ms. baechtold. if you could describe to us the average student veteran at iu, what is their experience like in transitioning to college life compared to an average 18-year-old freshman coming into school? >> mr. chairman, i would be hard-pressed to define an average student veteran. every one of them is so unique in their situation, in their needs, in their experiences, and how those experiences have impacted them and what that means for them as they now transition into their civilian life that it -- we really think of them across an entire spectrum of experiences. we do find that as they come to school they have a greater focus on education. they have a different value on edge indication than perhaps the average traditional 18-year-old freshman student might have. they tend to be very interested in their success there. they tend to be very concerned about their finances. they tend to be fairly reticent to seek assistance, even when they know they need it because they come from a tradition where tha

ms. baechtold, did you have a comment i think you wanted to make? >> i just wanted to respond a little bit more to mr. walz's question. it's been baffling to school certifying officials, for example, that we can get full eligibility and payment information for almost every other chapter except the post-9/11 gi bill that is and has always been accessible to us through the va interface that we use to report information to the va. it appears it's a combination of perhaps misplaced privacy concerns since we obviously are entitled to that information for every other chapter and limitations on i.t. systems that may have other priorities right now. but pretty soon this needs to become a priority or we will not be able to continue to do many of the things and provide many of the things we do on our campuses. thank you. >> thank you. i've got just a couple of other questions. mr. gunderson, you mentioned ecpi university. and it sounds like they're have a lot of success. i mean in -- is there something that they're doing differently that we should be paying a

ms. baechtold, you are recognized for five minutes. >> chairman stutzmann, ranking member braley and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on behalf of the national association of veterans program administrators regarding executive order 13607. again, my name is margaret baechtold. over five years i have served a as the director of veteran support services at indiana university. a veteran myself, i retire affidavit 20 years of service, and i now also the legislative director for navpa. navpa is comprised of 400 educational institutions from all education sectors, and we advocate for what we believe are the best interest of student veterans at our institutions. our expertise lies in the administration of veterans programs at colleges, universities, and other education providers. our leadership is comprise odd of of nonpaid staff members in an effort to better serve the veterans on our campuses. s a voluntary organization, navpa does not police its policy. our mission is to provide professional development to member institutions, collect and disseminate be