The Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, a legislation signed in 2008, provides four years of tuition up to the cost of the most expensive in-state undergraduate institution. For students attending Fordham University, the Yellow Ribbon program, an addition to the bill designed specifically for higher cost universities, stipulates that the school and the federal government split the additional tuition cost.

Fordham University is one of many private institutions that participate in the Yellow Ribbon program. Veterans at Fordham can study at all three campuses, in either full-time day classes or part-time and night classes. Glen Redpath, assistant dean of admissions at Fordham College of Liberal Studies (FCLS), said that he encourages veterans to apply to Fordham for their college education.

“If we can get quality candidates from the military, we’ll take them,” he said.

Redpath said that he anticipates an increase in the number of veterans studying at Fordham in upcoming semesters. He said that he believes more veteran services, such as counseling and disability accommodations, will eventually be established.

Andrew Johnson, FCLS ’13, is a U.S. army specialist currently studying under the Yellow Ribbon program at Fordham. Johnson served five and a half years of active duty specializing in repairing radar systems used for artillery targeting. Johnson began in Fort Campbell, K.Y. and was later deployed to Iraq for one year. He then transferred to Camp Casey, South Korea, and finished in Fort Carson, C.O.

Johnson said he chose the Army above the other armed forces because “[he] thought the Army offered the best deal.” He said, “I got to pick a specific job, and I wanted to deploy.

“Fordham’s College of Liberal Studies offered an easy application process for a non-traditional student,” Johnson said. “I had no SAT scores and had no idea how to apply and the FCLS staff walked me through everything. I also wanted to stay in the city and wanted a school with a club hockey team. Fordham’s status as a school that offers the Yellow Ribbon program removed an expense issue from the picture, so that helped as well.”

Johnson said that his transition from the military to a university “hasn’t been as difficult” as he had imagined. “All I have to do is show up to class and do the work on the syllabus. It’s much easier than the Army and I’m getting paid better now, too,” he said. Fordham is giving Johnson elective credits for the electronics courses he took in the Army, while he works through his core curriculum. Johnson said that he doesn’t plan on following a career based on his military specialization, nor does he plan on returning to life in the military after he graduates from Fordham.

“[The Veteran’s Educational Assistance Act and the Yellow Ribbon Program] are certainly much better than the old Montgomery GI Bill,” Johnson said. “I may have been able to go to a CUNY school while working with those benefits. Now I have more options and can focus full time on my studies.”