By The quality of education provided by the major universities that focus on military students is something that has always concerned me in regards to whether the military is really getting their money’s worth?
For-profit colleges aggressively targeting student veterans doubled and in some cases nearly tripled the amount of GI Bill funding they took in last year, a trend lawmakers called disturbing and potentially predatory.
“Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are becoming increasingly vulnerable to being recruited into high-cost, low-quality for-profit colleges,” said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “That’s not what we want for our veterans.”
New data from the committee released Thursday shows dramatic spikes in GI Bill money being funneled to companies like Education Management Corp., ITT, and DeVry.
University of Phoenix, the number one recipient of GI Bill dollars in the 2010-2011 school year, pulled in roughly $210 million in veterans education benefits, nearly triple the $77 million it collected a year earlier.
For-profits made up eight of the top 10 schools receiving GI Bill benefits last school year, together amassing more than $1 billion. In the 2009-2010 school year, those eight companies got less than $400 million in GI Bill funds.
At issue is the so-called “90-10 rule,” which requires all universities get at least 10 percent of their funding from nongovernment money. The rule was intended to keep companies from siphoning profits out of government education benefits. But GI Bill benefits aren’t counted as federal funds under the statue.
The result, critics charge, is that for-profit schools can lure veterans into classes with the promise of a “free” education, then pocket extra federal money. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read much more at the link on how the scam works.
I once had a senior NCO in my unit that finished 3 masters degrees in two years using the online colleges. I have to wonder about the quality of education one is receiving when getting that many degrees that quick. It looked great on his NCOER and that is all that matters for some people who sign up for these courses.
It seems like to me the easiest way to address this issue is that a student has to actually sit in a class to receive the tuition assistance. Anyone else have any better ideas?
7:56 pm on September 23rd, 2011 1
There is a frontline documentary on netflix called college inc. That explains the for profit education system. What is worse about colleges that target military is that many are unaccredited. Onthe civilian side for profits will by run down accredited schools for 10m or less and then can make good returns by converting them to online schools.
8:43 pm on September 23rd, 2011 2
You’re right to be concerned about the quality of education being offered by these schools, which can be surprisingly expensive when compared to distance education programmes offered by reputable institutions, more so when you compare the quality of education you get and how little valued the degrees are in the eyes of employers (let’s put it this way, everybody has seen the University of Such and Such’s online banners).
“I once had a senior NCO in my unit that finished 3 masters degrees in two years using the online colleges. ”
…or so he claimed, right? Even if it’s true, a distance education masters degree from a good university takes minimum 2 years to complete the modules alone and you can add 6 months to a year on top of that complete your dissertation.
10:31 pm on September 23rd, 2011 3
~ Public and private universities of all types make a LOT of money of of GI Bill money, and even more off of the devil inspired student loan programs.
~ Public and private universities continually raise tuition year after year at rates that FAR exceed that of inflation. This money is pocketed by administrators, educrates and their paymasters in the student loanshark industry.
~ The quality of education from some of these schools is no better or worse than a lot of ‘public’ or ‘private’ schools. Several of these for profit schools actually have a higher post graduation employment rate and post graduation salary rate than a typical brick and morter type.
~ I have a masters degree from a state university (University of Arizona) and am looking at a second from a non-traditional university.
~ A masters degree from a decent university can be completed in one year. Same as a masters degree from an online university. Many universities that offer a masters degree are on military bases and can be completed in one year. These would include Troy, Chapman, Park, Embry-Riddle. It is a route that many officers (AF types at least) use to occupy their time on short tours to Korea etc…
~ I work with a lot of PhDs from Ivy League schools and can tell you without a doubt that they are most of the time some of the most clueless individuals one has ever met.
~ A smart GI will take advantage of a local community college to get all their basic classes finished (hopefully getting an AA in the process.) If one is in the Air Force they can get a CCAF AS as well pretty quickly.
~ An education of any sort is no guarantee of employment, neither is it a reflection of intellect.
2:40 am on September 24th, 2011 4
Don’t confuse Tuition Assistance funded education with GI Bill funded. The Tuition Assistance administrators provide an intervention to protect student from unscrupulous schools and from themselves. First, they would only pay for courses at accredited universities. Second, they should provide advice and evaluation services to make sure the students are ready for the courses they are signing up for. When students go looking for programs with GI Bill money they don’t have those protections.
When 65% of students are washing out it says to me at least the schools at adhering to some standards and not just handing out diplomas, and maybe the students weren’t adequately screened and prepared. Did they meet entrance requirements and prerequisites? The students should accept some responsibility when they don’t have the proper motivation and attitude. I am sure there are rip off schools out there but these numbers don’t clearly show how much of the problem they are.
One of the things the president tried to say after the economy collapsed was our future jobs will require new skills and we should seek retraining to prepare for them. I would like to see where our education institutions have been placing more emphasis on preparing students for that.
My last comment is on online education. I think it can be useful as a supplement to an education but not for a full education. It can not provide you with the interaction and communication skills necessary to demonstrate that you are educated. A classroom education provides you with the opportunity to develop extemporaneous speaking abilities you won’t get from online education. A potential employed can determine in less than 5 minutes of the interview how well you can communicate your knowledge of whatever you claim to be educated in. It’s like the student who has studied a foreign language for years and knows all the vocabulary and grammar and able to read and write it but never actually had to use it in a conversation.
2:44 am on September 24th, 2011 5
correction @4: “A potential employed” -> “A potential employer”
6:38 am on September 25th, 2011 6
“A masters degree from a decent university can be completed in one year. Same as a masters degree from an online university.”
Yes, on campus it’s possible to complete a masters in one year depending on the degree you’re getting…But, distance education? Not if you’re getting your degree from a reputable school.
10:44 am on September 26th, 2011 7
“Is the GI Bill Being Scammed By Some Colleges?”
I knew the answer would be yes even before reading the article.