GI Bill online complaint system

Colleagues and Fellow Veterans,

Today VA, along with agency partners Defense, Education, Justice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission launched an online complaint system designed to collect feedback from veterans, service members and their families who experience problems with schools when using Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and the Military Tuition Assistance Program. Military and veteran students and their family members can now submit feedback at www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/feedback.asp.

The initiative is part VA’s roll-out of the President’s Executive Order for Principles of Excellence and is designed to empower students and their families, ensuring they have the best information needed to make the most informed educational choices; while holding institutions of higher learning to the highest standards. By reporting schools who are failing to follow the President’s Principles of Excellence, students can help improve the school experience for themselves and other beneficiaries of military and veteran education benefit programs.

A variety of partners helped to spread the word about this new initiative, including the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). VFW called the new online system a ‘Game Changer.’ Agency amplification included a blog written by CFPB’s Holly Petraeus, Department of Education website announcement and FTC press release. News coverage of the announcement included articles from Stars and Stripes’ Leo Shane and on the AP Wire.

The new feedback system is just one in a series of new tools launched recently to help veteran and military education beneficiaries learn more about their vocational aptitudes, select an educational institution and best use their education benefits. Additional resources include:

• The ‘Factors to Consider When Choosing a School’ guide offers future students steps to take when researching, choosing and attending a school.
• CareerScope® is a free, new tool that measures a student’s aptitude and interests through a self-administered online test, identifying potential career paths.

You can help us spread the word by forwarding this email and sharing the following tweet from VA:

@DeptVetAffairs VA News Releases: Federal Agencies Partner to Protect Veterans, Service Members and their Families Using GI Bill... http://1.usa.gov/MlzWfP

V/R

Curtis L. Coy
Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Opportunity
Veterans Benefits Administration
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs