For higher education leaders and professionals in student-facing roles, understanding how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) educational benefits work for military-affiliated students can make a big difference for those navigating courses that are not covered by the VA, but needed for graduation. VA educational benefits restrict how students can take remedial or developmental classes by mandating in-person requirements rather than including online options. Policy awareness and supporting military-friendly student retention initiatives lead to better outcomes and academic success.

The Online Remedial or Developmental Coursework Barrier

Nearly 150,000 people join the military each year and approximately 200,000 separate and transition back to civilian life. While many enroll in college during their service, only about 5-10% of active-duty enlisted servicemembers complete a degree. Why? Military students are nontraditional learners with more obstacles such as deployments, PCS moves, and military duties that must come first.

For many, it has been years since taking college-level math, reading, or writing. College test placement scores typically expire after two years. Sometimes veterans need to take remedial or development coursework or are required to do so by colleges and universities in order to start or continue in their programs. However, VA educational benefits only cover these courses in face-to-face formats. Until Title 38, U.S. Code is amended to allow the payment of Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bill for the online delivery of these courses, veterans cannot use their earned benefits flexibly. Currently, they are required to take these courses in person even when they attend fully online programs, live far from campus, work full time, have disabilities, or online, academically valid equivalents exist.

This impacts veteran students enrolled in online programs, working veterans, veteran parents, disabled veterans, rural veterans, Reserve and National Guard subject to deployment/relocation, and eligible DEA beneficiaries. Veterans who must start in remedial/developmental coursework lose educational access, which affects veteran student retention, delays academic progress and graduation, and ultimately impacts veteran workforce employment or transition due to the in-person requirement.

What to Know About VA Educational Benefits Coverage

Policy legislation on online remedial or developmental coursework needs to be modernized and updated to expand course format options and better align with ADA inclusion and accessibility compliance. VA educational benefits do not cover remedial or online courses. These types of courses are required to be taken in-person to qualify for certification and payment. Current policies may feel exclusionary and outdated because they are.

The data tells a clear story about where we are headed.

Veteran students are often older, nontraditional students who work full-time (or career transitioners) and take care of families. While data is limited on the veteran population with PTSD/anxiety barriers to classroom environments, the Journal of Veterans Studies reported that veteran students diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety had difficulties in physical classroom environments. Additionally, Pew research showed about 3 out of 4 (72%) of undergraduate student veterans took at least some courses online, and more than 1 in 5 (22%) enrolled exclusively online. Their Online Education Among Veteran Students report showed that H.R. 3753: The Expanding Access for Online Veteran Students Act has already been introduced in 2025 to allow full BAH for exclusively online veteran students.

Here are more facts to consider when working with veterans and military-affiliated students using benefits.

• Veterans Education Project shows veteran online enrollment trends have been increasing overall for years with 15.1% of veterans enrolling exclusively online, which suggests the importance of online access to the veteran student population.
• The U.S. Census Bureau reported 30% of veterans (estimated 5.5 million by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,) have a service-connected disability. Peer-reviewed studies show that service-connected disabled veterans access their educational benefits at a higher rate than non-disabled veterans when accessible.
• Veterans Education Success reported nearly 33% of first-time college student veterans reported also having a disability. Walden University research showed added barriers for disabled veterans with physical and/or mental impairments, affecting the most vulnerable veteran population. The Office of Health Equity Veterans Health Administration Department of Veterans Affairs reported thousands with mobility limitations.

The landscape today shows that many veteran students opt for online education either partially or fully to achieve their program goals. The data additionally reveals that the veteran student population with disabilities would benefit from more accessible online education options.

What Can Higher Education Institutions Do Now?

Colleges and universities do not have to wait until VA educational benefits are modernized to support veterans with the option to take remedial or developmental coursework online. Higher education professionals proactively working directly with students can help them build pathways, provide information about additional funding options, or external resources such as CLEP or the Global Military Learning Network, which does not satisfy remedial class requirements but it does offer free refreshers to veterans who may be able to test directly into college-level classes. Institutional grants and scholarships can also help offset costs.

Colleges and universities can also partner with nonprofits, governmental entities, and veteran service organizations to advocate for legislation to expand online educational access. It is not just the responsibility of school certifying officials to share awareness regarding the restrictions. Additionally, more data is needed to specifically show the impact on veterans and other military-affiliated students taking online remedial or developmental classes. Collectively, higher education institutions can help expand access for veteran students needing remedial or developmental courses online by working together to share the data, address funding gaps, promote legislative advocacy, and provide proactive outreach.

Article Topics

Policy News Serving Military in HigherEd Veterans Academic Success

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