Veterans Education Success performs non-partisan research on student outcomes and higher education policy issues
OUR RESEARCH REPORTS
Quality of Education & Student Outcomes
Election 2020: Policy Memo for Candidates: Supporting Military-Connected Students in Higher Education
Election 2020: Policy Memo for Candidates: Supporting Military-Connected Students in Higher Education Read the report and visit our webpage here: https://vetsedsuccess.org/election-2020-policy-memo-for-candidates-supporting-military-connected-students-in-higher-education/
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
School Accountability & Student Protections
Be Careful of Income Sharing Agreements
By Alex Kish At this point in the game, it might seem cliché to talk about the impact COVID-19 has had on higher education and how students have been forced online. But that doesn’t [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Schools with Repeat Law Enforcement Settlements
On March 9, 2020, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) notified five institutions of higher education that it possessed evidence they had violated Title 38 § 3696, which prohibits payments to schools that engage in [...]
2020 Toolkit for State Policymakers
Visit the website page here: https://vetsedsuccess.org/2020-toolkit-state-policymakers/
Are Student Veterans Going to be Denied Access to CARES Act Emergency Relief Funds?
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act authorized more than $6 billion in emergency cash grants “to students” enrolled in campus-based postsecondary education, to be distributed by their colleges. On April 9, 2020, [...]
GI Bill & Military Education Benefits
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 [...]
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 [...]
OUR FACT SHEETS
Short fact sheets on key issues.
Purdue Global/Kaplan- Recent Actions and Concerns
Purdue Global (Kaplan) Recent Actions and Concerns In March 2018, Purdue University finalized the acquisition of Kaplan University, a for-profit institution offering primarily online education. Kaplan University transferred 14 campuses, 30,000 students, and 2,100 faculty and staff to Purdue Global in exchange for $1. Kaplan is still owned by Graham [...]
DeVry University- Recent Actions and Concerns
DeVry University Recent Actions and Concerns DeVry University is currently owned by Cogswell Education LLC, after changing ownership several times in the past from DeVry Educational Group to Adtalem Global Education. Cogswell Education is controlled by private equity firms. Government and Other Actions In 2020, a class action lawsuit brought [...]
Colorado Technical University, American InterContinental University, & Trident University- Recent Actions and Concerns
Colorado Technical University, American InterContinental University, & Trident University Recent Actions and Concerns Colorado Technical University (CTU), American InterContinental University (AIU), and Trident University are owned by the for-profit company Perdoceo Education Corporation, publicly traded on the NASDAQ under PRDO and formerly known as Career Education Corporation (CEC). Government and Private Actions [...]
University of Phoenix- Recent Actions and Concerns
University of Phoenix Recent Actions and Concerns University of Phoenix is a for-profit college owned by Apollo Global Management, previously publicly-traded on the U.S. stock market. The company’s stock suffered after numerous government investigations revealed that the school had violated its MOU with the Department of Defense and aggressively targeted [...]
Grand Canyon University- Recent Actions and Concerns
Grand Canyon University Recent Actions and Concerns Grand Canyon University (GCU) is owned and operated by the for-profit company Grand Canyon Education, Inc., traded on the NASDAQ under “LOPE.” In 2018, the for-profit company sold its school assets to Gazelle University, a nonprofit that immediately changed its name to Grand [...]
Ashford University/University of Arizona Global Campus- Recent Actions and Concerns
Ashford University/University of Arizona Global Campus Recent Actions and Concerns In August 2020, Zovio, Ashford University’s owner, announced that the University of Arizona would acquire Ashford for $1 and turn it into the University of Arizona Global Campus. In exchange, Ashford paid the University of Arizona $37.5 million in upfront [...]
OUR LEGAL REPORTS
Veterans Education Success prepares legal analysis and trends in veteran student complaints.
Purdue Global/Kaplan- Recent Actions and Concerns
Purdue Global (Kaplan) Recent Actions and Concerns In March 2018, Purdue University finalized the acquisition of Kaplan University, a for-profit institution offering primarily online education. Kaplan University transferred 14 campuses, 30,000 students, and 2,100 faculty and staff to Purdue Global in exchange for $1. Kaplan is still owned by Graham [...]
DeVry University- Recent Actions and Concerns
DeVry University Recent Actions and Concerns DeVry University is currently owned by Cogswell Education LLC, after changing ownership several times in the past from DeVry Educational Group to Adtalem Global Education. Cogswell Education is controlled by private equity firms. Government and Other Actions In 2020, a class action lawsuit brought [...]
Colorado Technical University, American InterContinental University, & Trident University- Recent Actions and Concerns
Colorado Technical University, American InterContinental University, & Trident University Recent Actions and Concerns Colorado Technical University (CTU), American InterContinental University (AIU), and Trident University are owned by the for-profit company Perdoceo Education Corporation, publicly traded on the NASDAQ under PRDO and formerly known as Career Education Corporation (CEC). Government and Private Actions [...]
University of Phoenix- Recent Actions and Concerns
University of Phoenix Recent Actions and Concerns University of Phoenix is a for-profit college owned by Apollo Global Management, previously publicly-traded on the U.S. stock market. The company’s stock suffered after numerous government investigations revealed that the school had violated its MOU with the Department of Defense and aggressively targeted [...]
Grand Canyon University- Recent Actions and Concerns
Grand Canyon University Recent Actions and Concerns Grand Canyon University (GCU) is owned and operated by the for-profit company Grand Canyon Education, Inc., traded on the NASDAQ under “LOPE.” In 2018, the for-profit company sold its school assets to Gazelle University, a nonprofit that immediately changed its name to Grand [...]
Ashford University/University of Arizona Global Campus- Recent Actions and Concerns
Ashford University/University of Arizona Global Campus Recent Actions and Concerns In August 2020, Zovio, Ashford University’s owner, announced that the University of Arizona would acquire Ashford for $1 and turn it into the University of Arizona Global Campus. In exchange, Ashford paid the University of Arizona $37.5 million in upfront [...]
ISSUES
Policy issues of Veterans Education Success

Veterans Education Success seeks to ensure students have adequate protections and rights and also believes bad actor colleges should be held accountable if they’ve trampled on students’ rights. You will find research reports and coalition letters related to student protections and college accountability.