For-profit schools cash in on the GI Bill
by Aaron Smith, CNNMoney
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - The GI Bill was designed to help veterans, but the biggest beneficiaries seem to be the for-profit private schools that are raking in taxpayer dollars.
The Department of Veterans Affairs bankrolls four years of higher education for veterans who have served since September 11, 2001. The VA paid out $4.4 billion for tuition and fees in the two academic years spanning 2009 to 2011. For-profit private schools raked in 37% of those funds, but educated just 25% of veterans, according to the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee.
So what are taxpayers getting in return? According to the VA, the graduation rate is just 28% at for-profit schools like University of Phoenix and DeVry University (for all students, not just veterans). That compares with a graduation rate of 67% at non-profit private schools and 57% at public schools.
The GI Bill covers all tuition at public schools, and up to $17,000 per year at private schools. But tuition at many private schools far exceeds that, so veterans take out loans to cover the balance.
Read the full story from CNNMoneyVoters in America: Vets Wanted? Educator and Parent Guide
(CNN Student News) - Teachers and Parents: Watch with your students or record "Voters in America: Vets Wanted?" when it airs on CNN on Sunday, May 13 at 8 p.m. ET and PT, or Saturday, May 19 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and PT. By recording the documentaries, you agree that you will use the documentaries for educational viewing purposes for a one-year period only. No other rights of any kind or nature whatsoever are granted, including, without limitation, any rights to sell, publish, distribute, post online or distribute in any other medium or forum, or use for any commercial or promotional purpose.
The Educator and Parent Guide is provided for teachers and parents to use as a catalyst for discussion and learning if they choose to watch "Voters in America: Vets Wanted?" with their students.
Documentary Description: Multiple deployments interrupt lives and careers and can lead to health and financial challenges. Narrated by former U.S. Army infantryman and motivational speaker J.R. Martinez, "Voters in America: Vets Wanted?" looks at the unique burdens for families of men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it follows the reintegration of members of the Georgia National Guard's 877th Engineer Company into civilian life. Deployed to Afghanistan in December 2010, half of these veterans faced unemployment when they returned to the U.S. The documentary also examines whether the bipartisan Veterans Jobs Bill passed in November 2011 is of any help as our nation's heroes make full transitions back to the lives they left to defend America, and it offers insights into how veterans' unemployment may impact their decisions as they head to the polls this November.
All of the In America parent and teacher educator guides are developed by CNN Student News. CNN Student News is a ten-minute, commercial-free, daily news program for middle and high school students produced by the journalists and educators at CNN. This award-winning show and its companion website are available free of charge throughout the school year.
FULL STORY
The GI Bill is back, helping thousands of veterans
by Aaron Smith, CNNMoney
NEW YORK (CNN Money) - A huge wave of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have returned to the U.S. in recent months, and that's created a surge of applicants for the GI Bill.
Demand for the program has been so robust that it nearly crippled the Veterans Administration's computer processing system, delaying benefits for vets who are trying to further their educations.
"This term was a nightmare," said Stephen Abel, a retired Army colonel in charge of Veterans Services at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, which currently has 1,107 students on the GI Bill.
His office created an emergency scholarship fund of $30,000 for Rutgers GI Bill students who are contending with late VA payments.
Read the full story from CNNMoney
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