Proposal Would Increase Housing Allowance for Online GI Bill Recipients
Credit: Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. / Getty Images- Currently, GI Bill beneficiaries enrolled in fully online programs receive a smaller housing stipend.
- Many advocates have long campaigned for an increase in this allowance to cover non-education expenses.
- A newly introduced bill would effectively double the housing allowances of online students.
- Some worry the expansion will push students into predatory online programs.
Fully online student veterans may soon get a significant increase to their monthly housing allowance.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Republican U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, reintroduced the Expanding Access for Online Veteran Students Act last month. If passed, online students would qualify for a monthly housing allowance equal to the national average for all in-person GI Bill beneficiaries.
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Currently, online-only GI bill recipients qualify for half the national average each month.
How is the monthly housing allowance calculated?
In-person or hybrid students receive a monthly housing allowance based on the location of their training. The Defense Travel Management Office calculates the allowance based on the school’s ZIP code, the number of credits a student is enrolled in, and the length of time the student served in the military.
Online students, meanwhile, don’t get a location-adjusted allowance.
Distance learners get a monthly housing allowance equal to half the national allowance average. For students who started using their benefits in 2018 or after, this equals $1,118.50 per month.
The proposal faces some opposition. Veterans Education Success (VES) opposed the Expanding Access for Online Veteran Students Act, arguing it would offer incentives for predatory online colleges to target veterans for their GI Bill funds.
“Bad actor, low-quality schools would immediately jump on the legislation’s increased housing allowances as a primary selling point,” VES said in a statement, “and target veterans with aggressive recruiting to pull the veterans out of reputable colleges … that would better serve their educational and career objectives.”
Other advocacy groups and analysts praise the proposal.
Lindsey Tepe, director of government relations at the American Council on Education (ACE), told BestColleges that increasing the housing allowance for online learners creates equity for nontraditional students. Adult learners are more likely to pursue an online education to balance other responsibilities, and a larger housing allowance can help them cover costs without going into debt.
“I do see some momentum here,” she said. “I think it’s about ensuring there is attention to detail.”
Background of GI Bill Housing Allowance
To understand the different housing allowances, it’s important to understand why there is a difference to begin with.
When the Post-9/11 GI Bill originally passed in 2008, there was no housing allowance for online learners. Scott Brees, officer at Pew’s Student Loan Initiative, told BestCollege that it wasn’t until 2010 that Congress added a housing stipend for online students but at a lower rate than for in-person students.
Both Brees and Tepe agreed this was a feature, not a bug.
At the time, there was still a negative perception attached to online-only colleges and universities. A larger housing stipend for in-person learning incentivized student veterans to enroll in in-person classes rather than pursue an online degree.
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Many student veterans have responded by taking on student loan debt, Pew found.
A 2022 Pew report co-authored by Brees found that of the 27% of undergraduate GI Bill beneficiaries who took out loans, nearly 3 in 5 (58%) did so primarily to cover living expenses. While this included costs like groceries and transportation, housing was the living expense most often cited as the reason for taking out a student loan.
Moreover, even in-person students who get the full stipend can’t always afford their housing costs, Brees said.
“This situation is bad for student veterans who get the full deal,” he said, “and if you’re an online veteran, it’s that much worse for them.”
VES said in its statement that the practical considerations that created the housing allowance rules over a decade ago are still relevant.
“This housing allowance differential is designed to account for the lower housing costs and greater employment flexibility inherent in distance education,” VES states, “where students typically maintain existing housing arrangements and continue working while studying and do not incur the costs that in-person students incur by relocating housing and reducing work hours to attend classes in person.”
Push for Larger Housing Allowance
Tepe of ACE explained that lawmakers have pushed for increases to the housing allowance in the past.
Ciscomani introduced a version of the Expanding Access for Online Veteran Students Act in September 2023. While that version never gained traction, she said it differed from the current proposal because it would have only increased the monthly housing allowance for online students during the summer semester.
The conversation is moving “in the right direction,” Tepe said.
It’s ultimately an affordability issue, she said. With housing costs and availability strained, student veterans of all modalities need financial assistance to help cover this necessity.
Brees of Pew added that online learning is often the best option for students.
Many student veterans juggle other responsibilities like work and childcare, and attending online courses helps them balance that more easily. Additionally, he said, many veterans may return from duty to rural areas without many nearby college options, leaving online learning the only viable solution.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated that pivot to online learning, Brees said.
“We are now in a new normal,” he said.
Apprehension Over Latest Proposal
While many favor increasing the monthly housing allowance for online GI Bill recipients, some worry this latest proposal will have unintended consequences.
Tepe explained that the bill could encourage students to switch to an online program.
For example, an on-campus student living in a low-cost area might receive a monthly housing stipend below the national average. She said this means the student would actually qualify for a larger stipend if they adjust their studies to be totally online.
“This could lead to students not attending in person even though they want to because they want a bigger housing allowance,” Tepe said.
It essentially incentivises online learning in select circumstances, she said.
VES agrees with this assessment, which is one of the reasons the organization opposes the bill.
“Much of the anticipated enrollment shift would likely involve movement from low-tuition public institutions to high-tuition private online programs,” the statement reads. “This dynamic would drive up costs not only for the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) but also for the veterans themselves, who may find themselves with greater debt burdens despite higher housing allowances.”
According to VES, over 60% of schools approved for the GI Bill have an allowance under the national average. Approximately 55% of GI Bill students (450,000 students) attend an institution with a below-average allowance.
“This geographic disparity would create perverse incentives for veterans to abandon high-quality, affordable public institutions in favor of potentially lower-quality online programs purely for financial reasons.”