Dive Brief:
- A report released Wednesday by Sen. Tom Harkin and the Democratic majority of the Senate's education committee shows eight for-profit colleges raking in a quarter ($1.7 billion) of Post-9/11 GI Bill funds in 2012-13.
- The benefits program began in 2009, and the amount of veterans enrolling at for-profits has since risen from 23% to 30% while public college veteran enrollments dropped to 50% from 62%. The only two schools among the top 10 recipients of the funds that aren't for-profits are the University of Maryland system and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
- To put things into perspective, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the $1.7 billion received by the eight for-profit companies is close to the total cost of the Post-9/11 GI Bill program in 2009-10.
Dive Insight:
Among the for-profits in the top 10: University of Phoenix parent Apollo Education Group ($272 million), Education Management Corporation ($163 million), and ITT Educational Services ($161 million). It should come as no surprise to readers that these three, as well as others on the list, are under investigation. Even the shuttering Corinthian Colleges Inc., recently blacklisted by a student veterans group, is on the list. The other four names include DeVry Education Group, Career Education Corporation, and Universal Technical Institute Inc.
Don't be surprised if this report breeds further federal scrutiny and investigations.