Senators worry for-profit schools cheat vets - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Senators worry for-profit schools cheat vets

A congressional report about possible abuses of federal financial aid by for-profit colleges and universities has prompted two key senators to ask whether service members and veterans are really getting a quality education when they use GI Bill education benefits and military tuition assistance.

The request for a review comes from Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., the chief architect of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate’s assistant Democratic leader.

A report by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found enrollment at for-profit colleges and universities has grown by 225 percent in the last decade — partly because the schools give extra attention to signing up service members and veterans, and offer perks like flexible schedules and distance learning that make them attractive to current and former service members.

An undercover investigation by the congressional investigators found fraudulent and deceptive marketing tactics at all 15 schools visited by GAO auditors.

“Our covert testing at 15 for-profit colleges found that four colleges encouraged fraudulent practices, such as encouraging students to submit false information about their financial status. In addition, all 15 colleges made some type of deceptive or otherwise questionable statement to undercover applicants, such as misrepresenting the applicant’s likely salary after graduation and not providing clear information about the college’s graduation rate,” GAO’s Gregory Kutz said in Wednesday testimony before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

The 15 schools were not identified in the report.

The fraudulent practices did not involve cheating on military or veterans’ education benefits, but Webb and Durbin said they are concerned about other potential issues, such as for-profit schools encouraging people to take classes that do little to help them get a college degree or find future employment.

In letters to the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments, Webb and Durbin ask how the agencies screen schools to determine if military and veterans benefits should be used and what kind of follow-up is done to track graduation rates.

“We have heard reports that some for-profit institutions may be aggressively targeting service members and veterans, signing them up for educational programs that may bring little benefit to future employment opportunities, low graduation rates and high default rates,” the two senators wrote.

Adding to their worries are recent complaints about excessive tuition at some for-profit schools. Seven of the top 10 recipients of Post-9/11 GI Bill funding were for-profit schools, according to congressional aides.

From the Defense Department, the two senators want to learn how much tuition assistance money has gone to for-profit schools in the last decade and how schools are approved to receive the money. While the Defense Department requires schools receiving money to be accredited, each of the services has it own regulations.

Webb and Durbin also want to know if military rules prohibit offering free laptops or other gifts as enrollment inducements. They also want to see graduation and dropout rates by school, and rates for job placement if that information is available. And they want the Pentagon to provide loan default rates and a report on whether credits earned at for-profit schools can be transferred.

From VA, the senators also want information on how much has been paid in veterans’ education benefits over the last decade to for-profit schools, and about whether VA monitors or regulates the marketing pitches given to veterans — plus graduation and dropout rates, loan defaults, and information on any problems transferring to other schools.

One of VA’s requirements for a school to participate in the GI Bill program is approval by a state approving agency. Webb and Durbin want VA to be more involved that process, and ask whether there have been incidents where veterans or VA have been cheated.