We push VA to protect veterans from colleges’ deceptive recruiting. We helped bring to VA’s attention a Vietnam-era statute, 38 USC 3696, that requires VA to cut off GI Bill funding to schools that engage in deceptive recruiting, and in 2020 we strengthened that statute to cover 21st-century advertising methods and lead generator companies and by requiring VA to act within strict timelines and ensure students are protected.
OUR WORK
Our Letter to the VA Advisory Committee on Education Regarding June 9-10 Meeting
June 7, 2021 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Education Services 810 Vermont Avenue NW Washington, DC 20420 Via electronic submission to [email protected] Re: Advisory Committee on Education Meeting June 9-10 Dear Members of the Advisory [...]
Veteran and Servicemember Complaints about Misconduct and Illegal Practices at Dream Center schools
Introduction This memo summarizes and analyzes complaints received by Veterans Education Success from military-connected students who attended Dream Center schools. These schools were formerly owned by Education Management Corporation (EDMC), which closed some schools [...]
Letter to Education Department Regarding the Center for Excellence in Higher Education
March 26, 2021 Ms. Robin Minor Acting Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202 Via e-mail: [email protected] Dear Ms. Minor: As advocates for students and [...]
Letter from 14 Higher Education Groups to the Department of Education regarding Transparency
Acting Secretary Philip H. Rosenfelt U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue SW Washington, DC 20202 Dear Secretary Cardona: We represent organizations advocating for students, veterans, consumers, educators, college administrators, civil rights, and education policy [...]
Republic Report: Independence University Operator Seeks To Conceal Record of Trial It Lost
"An additional brief supporting the AG office position was filed last week by lawyers representing Debbi Potts, a former CEHE employee who blew the whistle on the company to Colorado authorities; Nannette Wride and Katie [...]
MORE NEWS & INFO
HR 4085: Student Veteran Empowerment Act of 2019
We are grateful to the GOP leadership of the House Veterans Affairs Committee for this excellent bill, which: Helps solve the problem of GI Bill overpayments by requiring monthly enrollment verification; Ensures that "deemed approved" [...]
HBO: Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas: The Cost of College
The HBO news show, Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas, worked with Veterans Education Success to expose for-profit colleges' targeting and fraud against veterans. They interviewed student veterans we are helping and whistleblower former college recruiters [...]
NBC Nightly News: Veterans Could Be First to Pay as DeVos Rolls Back For-Profit College Oversight
Veterans Education Success was honored to be interviewed by NBC News for their expose on how for-profit colleges target veterans with fraud. We also provided both whistleblowers and veterans to be interviewed. The full NBC [...]
Washington Post: Veterans Groups Ask VA Secretary to Keep GI Benefits Out of the Hands of Predatory Colleges
“The veterans we serve are understandably angry when they discover that the very consumer fraud they faced at a predatory school is one the VA knew about but approved for GI Bill benefits anyway,” said [...]
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Inspector General: VA’s Oversight of State Approving Agency Program Monitoring for Post-9/11 GI Bill Students
Prior VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports have identified significant financial risks in how the education benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill are administered. The OIG conducted this audit to determine if VA and [...]
.@VetAffairsOIG audit report says @VAVetBenefits is failing to properly regulate State Approving Agencies (SAAs) and without significant change billions of tax dollars meant for veteran education/reintegration will be wasted. https://t.co/IiVCK4xHe4 pic.twitter.com/GqY8FdGutl
— Veterans Education Success (@GIBillRights) December 4, 2018
- VA’s policy advisory to State Approving Agencies to not change a school’s approval based on accreditor probations and other interim government actions (Aug. 30, 2018)
- VA’s 2018 agreement with US Federal Trade Commission (updating its 2015 agreement with US Federal Trade Commission)
- FTC’s response to FOIA request for documents regarding any school recruiting activities referred for review by VA to FTC under the agreement (Nov. 14, 2018)
- Letter to the US Secretary of Veterans Affairs from 23 veterans and military organizations, led by VES, demanding VA adherence to the law and better oversight of college recruiting and protection for veterans from deceptive recruiting (May 16, 2016)
- New York Times coverage: Veterans Groups Seek a Crackdown on Deceptive Colleges (May 21, 2016)
- Report by Yale Law School, with VES (and commissioned by VES) outlining VA’s obligations under the law: “VA’s Failure to Protect Veterans from Deceptive College Recruiting Practices” (2016)
SPECIFIC SCHOOLS
We stand up for student veterans who were ripped off by predatory bad-actor schools.
Ashford University
Veterans Education Success is closely monitoring Ashford University’s attempts to maintain GI Bill access in light of Ashford’s significant consumer fraud against students and attempts to deceive VA:
- 2021 Update | February 2, 2021
- Decision of the US Federal Circuit Court to Dismiss Ashford University’s Lawsuit against VA | March 3, 2020
- California’s assertion of authority to continue approving and disapproving schools, regardless of VA’s suspension | Sept. 10, 2019
- VA’s suspension of California as a State Approving Agency, based in part on California’s refusal to act on Ashford and California’s disapprovals of other schools | Sept. 6, 2019
- California’s response to VA’s letter requiring it to act on Ashford’s application | Jan. 15, 2019
- VA’s letter to California requiring it to act on Ashford’s application | Jan. 2, 2019
- California declines to act on Ashford’s second request for approval to serve GI Bill students | Dec. 14, 2018
- Ashford petitions US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for an extension of time to file a motion while negotiations with VA continue over state approval | Dec. 7, 2018
- VA’s letter to California regarding its contract performance and disagreements with California’s disapprovals of some schools | Aug. 24, 2018
- California response to VES’ FOIA request showing US Department of Veterans Affairs employees who have a conflict of interest because they are also on payroll at Ashford | April 4, 2018
- California declines to act on Ashford’s request for approval to serve GI Bill students | Feb. 21, 2018
- California Attorney General sues Ashford for deceptive recruiting and marketing and abuses of students in financial products | Nov. 29, 2017
- Ashford sues VA | Nov. 21, 2017
- Senators’ Letter urging Defense Secretary Mattis to warn Servicemembers attending Ashford and to cease new enrollments | Nov. 21, 2017
- Senators’ Letter urging VA Secretary Shulkin to warn GI Bill students attending Ashford | Nov. 21, 2017
- Student Veterans of America cautions students about continued enrollment at Ashford University | Nov. 20, 2017
- VA Announces Potential Probation of Ashford | Nov. 9, 2017
- VA Letter to Ashford Denying Arizona as “main campus” | Nov. 9, 2017
- VA Notice to GI Bill Students at Ashford | Nov. 9, 2017
- VES Report: Ashford’s Fight to Maintain GI Bill Access Raises Questions about the Enforcement and the Adequacy of Statutory Requirements | Nov. 9, 2017
- VES Compilation of a Sampling of Ashford Student Veteran Complaints
- Chronicle of Higher Education expose: “Inside the Scramble to Save Ashford U: How Political Maneuvering Kept GI Bill Funds Flowing to a For-Profit University” | Nov. 9, 2017
- Bridgepoint Company response to VA action | Nov. 9, 2017
- Bridgepoint SEC filing | Nov. 14, 2017
- VA Letter to Ashford re: Iowa and Arizona facility codes | Sept. 13, 2017
- VA Letter to Arizona SAA denying approval of Ashford | Aug. 3, 2017
- VA Letter to Arizona SAA continuing to deny approval of Ashford | Aug. 17, 2017
- Arizona SAA approval of Ashford | July 6, 2017 | and VA’s response
- Arizona’s Application Form for an Out of State License | Arizona’s licensure procedure and requirements
- VA Alert to Students: Ashford University Update — You can continue to attend Ashford beyond August 16th | Aug. 4, 2017
- Ashford e-mail to students | July 26, 2017
- VA Alert to Students: Critical Information for Students Attending Ashford University on the GI Bill | July 20, 2017
- Iowa District Court Rejects Ashford University’s Claims, Effectively Pushing it Out of GI Bill | July 17, 2017
- VA Alert to Students: Information for Students Attending Ashford University on the GI Bill | June 6, 2016
- Ashford CA SAA Application | table of contents
- 2015 Consent Order by US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for Ashford’s deceiving students about its institutional loan scheme
American InterContinental, Colorado Tech, and Trident – owned by Perdoceo (formerly Career Ed Corporation)
- 2021 Update (February 2021)
- The Capitol Forum: Perdoceo Education Corporation: Department of Education Defers $39M of Title IV Money from 2019 to 2020 to Save AIU from Violating 90/10; Experts Expect Congressional Scrutiny (March 2020)
ECPI
- Virginia Department of Veterans Services Withdraws GI Bill Approval for Medical Careers Institute (MCI) – School of Health Science of ECPI University, Virginia Beach Campus | Dec. 2015
- ECPI’s pass/fail rates on the Nursing exam
- Irene Coons, University of Nevada, Las Vegas | Use of Standardized Tests Within Nursing Education Programs
Grand Canyon University
- 2021 Update (Feb. 2021)
- Education Department’s denial of non-profit status to the for-profit college Grand Canyon University (Nov. 2019)
ITT Tech
- VA Notice to ITT Students re: Loan Forgiveness Options | Nov. 2016
- Important Announcement for Students Using the GI Bill at ITT Educational Services, Inc.
- CalVet Suspends GI Bill Approval for ITT
DeVry
University of Phoenix
Purdue Global/Kaplan
Other Schools
- VA Notice: Safeguarding the Integrity of the GI Bill | March 2017
- College of Beauty and Barber Culture owners sentenced to jail and to pay $4.5M in restitution)
Good news for #Veterans. If you attended #ITTTech and you still owe #ITT money, that's now erased. If you paid ITT after it declared bankruptcy in Sept. 2016, you'll get that back. Others, please stand by. This is just the first step.
Free help: [email protected] https://t.co/NySN7nWl2b— Veterans Education Success (@GIBillRights) November 28, 2018
“VA’s approval of a program to accept education benefits communicates to potential students that the school is deemed a quality school.” – Our VP @TanyaMAng https://t.co/Io5uH1oZzV
— Veterans Education Success (@GIBillRights) January 27, 2019