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
Student Veteran Submission: Deborah Butrim Testimony to the Department of Education
Good morning/afternoon. I’m Deborah Butrim, and I served in the Army for 20 years. Towards the end of my service, I enrolled in a PhD program at Walden University. I was going to enroll at [...]
Military Spouse Submission: Jasmine Thomas Testimony to the Department of Education
Hello, my name is Jasmine Thomas. I’m an active-duty army spouse that is stationed in Fort Campbell, KY. I am a stay-at-home mother of two and I attended Fortis Institute, a for profit school in [...]
Student Veteran Submission: Ashley Beverly Testimony to the Department of Education
Good morning. My name is Ashley Beverly. I’m a Navy veteran and I have been a social worker for seven years. I decided I wanted to get my doctorate in Clinical Social Work, so I [...]
Student Veteran Submission: Quenton Ross Testimony to the Department of Education
Hello, my name is Quenton Ross. I’m a disabled Navy veteran. I’m here to tell you that I did not get the high quality education that Full Sail University promised. Before leaving the Navy I [...]
Our Statement for the Record on the March 30, 2023, Legislative Hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
Chairman Van Orden, Ranking Member Levin, and Members of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee of the Committee on Veterans Affairs: We thank you for the opportunity to share our views regarding legislation under consideration by the [...]
The Hill: If you can buy a university for $1, you’ll likely get what you pay for
By Will Hubbard The following op-ed was published in The Hill. This past month, thousands of student veterans found themselves opening their email inboxes only to find out their school had lost eligibility for the GI Bill, [...]
Our Letter to Department of Veterans Affairs on the Rutgers Business School Lawsuit Allegations
April 12, 2022 The Honorable Thomas J. Murphy Acting Under Secretary for Benefits U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue NW Washington, DC 20571 Re: Rutgers Business School Lawsuit Allegations Dear Under Secretary Murphy, [...]
MORE NEWS & INFO
DoD Response Letter to our Executive Order Suggestions
JAN 10, 2022 Ms. Carrie Wofford President Veterans Education Success 1501 K Street NW Washington, D.C. 20005 Dear Ms. Wofford: Thank you for your recent communication dated October 5, 2021, to the Honorable Gilbert Cisneros, [...]
Inside Higher Education: The Debate Over Instructional Spending Policies
“The purpose of instructional expenditure policies was never to suggest that they (the authors of the report) -- either by themselves or in conjunction with outcomes -- would be adequate proxies for quality,” said Barmak [...]
.@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