Tuition Residency for GI Bill Recipients
On August 12, 2013, Illinois State Gov. Pat Quinn
signed into law House Bill 2353 (Public Act 98-0306), “Higher
Ed-Military-Tuition,” which grants state tuition residency to student
veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33), allowing them to
qualify for in-state tuition.
PA 98-0306 requires that Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit recipients be
considered Illinois residents for tuition purposes only for the period
during which they are utilizing their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
Students at the University of Illinois making use of Post-9/11 GI Bill
benefits and who might not otherwise be assessed tuition at the
in-state rate will be assessed in-state tuition for a given term once
they have been verified as receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for
that term.
Beginning with the 2015-16 academic year, the Illinois legislature
extended this same opportunity to students utilizing benefits under the
federal All-Volunteer Force Educational Assistance Program. As with
students using Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, students receiving benefits
from the All-Volunteer Force Educational Assistance Program will be
considered as Illinois residents for tuition purposes.
Although not required by this law, the University maintains a
compassionate practice that assists servicemembers who have made
significant progress towards a degree while enrolled at the University
and receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill or All-Volunteer Force Educational
Assistance Program benefits but then exhaust their benefit eligibility
just short of completing their degree. This practice:
- Applies to active-duty military and veterans onIy, and
- Is applicable to recipients of transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits through transfer of eligibility, and
- Requires the servicemember to have been enrolled at the
University while receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill or  All-Volunteer Force
Educational Assistance Program benefits for a minimum period of
time (two consecutive terms) immediately prior to exhausting their
benefit, and
- Is available only to those servicemembers enrolled as
degree-seeking students in undergraduate, graduate or professional
programs (programs that could typically qualify a student for Chapter
33 Post-9/11 GI Bill or Chapter 30 All-Volunteer Force Educational
Assistance Program benefits).
Under this practice, a servicemember may be granted up to one year
of in-state residency for tuition purposes after their eligibility for
Post-9/11 GI Bill or All-Volunteer Force Educational Assistance Program
benefits has been fully utilized provided they are within thirty (30)
hours of completing their degree program and remain continuously
enrolled.
This supplemental benefit is offered at the discretion of the University and may be changed or eliminated at any time.
Students wishing to confirm their eligibility under this practice for
an extension of their in-state residency should contact the appropriate
campus office at:
Those with more general questions about their Post-9/11 GI Bill
benefit eligibility should contact the campus financial aid office for
further information at: