For-profit colleges account for thousands of learning facilities throughout the United States, with many popular names among them. These include: Full Sail University, the University of Phoenix, and DeVry University. Unfortunately, some schools have been taking advantage of the Veteran community. Now, a new bill is making its way to help those affected reclaim their GI Bill benefits.
What Are For-Profit Colleges?
Unlike traditional institutions, for-profit colleges are owned by investors, provide stakeholders with profits, and work like a business, even generating multiple revenue streams not exclusive to educational pursuits.
When comparing for-profit vs non-profit colleges, you’ll note that traditional institutions receive funding from both the state and federal levels. They have a focus on higher learning, not generating returns on investment.
An issue within the Veteran community for decades has been the practices of for-profit schools that aim to increase their enrollment numbers through the recruitment of Vets.
From a business standpoint, having Vets as a core market segment makes sense. Many Veterans return to school or get started after service. They even have benefits, such as the GI Bill, to help fund these pursuits.
However, when practices cross ethical lines, it becomes a problem not only for our nation’s heroes but for society as a whole.
Some of the ways for-profit colleges have been marketing to gain Veterans as students have been deceptive and led to Vets taking on a heavy amount of debt for degrees they may not need.
The government has been asked to step in and alleviate some of these issues. Nonetheless, for-profit colleges in the United States remain. Now, a new law is looking to help Vets get their benefits back.
Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act
Not-for-profit colleges have ties to many government entities. However, for-profit schools continue to focus on business opportunities over education in some cases. This is affecting Vets. However, a new bill is aiming to fix the issue.
The Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives. It aims to provide the legal framework for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reinstate GI Bill benefits to Vets.
If it passes the Senate and ultimately becomes law, the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act will allow the VA to provide Vets, who dealt with fraud or were unable to complete their education because of it, with reinstatement of their GI Bill benefits.
As things stand, the VA can help in a school that either loses its GI Bill certification or closes while a Veteran is attending. Even then, the options are limited.
The big difference here is that the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act will allow the VA to restore assistance based on fraudulent activity.
Loan forgiveness continues to be a topic of discussion among advocates who are also hailing new moves to restore benefits taken by the fraud that occurred at for-profit colleges.
As of now, it’s hard to completely understand how many Vets would benefit, or the full scale of the help this act could provide. Nevertheless, it’s a starting point to making things right.
New Law to Help Vets Scammed by For-Profit Colleges
Veterans work hard for their benefits and deserve an honest opportunity to pursue education once they enter the civilian world.
The issue of fraud harms Americans who have their taxes spent on education. Such was the case with the Retail Ready Career Center, which took $72 million from the VA.
That figure alone is more than enough reason to act on behalf of the Veterans dealing with for-profit colleges but it’s concerning to realize that’s only one institution.
At the end of the day, Vets deserve their benefits and this act can help.
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