For-Profit Schools Bank $521M Off Veterans’ G.I. Bill Benefits

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.truth-out.org/for-profit-schools-bank-521m-off-veterans%E2%80%99-gi-bill-benefits65869?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter


The growing question around for-profit schools’ shameless profiteering may soon be: who aren’t they willing to exploit? Poor, underserved populations, check. Which end up being disproportionately made up of people of color, check. The homeless and unemployed, check. The military? Got them too. A new report released today by Sen. Tom Harkin’s Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee details exactly how for-profit schools have taken advantage of veterans’ benefits and loopholes in their federal regulations to scoop up the many vets coming home from wars abroad to boost enrollment.

Veterans have been a boon to for-profit schools—their increased military benefits have made service members especially attractive prospective clients. “Between 2009 and 2010 alone, revenue from military educational benefits at 20 for-profit education companies increased 211 percent,” said the report. In the last four years, 20 for-profit schools saw their income from VA and Department of Defense benefits skyrocket—from $66.6 million in 2006 to $521.2 million in 2010, a 683 percent inrease.

“Congress may have unintentionally subjected this new generation of veterans to the worst excesses of the for-profit industry: manipulative and misleading marketing campaigns, educational programs far more expensive than comparable public or nonprofit programs, and a lack of needed services.”

Federal regulations bar for-profit schools from receiving more than 90 percent of their revenue from federal student loans and grants. Many schools are already perilously close to maxing out there. But money from the G.I. Bill and other VA benefits aren’t considered federal student aid, which has allowed them to fully exploit the newly expanded benefits.

More at the link --

[elehhhhna]

1. U of Phoenix is owned by THE CARLYLE GROUP.

'nuff said.

[Donnachaidh]

2. oh shit. Did not know that. n/t

[elehhhhna]

5. they own more than 1 for profit "University" -- all of which suck, btw,

AND they own frikkin Dunkin Donuts.

[Kat45]

6. Nooooooooo! Not Dunkin Donuts! That sucks. n/t

[scarletwoman]

3. 90% of their revenue!?! Why even bother with "regulation"?

Federal regulations bar for-profit schools from receiving more than 90 percent of their revenue from federal student loans and grants.

Nice scam they've got going, enit.

:grr:

[Iris]

4. well, if not-for-profits schools would quit making students take history and sciene and all that

stuff that has nothing to do with business management, then there'd be no "market" for this.

:sarcasm:

[Starry Messenger]

7. recommend.

I was just reading a Jessica Mitford article from 1970 about correspondence schools doing this with money from the GI Bill back in the day. Looks like nothing has changed.

[sammytko]

8. It kind of works both ways - I can get a 1200 a month stipend for 6 hrs.

They pay my tuition and books. It is very generous. Well, I usually take 9 hrs and 3 of those are on-line. If you are strictly on-line you do not get the stipend, but that is going to change, and boy you will really see enrollments increase!

The stipend varies depending on where you live.

I can't believe that guy is paying them back. That school should have a VA coordinator and they will not let you sign up for courses not on a degree plan and will not let the school enroll you if your paperwork is not in order. If he talks to the right people, he can take care of this.

That is the thing, so many do not know how to run through the red tape. Which is weird, since that is all there is in the military.