The GI Bill has objections to it's success. This is an interesting article in the New York Times yesterday. It addresses issues that should be among the public, including veteran advocacy groups, to demand clarification of the educational opportunities for men and women who have served.
The very online universities that provide worthless graduation certificates are the larger part of the providers in the GI Bill program.
May 30, 2016
By Alexander McCoy
My six years in the Marine Corps (click here) taught me the importance of learning the basics. When the Marines teach a young recruit to shoot, they don’t skip parts of the training. Whether you have never touched a gun in your life or grew up hunting every weekend, the Marines drill you in how to steady your sights, master your breathing and control recoil. Every recruit is taught and then tested in the fundamentals of marksmanship before he or she advances in basic training.College education shouldn’t be any different....
The very online universities that provide worthless graduation certificates are the larger part of the providers in the GI Bill program.
May 30, 2016
By Alexander McCoy
My six years in the Marine Corps (click here) taught me the importance of learning the basics. When the Marines teach a young recruit to shoot, they don’t skip parts of the training. Whether you have never touched a gun in your life or grew up hunting every weekend, the Marines drill you in how to steady your sights, master your breathing and control recoil. Every recruit is taught and then tested in the fundamentals of marksmanship before he or she advances in basic training.College education shouldn’t be any different....
...But among some colleges, the A.C.E.’s dubious guidelines have effectively created a race to the bottom. Low-quality colleges, predominantly online and for-profit, which would otherwise be violating federal law by relying too heavily on federal student aid dollars, have a financial incentive to recruit veterans, whose benefits count as nonfederal funding thanks to a legal loophole. The A.C.E.’s credit recommendations provide these colleges with justification to offer easy credit, encouraging veterans to enroll with advertising that says their transfer credit policies are veteran-friendly. Unwary veterans are often attracted by the promise of a shortcut to a degree, without realizing that receiving a partial education will cripple them when they apply for graduate school or private-sector jobs....
There is advocacy for the veterans and the GI Bill, but, is it well informed advocacy, because the GI Bill should be providing real jobs for veterans, not empty promises. What GI Bill are advocacy groups actually backing?
February 9, 2016
By George Altman
The House of Representatives on Tuesday (click here) approved a bill that would cut, by half, the housing stipend for children of service members going to school with transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
The reduction, which would not apply to benefits already transferred or transferred within 180 days of the bill becoming law, was included to pay for other aspects of the legislation, according to a spokesman for the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
The bill, passed on a voice vote, includes measures on veterans health care, jobs and transition out of the military.
But the sharp reduction in the housing stipend, often one of the most valuable parts of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, has generated some pointed criticism and split military and veterans advocacy groups....
Opponents to those Congressmen and Congresswomen that have voted for this addition to the budget should not receive their seats back in Congress. The vote to limit the stipends is only one aspect of the GI Bill. The entire law that supports veterans into a better quality of life through education has to be reworked and made MEANINGFUL.
Right now the stipends is the only part that is direly important, but, the long term return on the very educations veterans are receiving under the GI Bill is in question. Advocates and universities should be working together to bring better outcomes for the veterans. This online mess has to end and for those disabled veterans without transportation they need to be reassured there is a reasonably good paying job waiting for them and not an empty destination for their graduate certificate.
There is advocacy for the veterans and the GI Bill, but, is it well informed advocacy, because the GI Bill should be providing real jobs for veterans, not empty promises. What GI Bill are advocacy groups actually backing?
February 9, 2016
By George Altman
The House of Representatives on Tuesday (click here) approved a bill that would cut, by half, the housing stipend for children of service members going to school with transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
The reduction, which would not apply to benefits already transferred or transferred within 180 days of the bill becoming law, was included to pay for other aspects of the legislation, according to a spokesman for the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
The bill, passed on a voice vote, includes measures on veterans health care, jobs and transition out of the military.
But the sharp reduction in the housing stipend, often one of the most valuable parts of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, has generated some pointed criticism and split military and veterans advocacy groups....
Opponents to those Congressmen and Congresswomen that have voted for this addition to the budget should not receive their seats back in Congress. The vote to limit the stipends is only one aspect of the GI Bill. The entire law that supports veterans into a better quality of life through education has to be reworked and made MEANINGFUL.
Right now the stipends is the only part that is direly important, but, the long term return on the very educations veterans are receiving under the GI Bill is in question. Advocates and universities should be working together to bring better outcomes for the veterans. This online mess has to end and for those disabled veterans without transportation they need to be reassured there is a reasonably good paying job waiting for them and not an empty destination for their graduate certificate.
