The Yellow Ribbon Program

The deadline to submit the Yellow Ribbon Program agreement for the 2012 - 2013 academic year and subsequent years is May 15, 2012. Please see the following documents explaining changes to the agreement, the due date of submission, and procedures for subsequent years.

Cover Letter for 2012 Yellow Ribbon Program Agreement

2012 Yellow Ribbon Program Agreement Form

Note: The Yellow Ribbon Program agreement does not permit entering “Unlimited” in field 8A, only numbers, due to an error. This will be corrected as soon as possible. In the meantime, please enter "99,999" in that field if you intend to indicate “Unlimited.”

Checklist for VA Form 22-0839

Frequently Asked Questions for schools about the Yellow Ribbon Program

The Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program (Yellow Ribbon Program) is a provision of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. This program allows institutions of higher learning (degree granting institutions) in the United States to voluntarily enter into an agreement with VA to fund tuition expenses that exceed either the annual maximum cap for private institutions or the resident tuition and fees for a public institution. The institution can contribute up to 50% of those expenses and VA will match the same amount as the institution.

The Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) must agree to:

  • Provide contributions to eligible individuals who apply for the Yellow Ribbon Program on a first-come first-served basis, regardless of the rate at which the individual is pursuing training in any given academic year;
  • Provide contributions during the current academic year and all subsequent academic years in which the IHL is participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program and the student maintains satisfactory progress, conduct, and attendance;
  • Make contributions toward the program on behalf of the individual in the form of a grant, scholarship, etc;
  • State the dollar amount that will be contributed for each participant during the academic year;
  • State the maximum number of individuals for whom contributions will be made in any given academic year.