VA Loan Updates

Fall 2007 will bring the start of the Supportive Education for Returning Veteran (SERV) program at CSU to help military veterans in their transition from soldier to student.

To introduce the program on campus, Cleveland State University’s office of Undergraduate Admissions and SERV are hosting Military Day at University Center on May 19.

The SERV program is open to veterans only. Veterans already enrolled, veterans thinking about coming to CSU and veteran graduates are all invited to attend Military Day to learn more about what the SERV program has to offer them.

“The goal is to have [veterans] get a college degree, [and] at that point they get a better job,” said John Schupp, CSU SERV program director.

Special General Education classes will be set aside for SERV program students so they can take their time getting acclimated to the college atmosphere.

Professors will tailor these classes to meet the needs of the students.

According to Schupp, there are usually three issues that confront veterans entering college.

The first issue is the cost of tuition, because the G.I. Bill, established during World War II to pay for the education of military veterans, only covers a certain amount and some colleges cannot be covered for the entire four years.

However, the G.I. Bill covers CSU’s tuition costs for 4.6 years, so veterans will be able to get their degree.

The second issue is getting the tuition paid between Veterans Affairs (VA) and the registrars. The SERV program is attempting to alleviate these stresses by working closely with both the VA and registrars to make sure tuition gets paid on time and veterans don’t get shut out of classes.

Another difficulty faced by veterans is they can feel that they “don’t fit in well because [they] are older and have experiences that most freshmen haven’t had,” said Schupp.

With this issue the SERV program is especially ideal because SERV classes are comprised entirely of veterans for a more comfortable learning environment.

In order to get this program off the ground, Schupp is working closely with Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, VA and recruiters so that he can “get the word out because they paid the price for their G.I. Bill.” The SERV program is hoping to have at least 30 students enrolled in the fall.

Once veterans learn of this program, enrollment is expected to rise and the SERV program is expected to grow.

The classes of the SERV program will be flexible to accomodate busy schedules.

“Work [is] crazy and I’m trying to work around that,” said Chris West, a veteran who recently finished three and a half years of service including one year in Iraq and one year in Korea.

West said his biggest issue is a busy schedule. He finds the SERV program ideal because not only will he be with other veterans, but he will also be able to work around his schedule.

Military Day is being geared toward educating veterans about the SERV program and how they can become participants.

All veterans are invited to come and talk about what the program can offer them personally.

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