Paperwork error leaves military veteran students at VTSU without VA benefits for 4 months
Wolf Whitney envisioned a lifelong military career until an injury derailed her plans. Following a medical discharge from the Army she came to Vermont to heal her body and soul and discover a new path. Woodworking and stone carving sparked a new pursuit − to become an art therapist working with veterans. But starting over meant going back to school for a psychology degree.
Fortunately, she could utilize the GI Bill − federal benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) − to pay for her education and get a monthly stipend to offset living expenses to attend school full time.
That path had its own landmines.
After attaining her associate's degree she transferred to Northern Vermont University − Johnson campus to pursue her bachelor's degree just as the school was being integrated into what became Vermont State University. Everything, she was told, was in order for her VA benefits when she enrolled over the summer. In addition to tuition, she normally received a $2,400 a month stipend for living expenses − at the time she had a wife, two kids and a household to support while not working full time.
Two weeks into the semester she and 200 veteran and military-connected VTSU students found out the school hadn't been approved to receive VA benefits. Students were told the problem would be resolved soon. But one month became two, then three and then four. Suddenly Whitney and many others were $8,000 and more behind in living expenses.
"That's a hit. That is your mortgage for a lot of people," she said. "And Christmas is coming, that's a lot."
Many faced with financial hardship, students say they felt forgotten and mistreated, an extreme lack of communication and updates from the school, advisors were unaware of the issues, bills were riddled with charges for services they didn't need or access, and some like Whitney felt unappreciated to the point they decided to leave.
"It was a slap in the face," Whitney said.
'We worked hard and we suffered to get these benefits'
Julie Rinaldi was also considering her options for the spring with two weeks left in the fall semester. Her VA advisor discouraged her from attending VTSU for the fall and now the spring semester because there was no facility code for the school to apply the benefits.
In early December, Rinaldi said she was not sure if she could even enroll for the spring semester because her fall classes had yet to be paid − a question her VTSU advisor could not answer. The registrar in charge of veterans benefits wasn't answering, despite numerous phone calls and attempts to reach her.
Rinaldi was receiving benefits through a disability and readiness program for post traumatic stress disorder related to serving in law enforcement in the Army and National Guard. She had served 11 years and went on to a government career in immigration for more than 20 years.
Now in her fifties, Rinaldi is a nontraditional college student, just like many other veterans. Without the military subsidizing her education she wouldn't be able to afford the tuition to attain what she hopes will be a doctorate in psychology. Her hope is to use her myriad of life experiences to help people through counseling and alternative medicine.
"We worked hard and we suffered to get these benefits," Rinaldi said, referring to the mental toll, bodily risk and also a potential exposure to Agent Orange and PCBs, chemical compounds that can cause cancer and other health problems, at Fort McLellan in Alabama.
As an older student who knows the VA system well, she felt compelled to come forward on behalf of others who were less experienced or afraid to speak about their frustrations about delayed VA payments. She felt the school was disorganized, unresponsive and seemed ill-equipped to manage the situation. Through its inaction, it was causing real harm to students.
"The school is making false promises and misleading students," she said.
Missing payments
Rinaldi was behind by more than $8,000 for the semester − close to $6,000 for tuition which goes directly to the school, plus $500 to $600 a month living stipend multiplied by four months that is usually deposited into her bank account. She said the school did front her book stipend, which was about $100.
One semester doesn't put her into financial hardship, Rinaldi said, but she had hoped to use the living stipend for a heat pump for her house to replace one that recently failed.
Whitney also said she was managing − a recent divorce meant she had fewer financial responsibilities − but she knew other students who were four months behind on rent.
VTSU knew some students were in dire straits by at least November.
"Normally, the institution wouldn’t be in the middle of this at all, but students communicated to us that they were struggling to pay rent and eat," Katherine Levasseur, VTSU's spokesperson wrote. "These extraordinary circumstances called for extraordinary measures and we stepped in to provide the emergency loans."
The university system offered students emergency loans for unpaid living stipends. Students would be responsible for paying the school back when their VA benefits came through.
Without knowing precisely when the VA would pay them and if the organization would guarantee all missed payments from the fall semester, students told the Free Press they were hesitant to put themselves at financial risk with the university by taking the loans.
Whitney said it's in a university's best interest to take care of veteran students because their enrollment is guaranteed money for the school as their tuition is paid by the federal government. She knew several veteran students planning to leave because of this situation.
"You go where you're appreciated," she said.
Losing confidence in VTSU
Levasseur, the university spokesperson, said without pointing fingers at anyone else that VTSU was not to blame for the missing VA benefits.
Nolan Atkins, vice president for academic affairs and provost, sent a letter to veteran students on Dec. 8.
"As you know, there has been a delay in the Federal Veterans Administration evaluation of our new merged Vermont State University," Atkins wrote, "This delay was caused by an error with the State of Vermont’s submission when they submitted the Vermont State University paperwork earlier this year."
Students say whether the university is to blame for the initial error or not, the lack of communication is where much of the breakdown in trust occurred.
Levasseur said the university system became aware of the problem in July. Students say they weren't notified until September, two weeks into the semester, when it was too late to reasonably drop classes and re-enroll elsewhere.
A note from Stephanie Cleveland, the VTSU registrar overseeing VA benefits, said in an email dated Sept. 29 to Rinaldi that the State Approving Agency, which is part of the Vermont VA office, was certifying VTSU's ability to receive VA benefits and that "the approval will be finalized no later than next Friday, October 6."
Cleveland later sent a note on Dec. 1 to veterans which Rinaldi said she only received second hand, stating she contacted the State Approving Agency in early November.
Cleveland said she recently learned from the State Approving Agency there was an error in the initial submission to the VA and that some information would need to be resubmitted. At the time she said she heard "yesterday" the resubmission occurred.
Cleveland said Veterans Affairs had an additional 30 days to complete the process. The note mentioned the university's offer of emergency loans and the school was extending the deadline for when loans needed to be paid back to February.
In his note to students on Dec. 8, Atkins wrote, "we expect the delay in benefits to be cleared mid-February."
In the meantime, students said they felt strung along and didn't know what to believe.
Whitney, who had attended Community College of Vermont (CCV) before VTSU, was working as CCV's veteran and military connected student mentor helping connect students with resources they need. Some students knew her from CCV and were inundating her with questions to help solve their issues of non-payment because they felt they weren't getting answers from the school.
Whitney said the school should have been doing what she was trying to do and she ultimately told Cleveland how frustrated and angry veterans had become and pushed her to send out a status note, which Cleveland did in early December, two weeks before the end of the semester.
Why VTSU veteran students didn't get education benefits promised them
It appears the initial paperwork filing error occurred within the State Approving Agency of the Vermont Veterans Affairs office and there are references to issues that came to light in July and again in November.
The Vermont VA office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
A federal VA spokesperson wrote, "On Dec. 8, 2023, the Department of Veterans Affairs received the necessary information from Vermont State Approving Agency to finalize the approval and allow for payment of VA benefits. Enrolled GI Bill and Veteran Readiness and Employment students will be entitled to retroactive monthly housing allowance and tuition and fee payments made to the school on their behalf."
The organization did not, however, answer questions about the initial error or what had occurred in the intervening time.
How VTSU plans to help veteran students
VTSU says it has and continues to be committed to supporting veteran and military-connected students. The school hosts a yearly veterans' summit, there's a partnership between the school and the Vermont National Guard which includes scholarships for service members. And now it says it is supporting these students by providing emergency loans.
"While we are waiting for the VA approval, we are doing what we can do to support our students," Levasseur wrote. "The students should not see financial risk or out-of-pocket expenses – VTSU will be paid for the loans when the VA pays us."
She said students should repay their loans once they receive their living allowances from the VA and as long as the school is paid in a reasonable time after receipt of federal money there would be no penalties. She said the deadline was Feb. 15 to pay the lump sum back but could be extended if VA payments are delayed.
As of Dec. 11, VTSU said the school had disbursed $30,000 in emergency loans to veteran and military-connected students.
No details about loans
Students told the Free Press they had received no information from the school about the loan terms, repayment, if there was a guarantee the VA would pay out retroactively for the semester, or how to know how much to borrow as the VA payments can vary month to month.
On Dec. 14, Rinaldi received answers to specific questions about the loans from Cleveland, but said there had been no widespread communication up to that point. She and others feared the financial risk and legal ramifications of taking out loans through the school if the federal money failed to cover the loans. Information provided by the school so far included incorrect timelines or had been incomplete.
Levasseur said the school has a guarantee from the VA that benefits will be paid.
Levasseur said the school submitted for approval on July 13 and on Oct. 23 VTSU received confirmation from the State Approving Agency that the school could officially train veterans and military-connected students. She said this approval ensures eligible students can receive living allowances retroactive to July 1.
Veteran students noted additional problems that further degraded their trust with the university system including being billed for services they didn't access − like on campus housing and health insurance − and being pushed to register for more than a full-time course load.
Whitney and Rinaldi both feel at their wit's end. "I have zero trust in the school right now," Rinaldi said. "I'm screaming, 'it's fraud!'"
Exasperated, Whitney asked, "I do not know if this is incompetence to the 9th degree or are they just trying to scam students at this point?"
Contact reporter April Barton at abarton@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1854. Follow her on Twitter @aprildbarton.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Veterans at Vermont State University have yet to receive VA benefits
