Veterans with Student Loans They Never Authorized or Wanted
Introduction: A large number of veterans report that they have student loans they never authorized or knew about, or that they were forced to take out loans midway through their education program despite being promised [...]
The Student Veteran Experience with Transcript Withholding
Colleges frequently withhold their students’ academic transcripts for balances due, even when the debt is disputed. Indeed, transcript withholding is one of the most common debt collection tactics used by colleges across all sectors. Many [...]
Postsecondary Outcomes for Undergraduate Veterans of Color
As America grapples with systemic racial injustice, it is more important than ever to examine the outcomes of veterans of color who are using the GI Bill to earn a postsecondary credential. In a 2011 [...]
Our Analysis: Project’s Findings on the Effect of Closing the 90/10 Loophole Have Serious Shortcomings
In February 2021, the Veterans Education Project (the Project) released a report on the impact of closing the 90/10 loophole. The report’s authors were Jason Delisle, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), [...]
Issue Brief: Investigative Analysis: Advertising Trends for Selected Postsecondary Institutions during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Click here to download a PDF copy of the report. Click here to download the Appendix including screen-captured ads as part of the analysis. Highlights Our investigation examined how a [...]
Investigative Analysis: Advertising by For-Profit and Other Schools in Response to COVID-19
Statement by Veterans Education Success (August 5, 2020) - "Veterans Education Success regrets to inform you that this report has been removed. Although we are confident in our findings about the number of ads that [...]
COVID-19 and Postsecondary Enrollment: Lessons from the Last Recession
Click here to download a PDF of the report. On June 8, 2020, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the U.S. economy had peaked in February 2020 and officially [...]
2020 Toolkit for State Policymakers
Visit the website page here: https://vetsedsuccess.org/2020-toolkit-state-policymakers/
Veterans’ Use of Private Student Loans: A Primer
Click here to download a PDF copy of the report. Highlights Based on our analysis of ED survey data from academic year 2007-08 to 2015-16: The proportion of undergraduate student veterans at for-profit schools taking [...]
Impact of Disability on First-Time Student Veterans’ Persistence and Attainment
Click here to download a PDF copy of this Issue Brief Highlights Among undergraduate veterans who enrolled in postsecondary education for the first time in 2011-12, 33% reported a disability, compared to 15% of non-veterans [...]
Coronavirus-Related Legislation and Its Relevance to GI Bill and Other VA-Supported Students
Click here to download a PDF copy of the report. This paper is intended to serve as a primer on recent Public Laws and legislation intended to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus emergency [...]
SAS Global Forum 2020 Report: Post-9/11 GI Bill: Teasing Out Insights about Veterans’ Success in Postsecondary Education
By Walter Ochinko, Research Director, Veterans Education Success Abstract This paper (1) examines the challenges researchers face in using publicly available databases to track veterans use of GI Bill benefits and their success in earning [...]
The 85-15 Rule and Related GI Bill Safeguards
The impact of the 85-15 rule—a requirement that education programs enroll at least 15% non-veterans to ensure schools are not bilking VA, as occurred after WWII—has evolved over time. This Issue Brief presents the Congressional [...]
Annual and Cumulative Student Loan Debt Among Veterans Using and Not Using GI Bill Benefits
This Fact Sheet examines student loan borrowing in academic year 2015-16, comparing undergraduate veterans who received any GI Bill educational benefits (beneficiaries) to those who did not (nonbeneficiaries). In addition to their borrowing during that [...]
VA and States Should Act on Early Warning Signs When Risks to GI Bill Beneficiaries and Taxpayers Emerge at Participating Schools
This report is one in a series of three reports by Veterans Education Success on State Approving Agency (SAA) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) oversight of GI Bill participating schools. A second report examines [...]
Congress Should Consider Authorizing VA to Require Letters of Credit from Schools in order to Mitigate Risks to Veterans and Taxpayers
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) lacks the authority to require letters of credit (LOC) from schools eligible to enroll GI Bill beneficiaries. In contrast, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) can require schools [...]
VA Still Not Enforcing 1974 Ban on Schools that Engage in Deceptive Advertising and Recruiting
Summary: This Issue Brief examines the history of schools that rely on misleading advertising and recruiting to enroll veterans and eligible family members and subsequent ban by Congress in 1974 based on contemporaneous findings of [...]
Weak Return on Investment at Trade Schools that Enroll GI Bill Beneficiaries
Highlights We found that student outcome data at Title IV- participating trade schools that enroll GI Bill beneficiaries in certificate programs showed a disappointing return-on-investment but robust retention and graduation rates (see table 1). For [...]
Proposed Short-Term Pell Safeguards Should Be Further Strengthened
Highlights Recently reintroduced legislation known as the JOBS Act would make federal Pell Grants available for very short, 8-week programs intended to help individuals “afford the skills training and credentials that are in high-demand in [...]
Overemphasis on Payment Accuracy Impedes More Effective SAA Oversight of Schools Participating in the GI Bill
Executive Summary State Approving Agencies (SAA), state-level entities that operate under contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), were established to serve as gatekeepers for GI Bill participating schools. Their ability to provide effective, [...]
Should Colleges Spend the GI Bill on Veterans’ Education or Late Night TV Ads? And Which Colleges Offer the Best Instructional Bang for the GI Bill Buck?
Every year, around 700,000 Post-9/11 GI Bill students enroll in an institution of postsecondary education, a benefit earned through sacrifice and service to our nation. The GI Bill represents America’s thanks for veterans’ military [...]
Proposed Education Department Regulatory Changes Should Be Reevaluated Based on GI Bill Oversight Lessons
ED’s rulemaking should be revaluated based on the lessons learned from GI Bill oversight and the impact on veterans. In each of the areas ED is proposing changes, veterans have been disproportionally harmed in a [...]
Veteran Student Loan Debt 7 Years After Implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill
In May 2018, we reported on trends in veteran student loan debt from just before the 2009 implementation of the more generous Post-9/11 GI Bill (2007-08) to 3 years after the new benefit became available [...]
Could Education Corporation of America’s Sudden Closure Have Been Avoided?
Earlier this month, another for-profit college chain closed abruptly, leaving more than 20,000 students and 4,000 GI Bill beneficiaries wondering why this happened and how this will affect their future educational endeavors. On December 5, [...]
Career Education Colleges and Universities: Outcomes at Selected Member Schools
After a brief history of CECU, this report provides “key takeaways” from our analysis of both descriptive and outcome data for the 26 CECU-member schools. The report concludes with a discussion of some of the [...]
Postsecondary Non-Completion Among Veterans: Contributing Factors and Implications
This paper uses Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS), a longitudinal survey conducted by the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to examine factors contributing to and the impact of non-completion for “first-time” student [...]
Why Aren’t More Undergraduate Student Veterans Enrolling at Selective Colleges? Veteran Undergraduate vs Graduate Student Demographics
Selective colleges with high graduation rates enroll far fewer veterans pursuing undergraduate certificate, associate’s, or bachelor’s degrees than those seeking post-baccalaureate degrees such as master’s, PhD’s, or certifications. This Issue Brief explores demographic and enrollment [...]
Is Trident University a Good Choice for Military-Connected Students?
Trident, a University that focuses heavily on recruiting military-connected students, has a mixed record. Its outcomes are better than Ashford’s, another for-profit school that is exclusively online, and the proportion of Trident students with federal [...]
Student Outcomes at Colleges Approved by the Accreditor ACICS
Veterans Education Success analyzed the most recent U.S. Department of Education (Department) data to determine student outcomes at the approximately 100 schools still accredited by the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). ACICS [...]
Veteran Student Loan Debt Before and After the Post-9/11 GI Bill
A major goal of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which modernized veterans’ educational benefits, was to provide veterans with the opportunity of a debt-free, postsecondary education—or, at a minimum, to mitigate their student loan debt. The [...]
Despite a 2016 Statute, the GI Bill Still Pays for Degrees That Do Not Lead to a Job
VES’s 2015 report, The GI Bill Pays for Degrees that Do Not Lead to a Job, identified 8-degree programs offered by 15 different schools, at both brick and mortar campuses and online, that failed to [...]
Enrollment Trends and Student Outcomes at Ashford University
This Fact Sheet examines the enrollment trends and student outcomes at Ashford University, including (1) how much of the school's revenue comes from the GI Bill; (2) what are its veteran enrollment trends; (3) how [...]
Ashford’s Fight to Maintain GI Bill Access Raises Questions about the Enforcement and the Adequacy of Statutory Requirements
Ashford’s potential loss of its eligibility to enroll veterans using the GI Bill and its more than year-long effort to maintain that eligibility raises questions about the enforcement of statutory approval requirements by State Approving [...]
Department of Education Data Shows Increased Targeting of Veterans and Servicemembers, Highlighting Urgency of Closing 90/10 Loophole
For several years, the media has reported on the declining enrollment in the for-profit sector. However, our analysis of federal revenue flowing to the for-profit sector from the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA), and Defense [...]
Repayment Status for First-Time Student Veterans 12 Years After Enrolling
Drawing on the National Center for Education Statistics' First Look report on Student Loan Debt, Repayment and Default, this Issue Brief highlights key findings on veteran student loan debt.
The ITT Collapse: Lessons Learned and Dealing with Future Challenges
The seeds of ITT Tech’s collapse were decades in the making. Deregulation of the for-profit college industry certainly played a rise in enabling ITT’s increasing dependence on federal dollars, but corporate short-term thinking, greed, consumer [...]
The Corinthian Sale: Lessons Learned & Dealing With Future Challenges
The February 2015 sale of about half of Corinthian campuses to Zenith Education Group—a brand-new subsidiary of the student loan guaranty agency and debt collector ECMC—provides an opportunity to reflect on lessons learned and prepare [...]
Why For-Profit Schools are Targeting Veterans Education Benefits
Why For-Profit Schools are Targeting Veterans Education Benefits “We’ve got to make sure you’ve got every tool you need to make an informed decision when it comes to picking a school…. Right now, it’s not [...]