Listen to the audio here Public News Service January 11, 2021 RICHMOND, Va. -- Thousands of veterans in Virginia and across the nation now have additional educational support with the signing of landmark legislation that [...]

"What you’re seeing within this population is similar to what you’re seeing in other student populations, especially for post-traditional students," said Tanya Ang, vice president of Veterans Education Success. Read the full story by Inside [...]

Aniela Szymanski, senior director for legal affairs and military policy with Veterans Education Success, says vets should be able to use benefits from both GI Bills if their service qualifies them. “I don’t understand, from [...]

But for veterans’ families, “The consequences are huge,” says Aniela Szymanski, senior director for legal affairs and military policy for Veterans Education Success, a not-for-profit that helps vets. For some vets, serving longer so they [...]

“VA is paying out these benefits expecting that DOD is going to hold the service member to the extent of the contract,” said Aniela Szymanski, senior director for legal affairs and military policy at Veterans [...]

COVID-19 “will definitely be an opportunity for for-profit schools to capitalize on high unemployment, on people who may have delayed their educations in order to take job opportunities that might not exist anymore and see [...]

Signatories on the letter to the Massachusetts legislature in support of the bill include the Student Loan Borrower Protection Center, the Massachusetts Teacher’s Association, Veterans Education Success, and Consumer Reports, as well as the heads [...]

Many for-profit colleges have ramped up their social media ads during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report. The nonprofit group, Veterans Education Success, released the report that looked at the use of social [...]

A new report released Wednesday from Veterans Education Success found a significant increase in college advertising related to the coronavirus pandemic, encouraging students to reconsider their short-term learning plans given many school’s decisions to shift to online-only [...]

Consumer advocates and critics of for-profit education echoed many reservations expressed by Arizona faculty members about Ashford's reputation. "We have serious concerns about this deal," said Carrie Wofford, president of Veterans Education Success. "Just last [...]

In recent weeks, a pair of veterans advocates — National Veterans Legal Services Program and Veterans Education Success — filed briefs of support in the case, arguing the more generous interpretation of GI Bill payouts [...]

"Veterans and military service organizations have named closing the 90-10 loophole as their top priority in higher education. We are pleased to see House Appropriators heeding the call of veterans and military service organizations. We [...]

Ang says lawmakers have been active in their support of more oversight of for-profit colleges. "We have worked really hard with both sides of the aisle to find a bipartisan bill that would protect military-connected [...]

Hometown Stations TV Interview: "Tasha Berkhalter has traveled to Washington D.C. and been interviewed by big-city media in her mission to get veterans education that they need at no cost."

The move comes just a few months after the agency warned the schools they would be cut off from access to GI Bill benefits if they continued to use false data and predatory tactics aimed [...]

But the response received by David Boyer, a former ITT student, is more typical. It included a long list of evidence the agency said it had considered, including submissions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, [...]

But a veterans’ advocacy group says the VA’s decision amounts to an attempt to “ignore federal law in order to protect predatory colleges.” “The only winners today are the schools that used their money and [...]

Veterans’ groups immediately slammed the decision. “The only winners today are the schools that used their money and political influence to evade the law and harm veterans,” said Carrie Wofford, President of Veterans Education Success, a veteran advocacy organization. “The GI Bill statute specifically [...]

“The only winners today are the schools that used their money and political influence to evade the law and harm veterans,” said Veterans Education Success President Carrie Wofford. “We appreciate the staff at Veterans Benefits [...]

But Tanya Ang, vice president of the advocacy group Veterans Education Success, called the decision “disappointing at best, but not surprising given how much money and political power these schools have. Yet again, those who [...]

As VA moves to lift those restrictions, advocates are arguing it could be entering murky legal waters. New students can again use GI Bill benefits to enroll at the five schools -- worth a potential [...]

Outraged by the changes, several groups, led by Veterans Education Success, began running advertisements on Fox News hoping to persuade Mr. Trump to reconsider. They argued the new rules did not protect military service members [...]

After the bill passed, advocates waited anxiously to see what President Trump might do. One veterans’ group even ran an ad on Fox News urging the president to sign the law. Thirty-four military and veteran service organizations supported the [...]

In a report, Third Way, New America, the Center for American Progress, the Century Foundation, the Institute for College Access and Success and Veterans Education Success said, “The decision of whether to operate in person [...]

Thanks to the GI Bill, veterans receive free tuition at public universities, which supplies the most likely explanation as to why so many do not file a FAFSA. But campus-based student veterans can still suffer [...]

The legislation has the support of veteran service organizations including the VFW, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS, IAVA, WWP, Student Veterans, Blinded Veterans Association, TAPS, Veterans Education Success, National Guard [...]

Trump hasn’t taken action, and the White House has not responded when asked if he intends to, increasing the hopes of the rule’s critics, like Carrie Wofford, president of the advocacy group Veterans Education Success. [...]

Several groups, led by Veterans Education Success, began running advertisements on Fox News programs urging Mr. Trump to sign the resolution, which Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent to the White House last week. Read the full [...]

Many veterans have been the target of predatory colleges seeking to profit off of military and veteran education benefits. Veterans Education Success even ran an ad on Fox News targeting the president in hopes that [...]

Following President Trump’s veto, veterans’ organizations and consumer groups voiced their disappointment. Veterans Education Success said in a tweet that they were “heartbroken” over the President’s veto, noting that the action went against the recommendations [...]

College students who are veterans of the U.S. military could be disproportionately denied emergency aid grants under the CARES Act because of the way the Education Department is interpreting congressional intent in passing the coronavirus [...]

“With a bipartisan vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, it is clear the support of Congress for veterans, service members, and their families and survivors stands above partisan politics,” 34 groups wrote [...]

Several dozen veterans organizations are ramping up their efforts to win over the White House on the issue. They’ll be running an ad on Fox News, starting Wednesday, urging Trump the sign the legislation. The groups include Veterans Education [...]

A report from the advocacy group Veterans Education Success found that veteran college students could be disproportionately denied emergency aid grants under the CARES Act because of how the Education Department is interpreting the intent [...]

The founder of Veterans Education Success talks about what caused the VA to finally crack down on predatory for-profit colleges and why scams targeting veterans are likely to increase after the pandemic. Read the full [...]

GI Bill benefits made Tasha Berkhalter and Jarrod Thoma ideal targets for unscrupulous and duplicitous for-profit colleges. Now, thanks to groups like Veterans Education Success and the Project on Predatory Student Lending, they are getting [...]

"After talking to VA work-study students who were worried about being able to pay their bills and others who had to choose between working to feed their families or staying home to protect their families [...]

To critics, the flurry of activity brings echoes of the 2008 recession, when for-profit colleges enrolled record numbers of students but left many of them with heavy debt and few job prospects. A new study [...]

A new study by the advocacy group Veterans Education Success found that some chains have been spending more on Facebook ads during the pandemic. “This aggressive and deceptive targeting will once again harm veterans’ academic [...]

Wofford, then senior counsel of the Senate's education committee, said for-profits appear to be stepping up their advertising aimed at veterans of the U.S. military and active-duty service members, a heavily sought group of potential [...]

'WE TAKE VERY GOOD CARE OF OUR VETERANS,' President Donald Trump said Thursday, as he declared he would extend benefit deadlines and postpone debt collections for veterans. — “We’re cautiously optimistic of this announcement as it’s been [...]

"Given that AIU is only provisionally certified for Title IV participation," Walter Ochinko, Research Director at Veterans Education Success, told The Capitol Fourm, "it is simply astonishing that the Department of Education failed to include [...]

CONGRESS PASSES COVID-19 FIX FOR GI BILL AND OTHER VA-FUNDED STUDENTS: The House passed the legislation, S. 3503 (116), Thursday by unanimous consent following Senate passage by voice vote on Monday. — “We are relieved military-connected students [...]

“Today, military connected students are free from the burden of worry with their housing allowance and can concentrate on protecting their families and community,” said Tanya Ang, vice president of Veterans Education Success. “We are [...]

“We don’t want veterans on the street,” said Tanya Ang, vice president of Veterans Education Success, an advocacy group. “They should know that the benefits they worked so hard for will be protected in times [...]

But Mike Saunders, director of military and consumer policy for Veterans Education Success, said Education Department lawyers may feel bound by law to not allow interest to be waived. And Morabito, the department’s spokeswoman, didn’t [...]

Mike Saunders, director of military and consumer policy at Veterans Education Success, said waiving interest will only marginally help student borrowers. "We call on President Trump to ensure borrowers, as well as all Americans, have [...]

The multibillion-dollar coronavirus package being negotiated by Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin isn’t expected to include a temporary suspension of student loan payments, said a Democratic House aide. Advocacy [...]

Carrie Wofford, president of the advocacy group Veterans Education Success, said in a statement that the VA’s decision was “more than justified” and sends the message that “the federal government and taxpayers will no longer [...]

"'Chairmanship succession can be unpredictable, depending on the complicated Rubik's cube of committees and seniority and requests that Senator McConnell may face,' said Carrie Wofford, president of Veterans Education Success and former Democratic senior counsel [...]

 POLITICO reported last year that the Trump administration suspended the process of forgiving hundreds of millions of dollars in student loans owed by veterans with severe disabilities, despite a presidential pledge the debts would be easily erased. [...]

"Led by Veterans Education Success, a bipartisan group dedicated to ensuring career and education success for military families, a collection of 22 veterans groups has sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The letter [...]

"The settlement was commended by some educational groups, including Veterans Education Success, which main advocacy is to help military veterans. The organization's president, Carrie Wofford, thanked the FTC for its work. She said that 'enough is [...]

“It would be hard to claim that the Federal Trade Commission suing a school and receiving $200 million is not evidence of deceptive recruiting,” said Carrie Wofford, director of the national nonprofit group Veterans Education [...]

The FTC investigation found that some companies asked by Phoenix to appear in the ads objected to the false portrayal.  But other companies presumably did not object, since so many appear in the ads. And [...]

"Chairman Alexander's support for closing the 90/10 loophole is a game-changer for student veterans and military-connected students across the country and means Congress can and will remove the recruiting target from the backs of veterans [...]

“Chairman Alexander’s support for closing the 90/10 loophole is a game-changer,” said Carrie Wofford, president of Veterans Education Success, an advocacy group. It “means Congress can and will remove the recruiting target from the backs [...]

“That VA has not invoked their authority to ban schools that engage in deceptive marketing for almost 50 years is a missed opportunity to do what is right for military-connected students in higher education,” said [...]

“We are thrilled to finally have a real chance to close the 90/10 loophole and remove the target from the backs of veterans and service members,” said Carrie Wofford, president at Veterans Education Success, in [...]

Carrie Wofford, president of the advocacy group Veterans Education Success, says veterans have been particularly targeted by for-profit colleges because of the money they bring with the GI Bill, which pays more than $24,000 for [...]

"There are typically more resources than you realize," says Carrie Wofford, president of Veterans Education Success, an advocacy group that provides free counseling, legal resources and other services to military-affiliated students. Read the full story [...]

"That VA has not invoked their authority to ban schools that engage in deceptive marketing for almost 50 years is a missed opportunity to do what is right for military-connected students in higher education,” said [...]

"Veterans Education Success is adding to its legal team. Lt. Col. Aniela Szymanski , a Marine Corps Reserve judge advocate general, will serve as senior director for Legal Affairs and Military Policy. Marine Corps veteran [...]

"The legislation has been endorsed by a wide variety of consumer, civil rights, veterans, service-member organizations, and advocates, including...Veterans Education Success; Allied Progress, Americans for Financial Reform; Center for Responsible Lending; Consumer Action; Consumer Federation [...]

“Veterans and military-connected students should not worry right now about a government shutdown impacting their benefits. However, if the shutdown goes longer than a month then all kinds of government benefits could be impacted, from [...]

"Veterans Education Success is out with two new issue briefs. One suggests Congress should consider authorizing the VA to require letters of credit from schools to mitigate risks to veterans and taxpayers. Another seeks to clarify the [...]

“'It solves the Thomas Jefferson problem,” said Carrie Wofford, president of the advocacy group Veterans Education Success. The bill, H.R. 4625, also addresses other issues the federal VA highlighted in explaining why it took over [...]

"A report from Veterans Education Success analyzes student loan borrowing in academic year 2015-16, and compares undergraduate veterans who received GI Bill educational benefits to those who did not. It also examines the cumulative student [...]

A Veterans Education Success report found that few states acted proactively to protect veterans and in many cases the Veterans Affairs Department took no action to support those ones that did so. In another report, the group also [...]

“We are thankful to the House for their comprehensive bill that addresses most of the concerns the military-affiliated community has expressed,” said Veterans Education Success, a Washington, D.C.-based group that advocates for educational opportunities for [...]

"Barrett Bogue, senior communications adviser for the nonprofit Veterans Education Success, calls such practices 'a concern' and says that 'prospective students should not make the life-changing decision of where to earn a degree based on [...]

"Veterans Education Success is out with two new policy briefs:  Weak Return on Investment at Trade Schools that Enroll GI Bill Beneficiaries and Proposed Short-Term Pell Safeguards Should Be Further Strengthened." Read the full Politico [...]

The coalition consists of twelve different groups, including Higher Learning Advocates, Veterans Education Success, Young Invincibles, the National College Access Network and others. The goal is to advocate for policies that expand supports for nontraditional [...]

Officials from Veterans Education Success said one in four recipients of GI Bill benefits face some [sic] time of overpayment-related debt. Read the full article by Military Times, "VA Concedes its Debt Collection Systems Leave [...]

But Carrie Wofford questions whether federal regulators can effectively oversee the entire college and university system in the state of California. "It's somewhat unrealistic," she said. "How is the VA sitting in Washington going to [...]

The 1984 Montgomery GI Bill is "outdated" and should eventually be phased out, two members of Congress say, but in the meantime, veterans should get more time to decide if they want it or not. [...]

“For-profit schools really aggressively target veteran students and spend a ton on marketing, but spend little on instruction,” Walter Ochinko, Research Director at Veterans Educations Services, told DCReport. Read the full story at Salon, "How [...]

Rep. Elijah Cummings is also working with a Republican congressman from Florida in offering a bill to help veterans attending colleges and universities. Student Veterans of America, the American Legion, Veterans Education Success, the Vietnam Veterans of America, Higher Learning [...]

Veterans groups and education leaders are going all out to help a South Florida congresswoman’s proposal to close a loophole proprietary colleges use when it comes to federal funds, including GI benefits.

Ten student advocacy groups are teaming up to push for a reauthorization of the main federal higher education law, even as lawmakers are turning their focus to other bills. The groups have individually advocated for [...]

A coalition of groups representing veterans, working adults and historically underrepresented students have teamed up to form a new organization designed to change federal and other policies to better recognize how "today's students" differ from [...]

Carrie Wofford, president of Veterans Education Success, a group that has established itself as one of the toughest critics of for-profit schools, pushed for a greater focus on academic inputs, such as the amount of [...]

Tanya Ang, vice president at VES, told Education Dive in an interview that the "extra step of security" the audits provide are a positive development. Bipartisan support is also a plus in her view. "That's [...]

“The bottom line is it makes no sense to the Department of Defense to continue to look the other way, as you will, as new recruits come into the force,” said Bob Norton, a retired [...]

Link to the story here.