We advocate for military-connected students before the Education Department
Disabled veterans’ right to student loan forgiveness
We had a major win in forcing the US Education Department to honor disabled veterans’ legal right to student loan forgiveness. Still more to do!
Loan Relief for Students Defrauded by a School
We fight for defrauded veterans to get their student loans forgiven by the Education Department, and their Pell Grants restored.
Integrity and Quality Standards by Colleges
We advocate for rules requiring colleges to abide by basic integrity rules and meet minimum quality standards.
Accreditation and Accreditors
We push for high quality standards by accreditors and we expose lax accreditors.
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT DATA
U.S. Education Department Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
OUR LETTERS TO THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Our Oral Comment to NACIQI Regarding the Middle States Commission on Higher Education- Winter 2023 Meeting
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you again. As I shared earlier, I am Allison Muth, and I am a Senior Attorney with Veterans Education Success. We work on a bipartisan basis to advance higher education success for veterans, service members, and military families, and to protect the [...]
Our Oral Comment to NACIQI Regarding the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)- Winter 2023 Meeting
Good morning. I am Allison Muth, and I am a Senior Attorney with Veterans Education Success. We work on a bipartisan basis to advance higher education success for veterans, service members, and military families, and to protect the integrity and promise of the GI Bill® and other federal education programs. [...]
Our Letter to the Dept. of Education re: “Low-Financial-Value” Colleges
VES comments on behalf of Veterans Education Success in response to the Department of Education’s Request for Information (RFI) Regarding Public Transparency for Low-Financial-Value Postsecondary Programs, published in the Federal Register on January 11, 2023.
Veterans & Military Organizations’ Letter to the Dept. of Education re: “Low-Financial-Value” Colleges
The undersigned military and veteran organizations write to provide comments on the above-referenced Request for Information (RFI). We agree with the Department that low-financial-value programs “may cause particularly acute harm for student loan borrowers who may struggle to repay their debts after discovering too late that their postsecondary programs did not adequately prepare them for the workforce” and that “taxpayers also shoulder the costs.” We write specifically regarding the impact on student veterans and military-connected students.
Letter to NC-SARA re: Proposal to Elevate SARA’s Consumer Protection Standards
The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), administered by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), lowers barriers for schools to offer online programs in multiple states, easing the way for institutions to expand the reach of their online programs. SARA’s impact is immense - almost 6 million students were enrolled in online programs at more than 2,300 SARA participating schools in Fall 2020, including 1.6 million students enrolled in online programs based outside of their state.1 Every state except for California is a SARA member. 2 However, the agreement’s standards set an extremely low bar for consumer protection, leaving millions of online students vulnerable to abuse by unscrupulous schools.
Our Letter to the Department of Education on the Council on Occupational Education.
VES advocacy letter on behalf of students and veterans in higher education in response to the call for third-party comments announced on November 14, 2022, in the Department of Education’s Notice Accrediting Agencies Currently Undergoing Review for the Purpose of Recognition by the U.S. Secretary of Education. 1 Our comments concern the Council on Occupational Education (“COE”) and the senior Department official’s (SDO) decision letter dated October 27, 2021, requiring COE to come into compliance with 34 C.F.R. Part 602 within 12 months and to submit a compliance report within 30 days thereafter.
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT REPORTS
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, A Profile of Military Undergraduates (statistics on military, veteran, and dependent college students)
The number of veterans who receive Veterans’ education benefits increased both before and after the Post-9/11 GI Bill went into effect in 2008. In the 9 years between 2000 and 2009, the number of veterans receiving Veterans’ education benefits increased by 36 percent (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2013). Within the next [...]
U.S. Department of Education, Strengthening the Student Loan System to Better Protect All Borrowers
Never before has higher education been so critical to ensuring a good future and a promising career. A postsecondary education and training credential continues to be the most important investment students can make in their own futures. For some students and their families, though, higher education feels out of reach. [...]
MORE NEWS & INFO
Our Comment on Federal Student Aid’s Draft Strategic Plan FY 2020-24
Affiliation: Other Name and Name of Organization: This comment is submitted by James Haynes on behalf of Veterans Education Success. Part 2: Strategic Goals and Objectives X Strategic Goal 1 X Strategic Goal 3 X Strategic Goal 5 Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Federal Student Aid’s (FSA) [...]
Letter from 20 groups to the Department of Education regarding the Center for Excellence in Higher Education
October 14, 2020 Secretary Betsy DeVos U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Ave., SW Washington, D.C. 20202 Dear Secretary DeVos: We urge the U.S. Department of Education to promptly address issues raised by the recent Colorado state court decision finding pervasive fraudulent abuse of federal financial aid programs [...]
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, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos wrote to college presidents that they had “significant discretion on [...]
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 today’s job market.” In contrast to earlier versions, the bill introduced in March 2019 incorporates [...]
TICAS Updated Gainful Employment Rule Fact Sheet (August 2019)
The Institute for College Access and Success published an updated "What to Know About the Gainful Employment Rule,"which worked to improve quality, lower costs, and save taxpayer money. The Trump Administration rescinded the rule on July 1, 2019, and immediately allowed schools to stop complying.
