Officials confirmed they agreed to fully reimburse seven GW students using veteran program benefits and laid out a slate of reforms following last month’s House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs investigation into allegations claiming GW defrauded student veterans.
Officials confirmed in a weekly federal update Friday the University has been in “frequent contact” with the committee since early April, including an in-person meeting with committee staff and a campus visit from the Department of Veterans Affairs on May 19 and a campus visit this week from the VA’s Office of Inspector General Office of Audits and Evaluations where they heard from military-affiliated and veterans students about their experiences receiving VA benefits. The House committee’s investigation into GW stemmed from allegations that GW intentionally withheld VA benefits entitled to student veterans participating in the accelerated master’s of business administration program, causing them to face thousands of dollars in unexpected bills.
“The University looks forward to continuing to engage with the VA and House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and make any additional enhancements to its programs as needed,” the Friday update reads.
Friday’s update shared several student veterans raised concerns about not receiving their entitled benefits from the Yellow Ribbon Program and Monthly Housing Allowance veterans benefits programs, incurring unexpected out-of-pocket expenses. Several students incurred additional costs because their tuition and fees exceeded the YRP benefit cap for a single student, according to the federal update. Some student veterans additionally experienced a shortfall in their full MHA stipend, which officials attributed to how the VA calculates MHA benefits based on the non-standard structure of certain accelerated programs.
Officials said as a result of their review of issues expressed by students, they’ve agreed to fully reimburse six students using YRP benefits and an additional student using a different veteran program benefit. The University also reimbursed all seven students for any out-of-pocket housing expenses stemming from the calculation of their MHA benefits, according to the federal update.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill includes the MHA, a stipend for housing costs determined by the frequency and physical location they attend classes — information which the University provides to the VA. Student veterans the University indicates are enrolled in full-time programs are authorized to receive full-time MHA payments, which the VA provides directly to them.
The YRP, which the University participates in, provides an “unlimited” number of undergraduate, graduate and law students to receive benefits throughout the year, covering up to 50 percent of tuition and fees for student veterans beyond the GI Bill cap and matching VA contributions to cover student tuition.
Officials shared in the update they are committing to a handful of reforms to better administer and communicate about education benefits for student veterans. As a part of these reforms, all student veterans will be required to attend a mandatory financial orientation hosted by the Office of Military and Veterans Services prior or at the start of their first semester at GW, which will include information on the YRP cap for certain programs and projected out-of-pocket costs for students.
MVS staff and other staff members will also receive enhanced and recurring training on escalation protocols, taking place at the start of each academic year and following any major VA policy shifts.
Vice President for Student Affairs Colette Coleman will also issue a formal memo to every academic dean at the start of each academic year reminding deans and program directors course start and end dates in GW’s systems directly affect VA enrollment certifications and students’ benefits.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, sent a letter to University President Ellen Granberg in May alleging that GW intentionally provided incorrect information to the VA about the frequency students attend classes, causing students to receive insufficient housing allowances. Van Orden also claimed GW led students participating in the YRP to believe their tuition would be fully covered through the GI Bill, but that students reported receiving notices “days before” the start of summer classes that they must pay between $14,000 or $20,000 out-of-pocket or withdraw from the program due to “exhausted” YRP funds.
“In public advertising on your website, your university promotes being veteran-centric and claims there is not a cap for student veterans who choose to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program,” Van Orden said in the letter to Granberg. “However, this appears to not be the case.”
Graduate students participating in the YRP were eligible for $64,920.95 in total benefits for the 2025-26 academic year, including $29,950.95 from the GI Bill tuition aid and $17,500 from GW, which the VA would match.
Officials said they reached out to impacted students to share updates and provide one-on-one support, along with contacting all student veterans about how to escalate concerns about benefits issues.
“GW has been actively working with the VA to ensure that all students have been, and will continue to be, certified correctly for the benefits these student veterans have earned,” Friday’s federal update reads. “At the same time, the University recognizes that there is room for improvement in how we communicate with our student veteran population.”
University spokesperson Julia Garbitt declined to comment in May on the balance remaining in GW’s YRP funds.
Van Orden also sent a letter to Cheryl Mason, Inspector General of the VA, directing the OIG — the body that looks into all allegations of fraud or crime relating to services the VA provides to veterans — to investigate GW’s potential mishandling of tuition and housing benefits through the GI Bill, which has provided individuals serving in the military after September of 2001 discounted or tuition-free higher education since 2011.
Van Orden said in his letter to Mason student veterans told the House committee University officials informed them the GI Bill would no longer cover the cost of the accelerated MBA program, prompting him to request the OIG investigate GW in case the MHA issue indicated a larger problem of the University defrauding the VA and student veterans.
“I am concerned that this issue may have occurred in previous years, but was not brought to the attention of the Committee or appropriate entities until now,” Van Orden said in the letter to Mason.
