Veterans’ Group Hails Passage of Bill Protecting Students

Inside Higher Ed

Kery Murakami

December 11, 2020

A measure passed by the Senate Wednesday night would among other things require a review of whether colleges should be eligible to accept GI Bill funds if they have been penalized by federal or state authorities.

While the measure, which is expected to pass the House and be signed by President Donald Trump, applies to all types of colleges and universities, it was hailed by groups concerned about veterans and members of the military being taken advantage of by some for-profit colleges.

Colleges had been able to continue to receive GI Bill funds even after being penalized for acts like misrepresenting to prospective students their ability to get jobs after they graduate. Under the bill, part of a package of veterans’ measures passed unanimously, legal penalties imposed by state and federal governments, among a number of other things, would now trigger a review by the Veterans Affairs Department of whether the institution should still be eligible to receive GI Bill funds.

The bill, among a number of other protections, also extends a provision restoring the GI Bill benefit a veteran uses for tuition if they had to withdraw from college because of a reason associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This landmark legislation will significantly weed out predatory colleges that seek to take advantage of veterans,” Carrie Wofford, president of the advocacy group Veterans Education Success, said in a statement.

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