(The Center Square) — After a deep dive into a beloved state education waiver program for military families, Virginia’s legislative watchdog agency found that the program is sustainable—but likely not without some changes.
Enrollment in the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program has skyrocketed in recent years and engendered pushback from universities, who absorb the costs of program stipends and tuition and fees waivers.
The General Assembly slipped some significant program changes into last-minute state budget negotiations. Still, the military community’s outcry was so resounding that the body voted to repeal the changes just two months later.
Before the assembly reached a consensus, however, the Senate commissioned a review of the program and its costs to Virginia colleges by the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission, which presented its findings Monday.
Since 2019, the program has offered tuition and fee waivers to applicant children or spouses of those who, through military service or combat, have become at least 90% disabled or were killed or went missing in action. Applicants whose family member’s disability or loss was combat-related are also eligible for an additional stipend to be used for other educational expenses.
The changes made to the program through the budget would have limited waivers to undergraduate education required that the service member live in Virginia at the start of his military service rather than some looser requirements for the applicants’ “physical presence,” added an academic progress requirement, and required that applicants first seek other forms of federal and state assistance before turning to VMSDEP.
Veterans and military families strongly objected to any alteration of the program, making it need-based. They argued that the program exists to honor the sacrifices already made by members of the military. The family members of those who qualify had earned the benefits for their children or spouses through their service; it wasn’t about financial need.
The commission evaluated program enrollment and associated costs to Virginia’s public universities and colleges. It also compared VMSDEP to similar programs in at least 25 other states. It found that most states required participants to meet an academic standard and factor in other available aid. Less than half of the states fund graduate-level education.
Because of its large military and veteran population, Virginia seeks to be the most veteran-friendly state. Still, according to the commission, only the most “conservative and unrealistic” projections would predict a decline or leveling off of enrollment within the next few years.
To avoid more “forgone revenue” to the state’s higher education institutions, the state will have to continue to provide more funding or choose to limit the program or its funding in some other way. However, it is also recommended that any significant changes be implemented gradually.
“Any major changes would need to be implemented gradually to avoid negative impacts on veterans and beneficiaries, especially those who intend to use the benefit soon,” the commission said in its report.
