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This past week Frontline did another story on For-profit colleges  (ie. U. Phoenix, Ashford, Central Texas, Strayer, etc) and their relationship with veterans (specifically veteran's GI Bill/9-11 monies) Their report says… “More than 1/3 of all GI Bill money is going to for-profit colleges” 

Quite interesting.  Did anyone else see it?  Does anyone have a personal experience? Inquiring minds want to know...

Below is the link to watch it online. It’s about a 20-minute report. 

Title: "Educating Sergeant Pantzke: For-profit colleges offer veterans a quality degree, but do they deliver?”

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/front...t-pantzke/

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I watched it a couple of weeks ago, and it was really concerning, upsetting actually.
I would be interested to hear some stories of supportive Schools that veterans have found success in. That way we would have a more balanced story, and better information for choosing 'veteran-friendly' schools. That way we can support those schools.

I don't have personal experience with these universities, but I've known a few spouses who tried to take courses through them (online). In general, the spouses felt like they were on their own and they weren't happy with how the courses were being administered - their contact with professors, being able to get questions answered, even getting phone calls returned from financial aid and enrollment offices. One tried to drop her enrollment in the timeframe to receive a partial refund and she never got her money back. As a person who has a PhD from a Midwestern Research 1 university, I can say that the quality of the academics I saw my friends taking was poor. I've taught Freshman English and Business Writing. My friends taking these courses were not being given assignments anywhere near the complexity or rigor that would be required at a typical state university.

Granted, my experience is second-person and only with one specific for-profit, but I was not impressed and could see why employers would question the validity of the degree (if, most classes were similar to the few I saw).

For online courses, I know Old Dominion out of Virginia is well-known for working with veterans and active duty service members. Catholic University out of DC is another one that gives credit for knowledge earned in the service. I agree, it would be great to see who is supportive so we can support them.

I received my Bachelors through University of La Verne, which is a "For Profit" school. It is also one of the highest rated colleges in the US as far as academics (http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandr...erne-1216)

I was very happy with the coursework and instructors. I did half in the classroom and half as distance education. I was going to follow up with their MBA program, but I pursued a J.D. through UCLA instead. In comparison, La Verne was a much more satisfying experience than the state school. UCLA wasn't bad, but I was lucky to be a California resident.

If you are seeking something in Japan, UMUC is where I got my associates, and I was very happy with the "condensed courses" that they offered".

I have heard bad things about ITT though. I know a DeVry Professor who seems to be ok, but I cant speak for the experience.

sorry, repeat post.

I thought that video seemed a little slanted and politically motivated. It seems as though they were trying to make "for profit" schools look bad, as if it's a bad thing to make a profit in our country. When you make such a large investment in your education, you gotta do your research. You gotta make sure you're going to the best school you can afford, and that it has a good track record.

I felt like they were trying to make people feel sorry for that veteran that enrolled in The Art Institute and flunked out......as if it's the schools fault that he wasn't able to pass his classes. The Art Institute even offered him free tutoring to help him with his courses. I'm not sure why he wasn't able to pass his classes, but I hardly think it's the school's fault. Perhaps he didn't develop the skills needed in high school to prepare himself for the workload that college courses can have on an individual. I just don't think it's the school's fault that he got lured in by their marketing, and ultimately couldn't hack it when it came down to making the grade.

Veterans have a choice to go to whatever school they want. No one twists their arm or holds a gun to their head. They get to pick the degree they want to get and the school of their choice. This video makes these people look like they weren't given that option and were"swindled" into doing s/thing they didn't want to do at the profit of the school. It's the same excuse as those people that got sucked into subprime loans during the housing crisis, and then claimed that they didn't understand what they were signing when they bought their house.

With all that being said, I think getting a degree can be over-rated (not always, but s/times). I hate seeing people go into massive amounts of debt only to get a degree that will serve them no purpose. There are tons of useless degrees out there. It's imperative that people research their field and the college they go to before wasting large amounts of money that they may not be able to easily pay back through a useless degree.

I feel this video was very one sided, painting for profit schools as monsters out to get Veteran's MGIB money. My opinion is that it is the responsibility of the person applying at higher education institutes to UNDERSTAND what they are applying for and signing. Not all for profit schools are bad, just as not all non-profit schools are great! I do not like the fact that this video is trying to paint the Veterans as victims because they decided to go with a school that charges more. In every school I have been with the fees are very clear upfront and the policies are written out- where is the personal responsibility and common sense in this story? Many online schools tend to hold classes in less time than traditional schools- it is one advantage of online learning because a degree can be obtained quicker. If a person cannot keep up, they need to dis-enroll rather than punch walls... If their PTSD is so severe that they cannot commit to learning then they should probably not be enrolled in school until medically fit.  Every base has a an education office that both active duty and Veterans can call and get information about accreditation- there is no excuse for anyone affiliated with the Military to not understand because the resources are there, one just has to use them.

My husband and I have had experience with profit and non-profit colleges, some good and some bad. I always joke that I would love to be a forever student... if only that were a job, lol

University of Maryland University College Asian Division (Non-Profit): I took quite a few classes while stationed in Korea and loved it. All of the classes were in person in a brick and mortar setting but they really helped with our schedules and due dates for assignments because being Army we were always in the field it seemed. It was my introduction to higher learning and I knocked out many core classes. At that time I did not have a degree plan. TA covered all fees and books.

Arapahoe Community College (non-Profit): I enjoyed this school but felt as if the classes were slow and sometimes I felt it was a waste of time attending the school because it seemed as if so much of the class was reviewing things that students should have known how to do upon graduating grade 12. The first week was actually spent teaching us how to study and take notes... I was very disappointed. I only took one class with them because it was hard to attend classes, take care of a child as a single parent and work on a 12 hour rotating schedule while stationed in Denver. It was at this time that I started looking into online education and felt it would be the best for me since my family and work obligations (not to mention PCSing) made it hard to attend "real" schools.

Colorado Tech University (For Profit): I found this school to be great. I actually really enjoyed it. They took all of my credits from UMUC and ACC as well as all of my Army credits as a Signals Analysis. With all of those, I only had to complete five classes and I earned a2 year IT degree. I went on and also earned a Business degree. At that time "classes" were set up online in basically a forum and many of the assignments were based on communications held within the class forum. The instructors also held lectures online that could be accessed at any time if you couldn't make it live. I really enjoyed that school and felt that the content was in depth and grades were fair. MGIB took care of all of the fees and books. All courses were 100% online. If I were to refer anyone to an online school, it would be this one based on my experience.

University of Phoenix (For Profit): My husband took one course with the college and hated it. The classes seemed to move quickly and none of the material seemed to be actually studied. He described it as a quick overview sand then they would move on. The part he really hated was the requirement at that time that each student had to partake in a group project. Students were put into 4-5 person groups and given an assignment that counted for a high percentage of their final grade. The problem is that since it is all online, this made things very difficult. My husband and one other person ended up doing the bulk of their group's project, told the instructor this but everyone still ended up getting an "A". Needless to say that was the LAST class he took with UOP.

US Career Institute (For Profit): I had reclassed as an Animal Care Technition when going from active duty to active reserves. I wanted to get an actual degree as a Vet Tech but the very few Universities that offer this were all brick and mortar schools and we did not live anywhere near them. I really wanted some type of civilian certification for my training so I ended up signing up with this school. TA took care of 50% of the school and I paid the rest- it wasn't much, maybe a few hundred dollars. They sent out a huge book that you were to study from and then take quizzes. At the end there was a big final exam. There was no instructor, no online content other than the quizzes and tests themselves and everything was open book. I am not sure how effective this type of training is, and couldn't imagine it would be worth the money but I had already been to the Army school and was actively working in a base vet office. I basically just took the quizzes and tests without opening the book since I already knew the content.

Grantham University (For Profit): Both my husband and I were enrolled at this school at the same time and hated it. They seem to be a degree-mill and will award anyone a class credit as long as they show up and  type words in a Word document or post a few times in the class forum. The instructors are actually just facilitators of the class as there is no instruction from them. They also do not take spelling and grammar into account while grading unless it is an actual English class... this was actually a statement from them when I asked why I had the same grade as a person who sounded as if he were a caveman on all of his assignments. I only lasted on class due to my disappointment in grading and content and my husband lasted two until he was fed up after emailing the "instructor" of one course multiple times with a question and not receiving correspondence back. TA and MGIB paid for everything, including books. I feel that this school is one of the poorer For profit schools that is mainly made up of Military and Veterans.

Penn State (non-profit): My husband is looking at enrolling in the online option. The classes are slower than "online schools" but they seem to be a better quality as far as content reviewed and learned.

Equine Science Academy (Profit): I am currently finishing up year one of this school and love it. Last year I received a full scholarship which is good because they don't accept federal funding. This is a very specialized school that is unique in their content and teaching. It is set up as a distance learning school but we have field instructors that you do practicums with every few months. It will be hard for me to finish while in Japan because I need access to horses to practice and study so I may have to hold off on finishing until we return stateside

I watched it when they aired and I can see where they were coming from in the segment. Lets face it, a lot of young Military members (and people in general) choose online schools because they think it'll be the easiest route (and it turns out it's not the type of teaching atmosphere that works for them).

I had completed all through Masters with the traditional brick and mortar; but one could argue that attending in the military atmosphere (nighttime/weekend/lunchtime classes) and a traditional M-F day time classes is different; even when I completed my masters and all occured in the b/m setting--the classes were still at night and most students military-related. Is the experience the same as full blown traditional "fresh out of high school/away from home for the first time etc"? At first the "focus" and I want to characterize all as "attack" was on "the on-line" offerings; then as more of the nonprofit colleges/universities began a shift to embrace the on-line/distance learning approach, the attention changed to "for profit". Having just spent 43 months on the doctoral journey with the Univ of Phoenix, the issue is NOT one of for profit or nonprofit but one of course offerings/availability/functionality and how all correlates to the student. I would not have cared which college I attended but the choices that support the "military" life style in terms of work hours/locations are limited. Most of my fellow learners were NOT military/never been/no GIBill; I did indeed have most of my MGIB remaining and when all was tallied up, I only had to pay about 10K out of my pocket; The atmosphere with on-line learning is not for everyone; you do have to exercise an enormous amount of self-disclipine. Are all the professors equal and grade as my high school english teacher did--No; are some of the students just checking the box and submitting the mininum-sure; easy to pick out; the proof in the pudding so to speak comes out when group projects are required. While I cannot speak of the other offerings but the doctoral program includes on-line library so few books to purchase; all papers are ran through a plagarism checker so any folks trying to take a shortcut are weeded out; would I recommend the program and University to someone--most assuredly yes; but for reasons NOT related to for profit; at the end of the day the more YOU put into it, the more YOU will get out of it..

Ron