President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order today to protect veterans from for-profit colleges that attempt to swindle them out of their post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
According to the White House:
The Executive Order will require that colleges provide more transparent information about their outcomes and financial aid options for students, which will help ensure that students are aware of the true cost and likelihood of completion prior to enrolling.
According to the Senate HELP Committee, of the ten educational institutions collecting the most Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits between 2009 and 2011, eight were for-profit schools. Six of these schools had bachelor student withdrawal rates above 50 percent.
The for-profit college lobbying group, the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, responded to the executive order in a statement:
"Despite today's deeply unfortunate development, private sector schools remain committed to continuing to work with the White House, Congress and veteran service organizations toward the improvement of military- and veteran-education, and will continue to focus on preparing students to enter and succeed in the 21st Century workforce."
According to White House statistics, the Post 9/11 GI Bill and the the Tuition Assistance program allowed more than 550,000 veterans and 325,000 service members to pursue their college degrees.
President Obama signed the Executive Order at Fort Henry in Georgia. Take a look, courtesy of The Pentagon Channel:
