Your federal study benefit ran out and you did not finish: the law covers you

It is the bridge that starts where the federal benefit ends. A veteran studying on federal funds has a limited number of months or credits; when they run out and the degree is unfinished, many people quit. Act 203-2007 says that at that point the veteran is entitled to free tuition at the University of Puerto Rico and all its academic units in order to finish, regardless of the final field of study they choose. The right does not depend on having had federal benefits: the act also covers the veteran who never had them, on condition of maintaining the average the institution requires of its regular students. And the block is not only university-level: it binds the Department of Education on technical-vocational training and adult education, and creates a trust of its own to fund the studies of veterans.

The act describes two routes. First: being a veteran university student who has exhausted or is about to exhaust their right to study under legislation approved by the Congress of the United States without having completed their bachelor’s degree or other postgraduate studies already begun for which they qualify, and wishing to finish them because those studies extend longer than federal legislation authorises. Second: being a veteran without study benefits under federal legislation, maintaining the grade point average established by the University of Puerto Rico and all its academic units, or any higher education institution of the Commonwealth or its municipalities, an average which in no case may be more onerous than the academic requirements established for those institutions’ regular students. The act also contemplates students pursuing studies in Puerto Rico at an educational centre other than the University of Puerto Rico but recognised by the Council on Higher Education, with rules of its own not detailed here because that provision was not read in full.

• Having exhausted or being about to exhaust the right to study under federal legislation without having completed the bachelor’s degree or other postgraduate studies already begun.Verified against the official source
• Alternatively, being a veteran without federal study benefits and maintaining the grade point average the institution establishes, which may not be more onerous than that required of regular students.Verified against the official source
• For reinstatement in employment: having availed yourself of the benefit, concluding your studies and requesting it within the following one hundred and eighty days.Verified against the official source

• The evidence of service the act requires: the honourable discharge or separation certificate, or a certification from the Federal Veterans Administration or the corresponding federal authority.

1. 1

   Step 1: Do not quit when the federal benefit runs out

   That is exactly the situation the act contemplates. It speaks of the veteran who has exhausted or is about to exhaust their right to study under legislation approved by the Congress of the United States without having completed their bachelor’s degree or other postgraduate studies already begun for which they qualify, because those studies extend for a period longer than federal legislation authorises. If you are at that point, the act says you are entitled to free tuition at the University of Puerto Rico and all its academic units, and at any government postgraduate educational institution, in order to finish.

2. 2

   Step 2: Ask for preferential treatment on student aid too

   Tuition is not the only thing. The act adds the right to preferential treatment, on equal terms, as to student aid, grants and other benefits granted to students of the university, unit or institution. And it sets an explicit ceiling: that financial benefit may in no case be greater than that granted for studying at any higher education institution in Puerto Rico. Mention it at the financial aid office, not only at admissions.

3. 3

   Step 3: If you never had federal benefits, you count too

   The act says it in so many words: the benefit shall likewise apply to all veterans without the study benefits granted under legislation approved by the Congress of the United States who maintain the grade point average established by the University of Puerto Rico and all its academic units, as well as by any higher education institution of the Commonwealth or its municipalities. And it protects that requirement: that average may in no case be more onerous than the academic requirements established for those institutions’ regular students.

4. 4

   Step 4: If you left a job to study, you have 180 days

   This is the deadline to write down. The act provides that once the veteran who availed themselves of the previous section’s benefits concludes their studies, and requests it within the following one hundred and eighty days, they shall be reinstated in the position or office they left in order to study, or in another position or office of equal category, salary and rank. And it adds a protection: once reinstated, they may only be dismissed for reasons recognised in the laws of Puerto Rico, the regulations of the department where they work, or the rules of the Commonwealth Human Resources Office, if their position is subject to the Personnel Act.

5. 5

   Step 5: If yours is technical or vocational, there is another door

   The act obliges the Department of Education to extend its vocational school system throughout Puerto Rico so as to provide technical-vocational training to all veterans who request it, in accordance with the federal legislation that appropriates funds to pay for veterans’ studies. And as an essential part of its adult education programme, the Department must provide the educational facilities needed by veterans who wish to broaden or improve their academic education. The act adds a transparency mechanism that works for you: the Department is obliged to report annually to the Legislative Assembly and to the Office of the Advocate for Veterans Affairs on the activities related to this section, with a detailed report of available federal funds, applications filed and the use of those funds.

Free tuition is claimed at the University of Puerto Rico or the academic unit or government postgraduate institution where you study; mention it at the financial aid office too, for the preferential treatment on grants and aid. Technical-vocational training and adult education fall to the Department of Education. Reinstatement in employment is requested from the employer you left. The official text of Act 203-2007 and its translation are in SUTRA.

• Quitting studies when the federal benefit runs out, which is exactly when this right begins.
• Believing you must have had federal benefits: the act also covers the veteran who never had them.
• Asking only for tuition and not for preferential treatment on grants and student aid.
• Letting the one hundred and eighty days lapse to request reinstatement in employment after finishing studies.
• Assuming the institution may require a higher average of you than of its regular students: the act forbids it.
• Thinking the right is only at university level: it also binds the Department of Education on vocational and adult education.
• Not asking about the Veterans Education Trust, which the act creates.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina del Procurador del Veterano Puertorriqueño

  Procurador del Veterano

  sutra.oslpr.org

• SUTRA record of Act 203-2007

  Oficina de Servicios Legislativos

  sutra.oslpr.org