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Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Veterans face confusion using GI Bill at state universities

“If we contributed to the security of our country, isn’t that worth more than having lived in a state in a year?” one veteran said. “It just seems kind of silly.”

In choosing to serve her country in uniform, Hayleigh Lynn Perez knowingly accepted a nomadic life. Now, the former Army sergeant says she and thousands of other veterans trying to get a higher education are being penalized for that enforced rootlessness.

Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the federal government will pick up the full in-state cost for any honorably discharged service member wishing to attend a public college or university. But, because the often intricate rules governing residency differ from state to state, and even within university systems, many veterans face a bewildering battle to exercise the benefits they’ve already fought for.

“It is part of our contractual agreement when we join the military,” says Perez, who filed a $10 million federal civil rights lawsuit against the University of North Carolina Board of Governors after one of its schools denied her resident status. “It’s been paid for—with blood and sweat and tears and deployments.”…Read More

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House cracks down on for-profit recruiters targeting GI Bill benefits

Veterans advocacy groups lobbied lawmakers on Capitol Hill this spring.

The U.S. House of Representatives responded to military veterans’ scathing criticism of for-profit colleges last week and passed legislation that will prevent schools that accept GI Bill benefits from paying commission to recruiters.

House members passed the bill Sept. 11, four months after veterans advocates took to Capitol Hill to testify about for-profit colleges targeting service members with generous government educational benefits, many times to the detriment of the prospective students, who are recruited into schools or programs not suited to their educational needs.

The legislation drew support from Republicans and Democrats, who passed the bill and curbed for-profit schools’ incentive to push for former service members – a well-documented and controversial practice that has been at the center of several government reports since 2009.…Read More

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Veterans’ groups level harsh criticism against for-profit colleges

Eight of the top 10 recipients of GI Bill educational benefits are for-profit colleges.

Veterans’ advocacy groups demanded at a recent Congressional hearing that for-profit colleges stop flooding military veterans’ eMail inboxes, Facebook newsfeeds, and Twitter accounts with advertisements, saying the ad campaigns “mock the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform.”

A Washington, D.C.-based organization called Veterans for Common Sense released an extensive statement submitted to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs May 16 as members of Congress considered an executive order from President Obama meant to provide more college information to military veterans.

Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) also lent its support to Obama’s executive action, which would trademark the term “GI Bill” so it’s not used in deceiving online and TV ads.…Read More

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Recruitment ads by for-profit colleges targeted

Almost 2 million students withdrew from large for-profit colleges over a three year period.

Where do for-profit colleges get the money they spend on all those highway billboards and television and radio ads?

Mostly from the government, at least indirectly. Federal money, most of it through the financial aid that students get, accounts for up to 90 percent of for-profit colleges’ revenue — even more in some cases if veterans attend the school on the GI bill.

And while figures vary, some institutions spend a quarter or more of their revenue on recruiting, far more than traditional colleges. In some cases, recruiting expenses approach what these institutions spend on instruction.…Read More

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From combat to Columbia University: Returning troops head to Ivy Leagues despite cuts to GI bill

Though recent cuts to the GI Bill have limited their academic options, returning troops are finding ways to offset the exorbitant costs of an Ivy League education, the Huffington Post reports. Up until January, the revamped GI Bill paid for the full tuition at public two- and four-year schools for those who had served for a minimum of three years since Sept. 11, 2001. But recent cuts to that program capped tuition at $17,500, threatening to take away the opportunity to study in the hallowed halls of prestigious institutions, like Columbia University. Cameron Baker, an Air Force veteran, was already enrolled at Columbia when the cuts were made. He feared that he would have to transfer out.

“I come from a very low socio-economic background,” Baker told the Huffington Post back in April. “My family can’t afford to help me out. I mean, at this point, I’m the one who’s supposed to be helping them out.”

Click here for the full story…Read More