Post-9/11 GI Bill-Eligible Enlisted Veterans’ Enrollment and Outcomes at Public Flagship Institutions, With a Focus on The Great Lakes Region

Never before has there been an assessment of the outcomes associated with the critical federal investment in the Post-9/11 GI Bill (PGIB) for American veterans. Thanks to an historic interagency effort to merge previously siloed federal data, we were able to examine how recent military service members from all branches are using their PGIB benefits, along with their outcomes and earnings. This analysis was possible due to unprecedented access to federal data and interagency  cooperation. The need for federal agencies to share data about veterans and the PGIB was singled out over the past decade by the bipartisan Congressional Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking, by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and by a White House executive order. ¹