACO

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

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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!

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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.

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NASAA

• A New Era of Student Veterans
• Student Veterans of Americas 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.

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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 VAs approved colleges,
  universities and other education and training
  programs across the country.
• http//www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/comparison_tool.
  asp

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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.

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Role of the SAA Today
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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

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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!

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NASAA

• Changing Laws
• Changing Roles

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NASAA

• Changing Laws, Changing Roles

• The Post 9/11 GI Bill
• Public Law 111-377
• Presidents Executive Order 13607
• Public Law 112-249
• Latest Developments

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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

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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

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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.

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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 NASAAs help)
• Schools with deemed approved programs provided
  approval/change notifications to ELR with
  courtesy copy of catalog/forms to NC SAA

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Presidents 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.

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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.
• SAAs will share with accrediting agencies or
  associations information regarding the SAAs
  evaluation of an IHL.

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Approval Changes

• Big Change Last Year

• Effective October 1, 2013, VA no longer accepted
  modification formall 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.

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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

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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

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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).

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The latest

• The Future

• Our continued partnership with SOC, VA and VSOs
• 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.

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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!

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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

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Thank you, and any questions?