August 27, 2012 REPORT SUMMARY:

audit OF UNC SCHOOL SYSTEM ALLOCATION & RECOGNITION OF GI BILL REVENUES for residency classification AND CORELATION TO providing ADEQUATE SERVICES, RESOURCES, AND ASSISTANCE TO RECIPIENTS

________________________________________________________________________
WHY WE DID THIS AUDIT The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) reported in 2010 - 24,508 Veterans and/or Dependents used GI Bill Education Benefits in North Carolina. Effective August 1, 2011 - the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-377) detrimentally impacted thousands of Veterans attending public colleges in North Carolina with the issue of instate residency for tuition purposes, the results of which left Veterans with a financial burden of paying the difference between the in-state and out-of-state tuition rate. Prior to this change, the VA paid up to $17,500 in tuition per academic year, regardless of residency classification. While the State faced many challenges due to such complex changes in the GI Bill, the UNC School System implemented a working group for the System-wide Evaluation & Recommendation for Veterans Education & Services. The goal is to improve access, retention and graduation rates for active-duty service members, Veterans, and their families at UNC institutions. We conducted this audit to determine whether the UNC School System and respective institutions properly classified GI Bill education beneficiaries for residency, and whether they provided adequate funding for services, facilities, resources, and assistance, in a proportional manner.

WHAT WE FOUND
Prior to August 1, 2011 residency for tuition purposes was of no concern for GI Bill beneficiaries or UNC System Schools because the GI Bill paid tuition rates up to $17,500 per academic year, regardless of whether the school classified the student as in-state or out-of-state. In 2010 there were approximately 10,200 GI Bill recipients attending the 16 public universities and approximately 12,600 attending the 116 community colleges within the UNC School System. Based on these numbers and the median tuition rates for both - assuming only 50% of such students were classified as out-of-state residents, the UNC School System received revenues of approximately $166,000,000 from student Veterans in 2010. Despite the numerous requests we've made to the UNC School System and the schools, for financial records and reports segregating the GI Bill revenues, the only consistent response thus far is none at all and they don't know. The unsettling questions regarding possible waste and abuse are surfacing due to inconsistency and uncooperative behaviors from the UNC School System and schools within.

Even more troubling - only 4 UNC System Schools offer adequate designated services, facilities, resources, and assistance commensurate with the revenues received by these institutions from attending student Veterans. Around 90% of the remaining UNC System Schools don't offer enough to be noteworthy or reported.

WHAT WE RECOMMEND
We recommend a comprehensive audit and investigation be done on each institution in the UNC School System segregating all GI Bill related funds and recipients from 2007-2011 by: year, residency classification, and the number of student beneficiaries represented in the same. This comprehensive audit should be done by a third-party non-affiliate in cooperation with our organization within a reasonable timeframe. Additionally we recommend the UNC School System and schools allocate funds proportional with the number of GI Bill beneficiaries attending their respective institutions to provide services, facilities, resources, and assistance to such students. Lastly we recommend the UNC School System and schools within implement a consistent program, by working with our organization in a manner that may unilaterally bridge the divide currently present to such students in the UNC School System.

OUR PERSPECTIVE
"Criticism is necessary and useful; it is often indispensable; but it can never take the place of action, or be even a poor substitute for it. The function of the mere critic is of very subordinate usefulness. It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger." (1894) - Theodore Roosevelt "A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled, and less than that no man shall have." Theodore Roosevelt

Report authored by
Jason R. Thigpen Founder/President Student Veterans Advocacy Group Website: www.studentveteransadvocacygroup.org Email: jasonthigpen@mysvag.org Mobile: (910) 470-0666 Follow us on: Facebook: facebook.com/SVANC Twitter: @Student_Vets