Higher Ed News (we’re not in)

For some flight schools that train helicopter pilots, the GI Bill that took effect in 2009 was a windfall the government never intended. Helicopter schools had been struggling financially, and the bill excluded them from direct funding. But after finding a loophole in the law that allows them to train military veterans completely at government expense, with no cap on what they can charge, the schools rapidly expanded. They now collect tens of millions a year in taxpayer dollars.

The United States spends untold millions on workforce training programs. Many don’t help people find jobs.

The complaint was one of more than a dozen provided in response to a public records request about Liberty that was filed with the Veterans Affairs department’s GI Bill Feedback Tool and shared with ProPublica. [...]

A college oversight agency that signed off several large for-profit colleges accused of defrauding students, and one seemingly without students or faculty, remains in business despite the federal government's repeated attempts to limit its power. [...]

The nonprofit school used its status-symbol image to attract students across the country, including low-income minority students it targeted for recruitment, often with aggressive tactics. Most students piled on debt to afford the tuition, which [...]

Two universities are eyeing the chance to be the first to build a medical school in one of the few states without one. The jockeying of the two schools to open campuses in Montana — [...]

A new research article identifies the strengths that students who are military veterans bring with them to higher education. Katie Sullivan and Kay Yoon, both associate professors of communication at the University of Colorado at [...]

As the coronavirus pandemic forces schools and college campuses to go online, the delivery model of education — largely unchanged for centuries — has suddenly been disrupted. This may seem like the acceleration of a [...]

"Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently announced that House Democrats would put forward their own legislation to provide coronavirus relief and industry bailout money, but an early Senate Republican version of the bill included [...]

State lawmakers hope this year to place new regulations on for-profit colleges operating in Maryland, a third straight year of new regulations for an industry that has seen more favorable regulatory actions from the federal [...]

"A $43-million loss last year was due in part to marketing costs. And the institution expects to turn a profit this year." Read the full story by the Chronicle of Higher Education, "Purdue Global Has [...]

"The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and School (ACICS), a troubled national accreditor that had its federal status revoked under the Obama administration, is no longer seeking recognition from the main private association that vets [...]

"Only two months into pursuing his dream to be a sound engineer, David Gross knew he’d made a mistake. The single father in 2013 signed up at a for-profit college in Burbank that convinced him [...]

Grand Forks Herald "Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison wants a now-defunct chain of for-profit colleges to liquidate its remaining assets to repay the students it defrauded. Ellison’s office filed a motion in U.S. bankruptcy court [...]

Cameron Newberry always knew he wanted to go to college, but felt he needed to serve his country before jumping back to his studies. This led the 23-year-old to serve in the Marine Corps from [...]

New government data shows which college degrees are instantly paying off and which ones leave graduates loaded with debt but skimpy income. Some of the examples are striking. Bismarck State College can now boast its business [...]

The owner of a technical training school pleaded guilty Wednesday to defrauding nearly $30 million worth of benefits over a three-year period from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Federal authorities discovered an elaborate scheme at [...]

Jose Diaz-Buttler, a trained mechanic three years removed from the Navy, was seeking steady work in the Bay Area when the 2008 financial crisis hit. After initially contacting Heald College, a nearby for-profit school, to [...]

Lawmakers pushing for a dramatic change to the federal Pell Grant program have for months sought to placate liberal critics by arguing that new money wouldn’t go to for-profit colleges. Legislation dubbed the JOBS Act [...]

An investigation into Premier Education Group shows how for-profit schools with questionable track records are able to fly under the enforcement radar. Read more.

The top Republican on a House Veterans' Affairs subcommittee said Wednesday he wants to work with Democrats to expand protections for student veterans faced with abrupt school closures. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), the ranking Republican on the [...]

"In his budget proposal, Governor Cuomo has proposed a number of new regulations on for-profit colleges and universities. We took a deep dive into the issue with Yan Cao, Century Foundation fellow; Pamela Lanich, Western [...]

"Millions of dollars have gone toward educating student veterans at ineligible, delinquent schools, due to inadequate oversight by state-based agencies in charge of approving school programs for GI Bill funds, a recent audit by the Department [...]

As Americans look to build the skills they need for the fast-changing job market, a new type of education provider has swept onto the scene: the coding boot camp, an intensive, short-term training program for [...]

"The battle got so testy that Senator Tom Harkin, the Iowa Democrat who has led Congressional hearings into the colleges, got into a heated exchange with Avy Stein, the Education Corporation investor. The senator said [...]