	Introduction

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 (servicemembers 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. Timely, efficient, and student-friendly administration is important in ensuring that each federal program achieves its policy objectives with respect to the target population. This report compares and contrasts administration of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and Pell Grant payments. Since passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the House Veterans' Affairs Committee has held several oversight hearings to ensure administration of the Post-9/11 GI Bill meets the needs of servicemembers transitioning to civilian life. The Federal Pell Grant program, the single largest source of federal grant aid supporting postsecondary students, is intended to increase access to postsecondary education for financially needy individuals. Of those IHEs with Pell Grant recipients, there were, on average, over 1,000 Pell Grant recipients at each one. Key Differences

There are several differences in the administration of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Pell Grant programs. Because the Post-9/11 GI Bill was enacted in 2009 and the Pell Grant program was enacted in 1973, ED, IHEs, and Congress have had more time and resources to develop a suite of fully automated and integrated information systems, which administer Pell Grants in concert with the other HEA Title IV aid programs, and to improve process and system efficiency through administrative, regulatory, and legislative enhancements. The Post-9/11 GI Bill application requires most applicants to choose the most advantageous GI Bill. Qualifying individuals who are applying for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and who are eligible for at least one of the MGIB-AD, MGIB-SR, or REAP programs must make and date an irrevocable election to receive Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits in lieu of one of the aforementioned programs. Educational Institution Responsibility to the VA

An educational institution may be liable for overpayments based on amounts that it received directly from the VA. (Training establishments are not generally responsible for overpayments since they do not receive payments directly from the VA.) An educational institution is liable for an overpayment of amounts received directly from the VA if the GI Bill participant fails to attend any classes, the participant withdraws on or before the first day of the term, the participant dies, the educational institution receives an erroneous payment (i.e., a duplicate payment, a payment above the certified amount, or a payment for the wrong student), or the institution submits an amended enrollment certification with reduced charges or a Yellow Ribbon amount that was not the result of the individual's change in enrollment. In addition, possible limitations that may arise from applying Pell Grant administrative processes to the Post-9/11 GI Bill processes are identified in order that they may be considered and mitigated. For example, VADIR lacks some service information, thus preventing an automated eligibility determination. The Post-9/11 GI Bill could consider a similar lump sum payment prior to the start of the academic term; although, this would likely increase the incidence and amount of overpayments and debts. Acronyms
Acronyms Related to the Post-9/11 GI Bill
Information Systems
Programs
Other Acronyms
Acronyms Related to the Pell Grant Program:
Information Systems
Other Acronyms
Appendix C. Post-9/11 GI Bill Secondary Processing and Disbursement of Funds for Additional Forms of Education and Training
The administration of Post-9/11 GI Bill vocational flight training, apprenticeships or on-the-job training (OJT), tutorial assistance, correspondence training, licensing and certification tests, national tests, and relocation differs significantly from the administration of other degree and non-college degree (NCD) programs at educational institutions.
This report compares and contrasts the administration of 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)—and Federal Pell Grants, as authorized by Title IV-A-1 of the Higher Education Act (HEA). The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides educational assistance payments to eligible servicemembers and veterans, and their dependents. One of its primary objectives is readjustment of veterans to civilian life and the workforce. The federal Pell Grant program provides grant aid payments to eligible and financially needy undergraduate students, regardless of military service record. One of its primary objectives is to increase postsecondary education access of low-income individuals. The report investigates whether the administrative processes supporting Pell Grants can provide lessons for achieving more timely, efficient, and student-friendly administration of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, thus ensuring that it achieves its policy objectives with respect to educational achievement of the target population.
There are several differences between the programs and their administration. Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility is contingent on service in the uniformed services, whereas Pell Grant eligibility is contingent on financial need. Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits must be used within several years of discharge from active duty, whereas Pell Grants can be used at any stage of an individual's life. The Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit was designed to meet most costs of education, whereas the Pell Grants were designed to meet a portion of an individual's financial need. Eligible individuals may receive both benefits concurrently.
When comparing the administrative processes of the programs, there are at least three important considerations. One is the difference in the number of beneficiaries/recipients—estimates indicate there were fewer than 1 million Post-9/11 GI Bill participants and more than 9 million Pell Grant recipients in FY2014, which leads to economies of scale and greater familiarity for Pell Grant administrators. Another is the greater variety of programs of education approved for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which increases administrative complexity. Finally, while the Post-9/11 GI Bill went into effect in 2009, the Pell Grant administrative processes are more mature, having been developed and administered for decades.
There are areas in which the Post-9/11 GI Bill processes and procedures arguably could be improved if compared to the Pell Grant program. The key area would be a larger investment in system automation and internal controls to more fully automate the processes and maintain them with respect to ongoing legislative changes. For example, Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility determinations could be more fully automated. VA systems could choose the most advantageous GI Bill programs based on applicant information. Exact payments and unmet costs may be estimated for Post-9/11 GI Bill participants prior to enrollment to encourage informed enrollment. Providing payments to educational institutions to disburse to students may eliminate an extra processing step by the VA and speed payments and adjustments. Overpayments of Post-9/11 GI Bill payments could be resolved through deductions from subsequent Post-9/11 GI Bill payments or other VA benefit payments.
However, there may be underlying issues that prevent or hinder improvements and may suggest a limited advantage from them. For example, a single lump sum housing allowance payment before the start or at the beginning of the academic term may help pay early housing expenses; however, it may increase the incidence and amount of overpayments and debts.