VETERANS ROUNDTABLE on HIGHER EDUCATION:
WRITTEN STATEMENT OF ZACK FENTON
Army Veteran; Resident of Colorado Springs, CO

U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Hearing Room
December 8, 2025

My name is Zack Fenton. I’m an Army veteran. I want to share my experience as a student at IntelliTec College.

Enrolled in early 2020 in the automotive repair program. I had been an ESL teacher before but found it easier to work with my hands after the Army

Told admissions I specifically wanted a light diesel course as advertised in school materials.

But after enrolling, discovered the course did not exist.

The school also promised to apply my JST credits—but never did.

I took two classes: A basic “how to learn” class – perhaps helpful for someone uncomfortable with formal education, but I had the aforementioned JST and other college credits which, again, they never applied.

Then I started the automotive repair class. Teachers did not know the material well enough to teach it, perhaps I was unusually qualified having received flight training but I knew the unit for torque and the theoretical side of the material better than the instructors. The books contained significant errors, test answer keys contradicted the books.

No corrections were made, and students were not given credit for using the information in the provided books. I withdrew quickly because the quality was self-evidently significantly lacking

When I withdrew, the school threatened additional astronomical fees that I’d ostensibly have to pay out of pocket.

At the end, I wrote this organization after the school billed the department around $10,000 for essentially one unnecessary poor-quality class. They’re getting paid top dollar to advertise and lie.

Since then, I’ve pursued my passion for botany, bonsai, and gardening. One of my neighbors, Marilyn, is a master gardener. She’s a real wealth of knowledge, but she’s getting up there at about 93 so I help her out with some of her gardening. I’ve looked into the course to become a master gardener. It’s offered by the Colorado State University Extension and *only* costs $495.

The extension offers numerous other professional certifications at around the same cost. I’m doing well enough and that wouldn’t break the bank, but for many the help there would be critical. I think as it is, they make it easier to sign up at one of these overhyped, exorbitant so-called trade schools than to get into good value, highly regarded certification programs like this.  And it probably shouldn’t be.

Thank you for your time.

Statement_Zack Fenton