The University of Phoenix and other for-profit colleges have made hundreds of millions of dollars since 2001 by aggressively recruiting soldiers using the GI Bill to obtain higher education. In just one year, these schools collected about $640 million in federal funds set aside for military personnel to attend college.

 

The success came while for-profit colleges were being scrutinized for questionable practices, such as recruiters lying to prospective students about school costs, the transferability of credits and future employment prospects. Also, the Department of Education has criticized for-profits for poor graduation rates.

 

“The for-profit colleges are rife with misleading recruitment practices, they are expensive to attend, they have huge profits, and have atrocious withdrawal rates,” Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) told ProPublica. “This raises serious questions about the share of military benefits that go to schools that have very poor outcomes.”

 

Between August 2009 and July 2010, ITT Technical Institute received $79.2 million in federal funds, the University of Phoenix $76.4 million, The Art Institute $44.6 million, DeVry University $41.1 million, Strayer University $31.6 million and American InterContinental University $22.7 million.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

For-Profit Colleges Rake in Millions From Post-9/11 G.I. Bill (by Sharona Coutts, ProPublica)

Benefitting Whom? For-Profit Education Companies and the Growth of Military Educational Benefits (Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee) (pdf)