The Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education hosted a Brown Bag forum Wednesday to discuss the G.I. Bill among postsecondary education leaders and policymakers.
Beth Stransky, WISCAPE project assistant and post-graduate of UW-Madison, presented the forum entitled ""The G.I. Bill and the Changing Nature of State-University Relations.""
Stransky researched the effects of the G.I. Bill on UW-Madison from 1946 to 1952. According to Stransky, when the G.I. Bill was passed, it covered $500 per school year for tuition and supplies for veterans.
Unlike other policies at the time, the G.I. Bill was a ""student-centered program"" with money given directly to veterans. Stransky said the total benefits of the G.I. Bill would amount to $100 billion in 2006 dollars.
""The G.I. Bill resulted in a veteran student explosion at UW-Madison,"" Stransky said. ""In 1944, the student body consisted of 6,500 students, which increased to 20,000 students by 1947. Sixty percent of the student body was veterans.""
Stransky added this explosion created many challenges for the university including inadequate classrooms for students, faculty and housing shortages, and curriculum issues. In addition, the university lacked the funds to make all changes necessary for students, resulting in the need for the state to come up with the funds.
""The G.I. Bill created changes that neither the state nor university could support alone,"" Stransky said. ""The implementation of federal legislation has local consequences. What would be considered temporary can become permanent.""
The G.I. Bill is part of the reason UW-Madison is the way it is today. Under the changes of the G.I. Bill, the university provided student housing, hired tenured faculty and added degree programs—student benefits that would have been unfair to take away from students.
According to Stransky, the G.I. Bill was a success for students because there was an increase in access to higher education. She offered mixed conclusions for the university and the state.
""The university adapted to changing circumstances,"" Stransky said. ""They rallied some, but not all, funds necessary for survival. The state found funds to support the university and used its political capacity to set the agenda.""
The State of Wisconsin G.I. Bill was passed in 2005.
