The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission received proposals for 10 options regarding the Virginia Military Survivors & Dependents Education Program during a meeting Monday morning. The options, along with a report and comparison with other states’ programs, were presented by the commission’s staff.
The General Assembly tasked the commission with studying the sustainability of the popular tuition waiver program this summer after controversy erupted when it was scaled back in the state budget. Lawmakers passed legislation to repeal the changes in July and added $90 million over two years to help offset costs to universities.
The program covers tuition and provides an annual stipend to spouses and children of veterans who are killed, missing in action, taken prisoner or at least 90% permanently disabled because of service.
Justin Brown, the commission’s senior associate director, told members that a version of the program has existed in Virginia for decades but wasn’t “on institutions’ radar” because participation and cost were relatively small. But, earlier this year, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia noted that the cost had quadrupled from $12 million in 2019 to $46.3 million in 2022. The group estimated it could grow to more than $190 million by 2026, with universities and colleges absorbing costs.
According to JLARC’s Monday report, more than 8,000 students participated in the program last year at four-year institutions and community colleges, with institutions waiving nearly $92 million in tuition costs. The General Assembly’s allocation to cover these costs for fiscal year 2025 was $65 million.
Brown said that in 2019 eligibility requirements changed to include dependents of veterans whose death or disability was because of military service in general, not just combat-related.
According to the JLARC report, Hampton Roads universities are particularly impacted, with three local institutions having the highest percentage of program participants. Last year, 5.5% of Old Dominion University students were in the program. At Christopher Newport, 4.9%, followed by Norfolk State at 4.8%.
Christopher Newport saw the biggest increase in program participation — 588% — from 2019-2020 to 2023-2024. Additionally, the highest percentage of participants last year attended ODU.
Among the policy proposals made Monday were options to supplement universities’ lost revenue, including creating a specialized fund, such as one in Texas, that uses one-time and ongoing general funds for the program.
Another looked at ways to promote the program’s sustainability. Brown said most other reviewed programs required students to be in “good academic standing.” Another option is to require colleges and universities to apply other financial aid benefits before using the tuition waiver.
Brown also noted that though most participants are undergraduates, the number of graduate students is starting to rise. One way to control costs included limiting the program to undergraduates.
Another option is to increase residency requirements to 15 years. Currently, participants are only required to have lived in the state for five years to be eligible.
Another option used in some states, including Florida, Maryland and Ohio, appropriates a set amount of money and divides it among participants. This would mean that participants would not necessarily receive a 100% waiver, but it would create “budget predictability.”
The final policy option was to set a lower benefit amount but make it more flexible, such as allowing its use on higher education costs other than tuition.
As part of their study, JLARC staff surveyed more than 200 stakeholders, including veterans whose families use the program and those who don’t. Brown said many responses asked for “grandfathering” or delaying the dates of any changes.
Brown said making projections about program growth is difficult. Though data shows that the number of veterans is decreasing, the number of those being “rated” 90% or 100% disabled is growing.
“We’re not seeing any quantitative evidence that this program is peaking now or that it will soon decline.”
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