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Blackanthem Military News
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Last Updated:
May 15, 2008 - 12:14:09 PM |
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VA Pledges Continuing Improvements
Blackanthem Military News
 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today it has dramatically improved its ability to process applications for GI Bill education benefits from veterans and servicemembers.
"Our processing time is good, and it's going to continue to get better," said Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon H. Mansfield. "These improvements come despite a 40 percent increase in applications for GI Bill benefits since 2001."
For first-time recipients of educational benefits, the average processing time decreased from 40 days in 2006 to 32 days in 2007. Claims from veterans reenrolling for subsequent school terms or additional training programs were processed in an average of 13 days, down from 20 days in 2006.
VA developed short-term strategies for immediately processing more claims.
As an example, VA created a temporary call center in late 2006 to respond to customer service calls, freeing additional employees to process education claims. The center's success led VA to develop plans for a permanent call center, scheduled to open in early 2008 at VA's Regional Processing Office in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
VA has also developed programs that promote self-service among GI Bill users. Services that once demanded the attention of VA employees -- from enrolling in direct deposit to updating contact information -- can now be performed online. In October 2007 VA has also expanded its self-servicing approach to school officials, many of whom now submit veterans' enrollment information electronically. VA uses this electronically submitted data to process automatically more than 100,000 of the more than 1.5 million education claims received in fiscal year 2007.
While these accomplishments are significant, VA remains committed to continued improvement in the delivery of education benefits. The Department's performance goals are aggressive, calling for 20 percent reductions in processing time during the next year.
"VA is on the right track, as demonstrated by processing times last month of 26 days for initial applications and 10 days for reenrollments," said Keith Wilson, Director of VA's Education Service. "There are a lot of folks who share in our success, none more central than the hardworking employees at our Regional Processing Offices."
In 2007, 524,000 veterans and beneficiaries received approximately $21 billion dollars of education assistance. Since 1944, more than 21.4 million veterans and their beneficiaries have received GI Bill benefits.
VA education benefits include Montgomery GI Bill for active duty personnel, Montgomery GI Bill for Selected Reserves, the Reservist Education Assistance Program and educational assistance for survivors and dependents.
For more information on VA education benefits, go to VA's education Web site at: www.gibill.va.gov.
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