Although the new GI Bill didn’t bar online students from receiving housing allowances, the requirement to take at least one face-to-face course doesn’t fully acknowledge the needs of nontraditional students who prefer the flexibility of web-based classes, said Dave Saba, vice president of military programs at American University System, an association that advocates for increased college access in the Western Hemisphere.
“The military doesn’t see [online college courses] as inferior,” Saba said. “Online programs work much better with many people’s schedules. … And just because you’re going to an online class, doesn’t mean you don’t need a house to live in.”
Steele said ACE’s veteran focus groups showed that students attending for-profit colleges were less likely to receive targeted assistance for advisers who could help service members navigate the often-confusing transition from the Montgomery GI Bill to the Post-/911 GI Bill.
“That came up as a problem … because they weren’t that well versed in the details,” she said of for-profit school advisers. “Public campuses tended to be much better versed in those kind of details.”
Students surveyed by ACE clamored for a web site that tracks Post-9/11 GI Bill payouts throughout a semester, similar to a web-based account system for the Montgomery GI Bill.
“We need a list of what’s been paid, when, and for what,” said an anonymous service member who attends classes at a private for-profit college.
Orientation sessions that catered to servicemen and women transitioning to the classroom, Steele said, was another popular request from veterans that could appeal to service members, especially those returning to higher education.
“It’s important to make it clear to them that they are welcomed and wanted and the institution understands their needs,” she said. “That can become a powerful marketing tool too because it says, ‘We know that you don’t have the same needs of an 18-year-old who has never been away from home.’”
During a workshop with 3,000 military veterans, educational leaders, and nonprofit organization and government officials hosted by ACE in May, service members said online resources from colleges and universities were not valid substitutes for face-to-face help.
College web sites should include more information on how to translate military service into resume work experience that would catch an employer’s eye, and clarify educational requirements “for certain career fields.”
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