Updated: May 9, 2026 at 1:03 p.m.
The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs launched an investigation Friday into allegations GW has intentionally prevented student veterans from receiving promised housing and tuition benefits.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, sent a letter to University President Ellen Granberg requesting officials respond to allegations that GW intentionally withheld Department of Veteran Affairs 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. Van Orden requested the University respond to the allegations by May 13, or potentially face a subpoena and provide a detailed plan covering how the University plans to resolve the issue and compensate past and present students they withheld housing and tuition benefits from.
“Whether it is the result of negligence on your university’s part, including misleading advertising towards current and future student veterans, the accusations that the Subcommittee has been made aware of are deeply concerning,” Van Orden said in the letter.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill includes the Monthly Housing Allowance, a stipend for housing costs given directly to student veterans determined by the frequency and physical location they attend classes — information which the University provides to the VA. Student veterans that the University indicates are enrolled in full-time programs are authorized to receive full-time MHA payments, according to the VA website.
The University also participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which allows an “unlimited” number of eligible undergraduate, graduate and law students to receive comprehensive benefits throughout the academic 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.
The letter claims GW intentionally provided incorrect information to the VA about the frequency students attend classes, causing students to receive insufficient housing allowances. Van Orden claims GW also 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.
“These allegations raise concerns about whether student veterans are receiving the full benefits to which they are entitled under federal law,” Van Orden said.
University spokesperson Julia Garbitt said the University plans to cooperate with the House Committee on Veteran Affairs, and the University fully reimbursed full-time student veterans in the accelerated MBA program who received part-time rate MHA for their housing this spring semester.
Garbitt declined to comment on the balance remaining in GW’s YRP funds and if the University will fully cover the tuition for student veterans enrolled in the accelerated MBA program.
Van Orden also sent a letter to Cheryl Mason, Inspector General of the VA, requesting further investigations to uncover whether the allegations indicate the University has defrauded veterans since the accelerated MBA program’s launch in 2019.
Orden requested the Office of the Inspector General — the body that looks into all allegations of fraud or crime relating to services the VA provides to veterans — 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 the letter to Mason, full-time student veterans in GW’s accelerated MBA program told the committee the University was only certifying them as part-time students to the VA, causing them to receive inadequate MHA while simultaneously collecting tuition and fees from them at full-time student rates.
The Committee communicated the issue to the University’s Office of Government and Community Relations on April 8, to which University officials responded on April 23, saying the discrepancy was a clerical error caused by the Military & Veteran Services’ School Certifying Official that has since been fixed, according to the letter to Mason.
Van Orden also said in the 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.
Van Orden’s request to Mason includes having the OIG answer questions like whether there have been other full-time student veterans in GW’s accelerated MBA or other accelerated graduate programs only receiving half of their MHA, how the University plans to compensate student veterans and what oversight measures GW has in place to prevent errors or delays in VA reporting.
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.
Van Orden also requested the OIG determine why the University is telling students they owe thousands of dollars when the school advertises unlimited YRP funds, whether the University adjusted the YRP to account for the tuition increase announced in March and how the University’s marketing about student veteran programs compares to actual treatment.
“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.”
In February Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent an internal memo, which CNN first obtained, labeling GW as one of the universities at a “moderate to high risk” of losing military tuition assistance for the 2026-27 academic year due to alleged bias against the U.S. military and “troublesome partnerships” with foreign adversaries. Department of Defense tuition assistance is separate from YRP and the GI Bill.
In March, the DOD announced they would bar senior military officers at GW from the DOD’s Senior Service College Fellowship in the 2026-27 academic year due to the University’s “anti-American resentment and military disdain.”
This post has been updated to correct the following:
An earlier version of this post stated Garbitt declined to comment whether student veterans are receiving the appropriate MHA this semester. Garbitt confirmed affected students have received the appropriate housing assistance for this semester. We regret this error.
