OUR RESEARCH & REPORTS
Our published reports regarding college accountability and students’ rights.
Veteran and Servicemember Complaints about Misconduct and Illegal Practices at Trident University
What follows is a public version of a “trends analysis” document we prepared detailing the types of harm observed by us in our free legal services to service members, veterans, and their dependents who brought [...]
Piercing the Veil of Covert For-Profit Colleges
Recent efforts by certain predatory for-profit colleges to convert to nonprofit status1 raises the question of whether the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can continue to exercise jurisdiction over those entities’ misleading and deceptive recruiting [...]
Veteran and Servicemember Complaints about Misconduct and Illegal Practices at Ashford University
In 2017, we conducted a review of the complaints we have received from veterans and servicemembers who have attended Ashford, as part of our free legal services for veterans and servicemembers. What follows is a [...]
Harvard Law School Report: Veteran and Servicemember Complaints about Misconduct and Illegal Practices at Kaplan Schools
In 2017, Veterans Education Success contracted with Harvard Law School's Project on Predatory Lending to analyze complaints against Kaplan brought to Veterans Education Success by student veterans. For-profit schools have garnered significant attention for their [...]
Sampling of Student Complaints about Ashford University
"[Ashford] lied about the costs. When I asked to withdraw I was told I would have no debt. I asked a number of times. I explained to my advisor that I was struggling and they [...]
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 [...]
Veterans with Pending Borrower Defense Applications at the Education Department
"I have a so-called degree from ITT Tech and found that most employers laugh at it. During my time there I had accrued a fair amount of debt from this fraudulent school and am having [...]
Yale Law School Report: Student Veteran Complaints Alleging Illegal Practices at University of Phoenix
In 2016 and 2017, Veterans Education Success contracted with Yale Law School's Veterans Legal Clinic to analyze complaints against the University of Phoenix (UOP) brought to Veterans Education Success by student veterans. UOP is a [...]
Yale Law School Report: Student Veteran Complaints Alleging Illegal Practices at Colorado Technical University
In 2016 and 2017, Veterans Education Success contracted with Yale Law School's Veterans Legal Clinic to analyze complaints about Colorado Technical University (CTU) brought to Veterans Education Success by student veterans and military students. What [...]
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 [...]
Misleading Websites and “Lead Generators”: A Case Study: Victory Media’s “Military Friendly Schools”
Too often, veterans and servicemembers are misled and deceived by websites and “lead generators” that steer the veterans and servicemembers to colleges that pay the websites, as part of a grand scheme by the [...]
OUR ADVOCACY LETTERS
Veterans Education Success works with our military and veteran allies to send policy advice to government officials.
Times Higher Education: Biden Crackdown Targets For-Profit Colleges
Carrie Wofford, president of Veterans Education Success, said the overturned by the California community college system — with 1.8 million students across 116 campuses — expects more public U.S. universities to reconsider adopting the “hunter-for-profit [...]
Statement of Carrie Wofford on the Cancellation of California Community Colleges’ Agreement with For-Profit School – American Public University System (APUS)
For Immediate Release: Contact: Carrie Wofford, President of Veterans Education Success: [email protected] Veterans Education Success (VES) Statement on the Cancellation of California Community Colleges’ Agreement with For-Profit School - American Public University System (APUS) Sacramento, [...]
EdSource: Community Colleges chancellor announces end to for-profit transfer agreement
“California never should have signed a contract with a predatory for-profit college that was sued by law enforcement for high-pressure enrollment tactics and failing to disclose job prospects to student veterans and military students,” said [...]
Whistleblower Submission: Dr. Mary Ann Markey Testimony to the Department of Education
Testimony of Dr. Mary Ann Markey U.S. Education Department’s Negotiated Regulatory Rulemaking Panel January 2022 Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Mary Ann Markey, and I have been teaching for Grand Canyon University since 2010, [...]
Student Veteran Submission: Randy Diel Testimony to the Department of Education
My name is Randy Diel and I’m an Army veteran who attended American InterContinental University. As I was finishing my bachelors degree in computer information systems, the school convinced me to continue my education through [...]
Student Veteran Submission: Sean Braunstein Testimony to the Department of Education
Good afternoon. My name is Sean Braunstein. I am an Army veteran and recipient of educational benefits that I earned while serving our country on active duty. I am here to tell my story in [...]
Our Letter to the Department of Education on the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSACHE)
January 20, 2022 Dr. Herman Bounds Director Accreditation Group, Office of Postsecondary Education U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202 RE: Call for Comments 86 FR 71251, Document Number 2021-27095 Submitted [...]
Our Letter to the Department of Education on the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
January 20, 2022 Dr. Herman Bounds Director Accreditation Group, Office of Postsecondary Education U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202 RE: Call for Comments 86 FR 71251, Document Number 2021-27095 Submitted [...]
Our Letter to the Department of Education on the Western Association of Colleges and Schools, Senior College and University Commission (WASCSR)
January 20, 2022 Dr. Herman Bounds Director Accreditation Group, Office of Postsecondary Education U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202 RE: Call for Comments 86 FR 71251, Document Number 2021-27095 Submitted [...]
Student Veteran Submission: Jonelle Daugherty Testimony to the Department of Education
Good afternoon. My name is Jonelle Daugherty, and I am a Navy reservist. I started pursuing a PhD in Sports and Performance Psychology in 2014 at University of the Rockies. In 2018, University of the [...]
Student Veteran Submission: Myrna Figueroa Lopez Testimony to the Department of Education
Good afternoon, my name is Myrna Figeruoa Lopez and I’m an Air Force veteran from Puyallup, Washington. I am also a single mom who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and PTSD. After a difficult divorce, I [...]
Student Veteran Submission: David Reyasbautista Testimony to the Department of Education
Good Afternoon. My name is David Reyasbautista. I am a Marine Corps veteran and am here to tell my story in the hope that you make sure others do not experience what happened to me [...]
MORE NEWS & INFO
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) Testimony on the 90/10 Loophole at the Department of Education Hearings
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors Testimony on the 90/10 Loophole at the Department of Education Hearings Ashlynne Haycock, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) January 19, 4:20 PM Good Morning, my name is Ashlynne Haycock [...]
Student Veteran Submission: Jonelle Daugherty Testimony to the Department of Education
Good afternoon. My name is Jonelle Daugherty, and I am a Navy reservist. I started pursuing a PhD in Sports and Performance Psychology in 2014 at University of the Rockies. In 2018, University of the [...]
The Hill: For-profit colleges prey on veterans — the Department of Education must say ‘no more’
By Will Hubbard The following op-ed was published in The Hill. For decades, for-profit colleges have used deceptive marketing to recruit veterans into expensive, practically worthless degree programs and mountains of debt. Veterans and their [...]
Student Veteran Submission: Myrna Figueroa Lopez Testimony to the Department of Education
Good afternoon, my name is Myrna Figeruoa Lopez and I’m an Air Force veteran from Puyallup, Washington. I am also a single mom who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and PTSD. After a difficult divorce, I [...]
Student Veteran Submission: David Reyasbautista Testimony to the Department of Education
Good Afternoon. My name is David Reyasbautista. I am a Marine Corps veteran and am here to tell my story in the hope that you make sure others do not experience what happened to me [...]
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, [...]
The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS): Accountability That Works: Restoring Gainful Employment and Strengthening Higher Education Accountability Measures
Across higher education sectors, too many students experience inconsistent programmatic quality and varying graduation rates, all while taking on loan debt that burdens them for years to come. These challenges grow as more institutions increase [...]
Military.com: Student Veterans Battle for GI Bill Benefits at MIT, Another School Fighting the VA
Will Hubbard, vice president for veterans and military policy for Veterans Education Success, a GI Bill advocacy group in Washington, D.C., told Military.com that the MIT and Howard situations are a bad combination of the [...]
Department of Veterans Affairs: GI Bill Procedural Update – Prohibitions on Advertising, Sales, and Enrollment Practices
Greetings Educational Institutions, Section 1020 of P.L. 116-315, Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, and section 7(a)(5) of P.L. 117-16, Training in High-demand Roles to Improve Veteran [...]
CBS News: Lender charged 200% interest to military families for pawn loans, CFPB says
U.S. military families are being socked with annual interest rates sometimes exceeding 200% on pawn loans they've taken out from a Texas company, a violation of a federal law that caps how much lenders can [...]
The Los Angeles Times Editorial: USC tarnishes its reputation again, this time with for-profit recruitment tactics
Editorial: USC tarnishes its reputation again, this time with for-profit recruitment tactics BY THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD NOV. 12, 2021 It can be hard to keep up with the scandals and missteps at USC. In just the [...]
The New York Times: Democrats’ Bill Would Deny For-Profit College Students Extra Aid
The problem of high debt and low wages is by no means limited to proprietary schools. But unlike other sectors, for-profit colleges are beholden to shareholders and have been found to hike up tuition to match [...]
ISSUES
Policy issues of Veterans Education Success
Veterans Education Success works to improve post-secondary quality and student outcomes to ensure military-connected students enjoy a solid education leading to a successful civilian career. You will find research reports and coalition letters related to college quality and student outcomes.
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.
Vterans Education Success works to protect the GI Bill and other federal education benefits.