The Drexel University Center for Graduate Studies in Sacramento announced today it will participate in the new GI Bill’s Yellow Ribbon Program, a tuition scholarship program benefiting veterans of the nation’s armed forces who have served since the terrorist attacks on our country on Sept. 11, 2001. The partnership between the federal government and Drexel means that eligible veterans will be able to take Drexel courses and receive Drexel degrees without paying any tuition or fees, while receiving a living stipend of approximately $1,700 per month. Unlike many institutions participating in the new program, Drexel is among a small group of universities with no cap on the number of veterans who may enroll. The university’s contribution allows veterans who meet government and university admissions requirements to receive a completely free education at the Graduate Center, located at One Capitol Mall in Sacramento, in any one of Drexel’s 10 master’s and one doctoral degree programs. “We are proud to be able to give back to those who have served our country so well,” said Carl “Tobey” Oxholm III, dean of Drexel’s Sacramento campus. “A graduate education at Drexel will help our veterans master the substantive knowledge and practical skills they need to succeed in careers that are at the heart of this region’s economic engine.” This program also benefits veterans wishing to attend Drexel’s main campus in Philadelphia for undergraduate as well as graduate programs, as well as those who prefer to pursue their educations entirely on-line, where Drexel offers more than 70 different programs. The Yellow Ribbon program was authorized by Congress under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 and becomes effective Aug. 1, 2009. The Department of Veterans Affairs expects 460,000 veterans to participate during the first year of the program. VA officials anticipate a 20 to 25 percent increase in the total number of applications for veteran’s educational programs. According to the VA, veterans are eligible if they an aggregate period of active duty after Sept. 10, 2001, of at least 36 months or if they were honorably discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability and served 30 continuous days after Sept. 10, 2001. For information on the new GI Bill and specific benefit questions, visit http://www.gibill.va.gov/ or contact the Department of Veterans Affairs at (888) 442-4551. For more information about using military benefits to fund a Drexel education, visit www.drexel.edu/sacramento or call 325-4600 or (888) 389-3781. Drexel opened its doors to students in Sacramento on Jan. 5, 2009 and is offering 10 master’s and one doctoral program in careers at the heart of Greater Sacramento’s growth and economic development initiatives – entrepreneurial business, knowledge management and information science, engineering, health care and education. The Center for Graduate Studies’ initial master’s programs include: business administration, higher education, information systems and library and information science. In September 2009, the university will add six master’s programs in: engineering management; nursing education and faculty role; nursing leadership in health systems management; public health; science of instruction; human resource development; and a doctorate in higher education leadership and management. Drexel holds information sessions at the center every two weeks at 6 p.m. The next sessions are Wednesday, July 8 and Tuesday, July 21, at One Capitol Mall. To learn more about applying for fall programs in Sacramento, visit www.drexel.edu/sacramento or call 325-4600 or (888) 389-3781.