You want to know under what circumstances a veteran qualifies for tuition waiver at Connecticut state colleges and whether a veteran who served on active duty in the U. S. Marines from 1984-1987 and in the Gulf War for 45 days is eligible.

SUMMARY

The law requires state colleges to waive tuition fees for wartime veterans (1) honorably discharged from active service, (2) accepted for admission to the institutions, and (2) residing in Connecticut at the time of acceptance (CGS §§ 10a-77(d), -99(d), and -105(e)). It applies to the University of Connecticut, Connecticut State University (CSU), and Community-Technical College System. Under the institutions’ policies, students must normally be enrolled in a degree program to be eligible for the waiver.

For purposes of the waiver, a wartime veteran is any member honorably discharged from active service in the U. S. Armed Forces and who served at least 90 days during a time of war, as defined in law, unless he was separated earlier because of a Veterans’ Administration (VA)-rated service-connected disability or the war lasted for a shorter period and he served for the duration (CGS § 27-103, as amended by PA 03-85).

The law prescribes the dates and service conditions for the wars or operations defined as “time of war. ” For example, some wars require that the veteran serve in a combat or combat-support role. A veteran who served in the U. S. Marines from 1984-1987 qualifies for the waiver only if he served the required minimum 90 days in a combat or combat-support role in Operation Earnest Will, which lasted from February 1, 1987 to July 23, 1987. A veteran with 45 days active service in the Gulf War does not qualify for the tuition waiver because he does not meet the minimum 90-day requirement for eligibility. (And your letter does not indicate that he meets the earlier separation requirement. )

To get the waiver, the veteran must submit a copy of his DD 214 form and honorable discharge certificate (DD 256). If separated from service early because of a VA-service-connected disability, he must document this as well.

TUITION

The law defines “tuition” as a “direct charge for institutional programs, which is clearly delineated from any other fees (CGS § 10a-26). The waiver applies only to courses paid for out of colleges’ tuition revenue and not to so-called “extension-fund” courses paid for from student fees. Extension courses are typically summer and evening classes. Often they are noncredit “enrichment courses” that are not part of degree programs. Typically, all students, including veterans who participate in these programs, are charged course fees, which are not tuition fees as defined in statutes. But CSU waives 50% of these course fees for veterans who qualify for a tuition waiver, and this waiver is basically the equivalent of the tuition waiver, according to the CSU legislative liaison. The course fee waiver is made pursuant to CSU Board Resolution 98-10, Tuition and Fee Waiver Authorizations. (The complete text of the resolution is available at http: //www. ctstateu. edu/bot/resolutions/1998/98-10. html. )

WAR SERVICE

By law, honorably discharged active-service, wartime veterans and, in some cases, qualified survivors (usually spouses and dependent children) are eligible for a range of benefits not available to other veterans. The law requires Connecticut state colleges to waive tuition for “veterans who served in time of war as defined in subsection (a) of § 27-103” (CGS §§ 10a-77(d), -99(d), and -105(e)). CGS § 27-103, as amended by PA 03-85, defines a “veteran” as “any person honorably discharged from, or released under honorable conditions from active service in the U. S. Armed Forces (i. e. , the army, navy, marine corps, coast guard, and air force), but it does not define active service. It defines “service in time of war” as service of at least 90 days during specified wars, including any time served since August 2, 1990, unless the veteran was separated earlier because of a Veterans’ Administration-rated service-connected disability or the war lasted for a shorter period and he served for the duration. It also includes service in the armed forces of any government associated with the United States during the qualifying periods.

War Periods for Purposes of Veterans’ Benefits

Table 1 shows the post-1940 wars and operations that qualify as wartime service for purposes of war service benefits under state law and the conditions under which the veteran must serve. In most cases, eligibility is conditioned on the veteran having served in a combat or combat-support role in the country where the war took place. But service in the Persian Gulf War does not require service in a combat or combat-support role or in the Persian Gulf and includes service in Somalia, Bosnia, or Operation Desert Storm, among other areas and operations.

-Table 1 continued-

Active Service

State law does not define “active service. ” In the absence of a definition, state agencies responsible for providing veterans’ benefits appear to use the federal definition. Federal law defines (1) “active service” as active duty or full-time National Guard duty and (2) “active duty” as full-time duty in the active military service of the United States (10 USC § 101(d)(3) & 10 USC § 101(d)(1)). Veterans applying for a tuition waiver must submit a DD Form 214, which the Department of Defense issues to military members upon separation from active service and a DD 256, which shows whether the veteran was discharged under, honorable, dishonorable, or under other than honorable conditions.

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