Education: It’s a Veteran’s Choice

2014-11-10T11:36:39-05:00

Those who serve in the military are expected to lead people, operate sophisticated equipment, and routinely make decisions under pressure. Why then, do some lawmakers consider these same highly trained service members to be naïve when selecting a college of their choice?

The education benefits offered to active-duty members and veterans are the best in the nation. In fact, these exceptional educational incentives are a major recruiting tool and one of the top reasons why individuals join the military. In 2013, approximately 272,000 active-duty, Guard and reserve personnel used Tuition Assistance benefits to enroll in over 800,000 college courses; over one million veterans used their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

With such a large volume of students using federal funding for school, it is quite understandable for members of Congress to be concerned with abuses and return on investment for the funds that are expended. Unfortunately, the quest to uncover unscrupulous practices and abuses has unfairly targeted an entire segment of higher education; namely for-profit colleges.

Although traditional state schools and non-profit colleges offer a wide range of educational alternatives to include flexible scheduling and online classroom options, for-profit colleges are attractive options for career-minded veterans who desire a wider variety of cutting-edge degree programs. According to William G. Tierney, Co-Director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education, University of Southern California, the benefits of for-profit education goes beyond flexible scheduling and online classroom options. For-profit education is uniquely positioned to partner with employers because focusing on careers is built into the fabric of for-profit education. They can respond more fluidly to booming, emerging fields because of their willingness to embrace new forms of learning like competency-based learning.

There are thousands of veterans successfully attending for-profit institutions. Many earned degrees at for-profit colleges while successfully applying for advanced degrees at state or non-profit private colleges and universities. Many of these veterans who complete their degrees with for-profit institutions are experiencing positive outcomes. In fact, four out of five of the top providers of education serving members of the Department of Defense are for-profit colleges (Bilodeau, 2014).

We can all agree that veteran benefits are important for our nation to attract and retain the best and brightest to the military. We can also agree that our leaders are placed in a unique position, especially considering public outcry regarding some nefarious treatment of veterans. However, painting an entire industry with a broad stroke has far more reaching implications than just education. How and where veterans should use their hard-earned benefits should be left up to those who have served. Veterans have earned the right to be trusted to make the right decisions about their benefits.

http://rly.pt/2kSKY1X

Resource: OUSD Voluntary Education Program Update: Dawn Bilodeau February 2014

About the Author
John Aldrich is the associate vice president for military and community college outreach at American Military University (AMU). John’s past assignments for AMU include serving as director for military outreach, west region senior manager for military outreach, and education coordinator, California and Hawaii.

Prior to joining AMU, he served as an education services specialist for Marine Corps Base Twenty-Nine Palms California; director of career services and job placement at the Technical College of the Lowcountry, Beaufort, South Carolina; education specialist for Navy College Programs, Sicily, Italy; academic advisor for undecided students and student athletes at the University of Rhode Island; and as a Naval Hospital Corpsman, Fleet Marine Forces.

John earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Sciences and Services and a Master of Science in College Student Personnel from the University of Rhode Island.

Photo: Rebecca Roch, AMU Graduate of Securities and Global MA, 2009

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Response by CPT Richard Riley made Nov 10 at 2014 11:52 AM

2014-11-10T11:52:09-05:00

Another good educational piece that I would ask permission to place in the Resources for Veterans and Services Members education section.

Response by Sgt Michael Baker made Nov 10 at 2014 4:33 PM

2014-11-10T16:33:43-05:00

The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." -- George Washington

Response by SGT Artiesa Woods made Nov 10 at 2014 5:51 PM

2014-11-10T17:51:47-05:00

I completed my Bachelor's at Ashford University, a for profit school, and was very happy with my experience.

Response by CPT Aaron Kletzing made Nov 10 at 2014 7:57 PM

2014-11-10T19:57:19-05:00

Thank you for this well-done piece, PO3 John Aldrich -- I enjoyed reading it. I agree that it is unfair, inaccurate, and potentially harmful for someone to label all for-profit education institutions as bad, or a waste of money/benefits. There are many for-profit institutions that are excellent paths for SMs/Veterans to take, which would believably improve their career outcomes. As we know, there are also other for-profit education institutions that prey -- DELIBERATELY prey -- on SMs/Veterans. Those are the ones we need to stay alert for as a military community, and those that we must avoid and help others avoid.

Response by SFC Dr. Joseph Finck, BS, MA, DSS made Nov 11 at 2014 7:21 AM

2014-11-11T07:21:02-05:00

PO3 John Aldrich Thank you for posting this well written article. It highlights important points about for profit schools and the unfair scrutiny which is currently being placed.

Like many Veterans and serve members, I utilized TA to attain one degree in its entirety (Bachelor of Science) and partially for a second degree (Master of Arts). Both schools were "for profit" schools and I received a well planned and challenging education thanks to the TA program.

Cuts may be needed, but cutting programs which not only make the military service member more educated but provide for additional opportunities post discharge does not seem to be a well thought out option.

Again thank you for posting this thought provoking and well written article.

Response by CMSgt James Nolan made Nov 11 at 2014 7:36 AM

2014-11-11T07:36:27-05:00

Absolutely. I am in the position of going back to school as an old guy. AMU is one of the schools that I am actively engaged in negotiations with, so it is nice to see good info flowing from that school.

Response by SSG Tim Everett made Nov 11 at 2014 10:06 AM

2014-11-11T10:06:48-05:00

Going back to school to see about picking up an education in cinematography or film production.

Response by Rachel A. Adler made Nov 11 at 2014 11:19 AM

2014-11-11T11:19:48-05:00

Great post by PO3 John Aldrich. Very informative.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 11 at 2014 11:47 AM

2014-11-11T11:47:24-05:00

Though I am currently in a non-for-profit school [online program], I have taken full advantage of my post 9/11 benefits and fully appreciate the place that good for-profit schools hold in their service to Veterans. But, I have heard too many "horror" stories of a school getting years of someone's life and money and then it turns out their is no career at the end of that rainbow, but it usually boils down to the individual just jumping in without doing the research first.

Every veteran seeking information and preparing for college should do the research in the area of their interest and check the statistics on the colleges under consideration: what percent of the student body graduate on time? What is the average annual out of pocket expense and college debt following graduation? What does the job market look like for the degree of their choice? what is the average GPA of the graduates? What is the success rate for getting a career of choice following graduation? Do they offer classes when you are able to attend them? How flexible is the curricula? Even I got blindsided by the "we only offer that course once a year" issue which means I have to go one year longer than I intended.

Once you narrow it down to a couple of schools go and visit the college and meet the professors and administrators that you will have to deal with regularly to be sure that you can build a professional relationship with them...are they only interested in the numbers recruited or are they willing to invest in you as an individual? are they people you can get along with for the duration of your experience? can they introduce you to a successful graduate of the program (or more than one) that you can interview as you make your decision? how long have they been teaching? (ask for a copy of their curriculum vitae [resume for academics] or find it online and review it to be sure they have the experience and educational background to assist you). Make them map out your degree by year with their offered curriculum and get the course descriptions to make sure those are the classes you want to take you where you want to go. Are they willing to partner you with an advisor and/or mentor right away? Do they conduct research and publish regularly (ask for a copy of the department's latest publication)? I weeded out a couple of programs in this way, for example the person I really wanted to learn from was going to retire the next year and would not be there for me and I wasn't really impressed with the other members of the department, so I chose a different school.

Also I would encourage anyone considering a higher education degree to seek out other vets in the same field and determine their educational and experiential background that made them successful in that field.

Response by SPC Matt Peeling made Nov 13 at 2014 12:08 PM

2014-11-13T12:08:37-05:00

Well said! Good job!

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 31 at 2015 6:48 PM

2015-01-31T18:48:14-05:00

I personally like all of the sound advice coming from this forum. In addition, I recommend that each individual should do some homework before attending their desired institution.

Go to the college navigator at http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ and run a search on that institution. Look at the default rate on student loans and the graduation and retention rates.

As a side note, I am attending Aspen University. It is a for profit school, but the tuition rate for undergraduate and graduate degrees are relatively low with college trends. I am paying $250 a credit hour for my Doctorate.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Feb 21 at 2015 11:46 AM

2015-02-21T11:46:21-05:00

Great post PO3 John Aldrich!!!

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Feb 21 at 2015 11:58 AM

2015-02-21T11:58:46-05:00

Has anyone else heard of the initiative to allow veterans to apply their GI education benefits to starting a new business? I think this would be a grand idea.

A college education is not the panacea for everyone and their aspirations. Indeed, many of America's most successful entrepreneurs never went to college or dropped out because it was getting in the way of their education. This is especially true in many (most?) non-profit schools where indoctrination has replaced education as their primary goal.