113 HR 1251 IH: Veteran Excellence Through Education Act of 2013
U.S. House of Representatives
2013-03-19
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EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the
Veteran Excellence Through Education Act of
2013
.
2.Department of
Veterans Affairs grants to minority serving institutions to address social and
academic problems facing veterans
(a)The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs may make grants to minority serving institutions for the
purpose of establishing verified delivery systems to address social and
academic problems facing veterans enrolled at such institutions.
(b)The recipient of a grant under this section shall use the
grant funds to carry out any of the following activities for veterans enrolled
at the institution receiving the grant:
(1)Providing
education services, including post-secondary education, courses in English as a
second language, general education development preparation, financial literacy
workshops and courses, generational diversity awareness programs, and health
and wellness programs.
(2)Activities
designed to increase access to workforce services, including on-job training,
internships, skills training, job placement, and personal development.
(3)Other types of
support services, including health and nutrition services, housing assistance,
transportation, and child care.
(4)Establishing a
center for veteran student success on the campus of the institution to provide
a single point of contact to coordinate comprehensive support services for
veterans who are enrolled in a program of education offered by the
institution.
(5)Establishing a veteran support team,
including representatives from the offices of the institution responsible for
admissions, registration, financial aid, veterans benefits, academic advising,
student health, personal or mental health counseling, career advising, and
disabilities services, and any other office of the institution that provides
support to veteran students on campus.
(6)Providing a coordinator whose primary
responsibility is to coordinate the activities carried out under the
grant.
(7)Monitoring the
rates of enrollment, persistence, and completion of veterans who are enrolled
in a program of education offered by the institution.
(8)Developing a plan
to sustain a center described in paragraph (4) after the institution no longer
receives funds under this section.
(9)Providing outreach
to veterans to encourage them to enroll in a program of education offered by
the institution.
(10)Providing
supportive instructional services for veterans enrolled in a program of
education offered by the institution, including—
(A)personal,
academic, and career counseling;
(B)tutoring and
academic skill-building assistance; and
(C)assistance with
special admissions and transferring credits from previously attended
institutions of higher learning or other relevant credits.
(11)Providing
assistance to veterans admitted for enrollment in a program of education
offered by the institution in obtaining student financial aid.
(12)Providing housing
support for veterans enrolled in a program of education offered by the
institution who live in institutional facilities or who commute.
(13)Academic
programs, orientation programs, and other activities designed to ease the
transition to campus life for such veterans.
(14)Support for
veteran student organizations and veteran student support groups at the
institution.
(15)Coordination of
academic advising and admissions counseling with military installations and
national guard units located in the same geographic area as the
institution.
(16)Other support services the institution
determines necessary to ensure the success of veterans enrolled in a program of
education offered by the institution in achieving educational and career
goals.
(c)To
be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a minority serving
institution shall submit to the Secretary an application containing a program
plan containing a strategy for meeting the needs of veterans enrolled in the
institution. Such a plan shall include—
(1)an identification
of the population to be served;
(2)an identification
of the education and employment needs of the population to be served and the
manner in which the activities proposed to be provided using grant funds are
designed to strengthen the ability of such individuals to achieve their higher
education goals;
(3)a description of the activities proposed to
be provided using grant funds and the manner in which such activities would be
integrated with other appropriate activities carried out by or at the
institution; and
(4)a description, developed in consultation
with the Secretary, of the performance measures proposed to be used to assess
the performance of the institution in carrying out activities using grant
funds.
(d)In this section:
(1)The term
minority serving institution means a historically Black college or
university, a Hispanic-serving institution, a Tribal College or University, or
a Predominantly Black Institution.
(2)The term
historically Black college has the meaning given the term
part B institution as defined in section 322(2) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)).
(3)The term
Hispanic-serving institution has the meaning given that term in as
section 502(a)(5) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)(5)).
(4)The term
Tribal College or University has the meaning given that term in
section 316(b)(3) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3)).
(5)The term
Predominantly Black Institution has the meaning given that term in
section Predominantly Black Institution has the meaning given that term in
section 318(b)(6)of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1059e(b)(6)).
(e)The
Secretary may only make a grant under this section during fiscal years 2014
through 2019.