Comparison of Post-9/11 GI Bill® and Pell Grant Administration. CRS Report R44088, Version 3
Author: Dortch, Cassandria
Date: 2015-06-24
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Federal Legislation,Veterans,Veterans Education,Student Financial Aid,Military Personnel,Grants,Federal Aid,Undergraduate Students,Program Administration,Eligibility,Financial Aid Applicants

The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Post-9/11 GI Bill®)--enacted as Title V of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-252)--provides educational assistance payments to eligible individuals (service-members and veterans, and their dependents) from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in accordance with their military service. The Department of Education's (ED's) Federal Pell Grants, as authorized by Title IV-A-1 of the Higher Education Act (HEA), provide grant aid payments to eligible undergraduate students in accordance with their financial need, regardless of military service record. This report compares and contrasts administration of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and Pell Grant payments. This report is designed to assist congressional staff seeking an exploration of ways in which the administration of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits might be improved through the adoption of practices employed in the administration of Title IV aid. The report approaches this task through an examination of the statutory and regulatory provisions that are pertinent to the design and administration of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and Pell Grants, the Title IV aid program that is seemingly the most comparable to Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. The report also examines the operational practices employed to implement statutory and regulatory provisions. Information on operational practices, particularly those relevant to aid administration, has been obtained through a review of sub-regulatory guidance materials, manuals providing guidance to staff involved in administering aid, and through a limited set of interviews and site visits with individuals at federal agencies and colleges who are directly involved in administering aid. The report presents a thorough description of the administrative practices used for each of these educational assistance programs and attempts to identify differences and reasons for differences in the administrative practices used across the programs. It also identifies some ways in which existing practices might be enhanced, and discusses possible ways Post-9/11 GI bill benefit administration might be improved by adopting some Title IV practices. This report begins with a brief overview of the two programs and a table summarizing the key administrative activities and differences. Subsequent sections of the report provide an in-depth explanation of the administrative activities from the application process to the calculation of benefits to the disbursement of funds and the process for participants and educational institutions to resolve GI Bill payments that exceeded a participant's eligibility (overpayments). The final section highlights associated and articulated issues and concerns about the administrative processes to explicate opportunities for improvement in each.