A new report outlines ways to increase the number of military veterans attending the most selective institutions in the U.S.
Ithaka S+R, a not-for-profit research organization that works to advance knowledge and improve teaching and learning, released the report titled, “Enrolling More Veterans at High-Graduation-Rate Colleges and Universities.”
According to the report, only one in 10 veterans that utilizes his or her GI Bill benefits enrolls in an institutions with graduation rates above 70 percent. Of nearly 900,000 veterans using their post-9/11 GI Bill and/or Yellow Ribbon funds, only 722 undergraduates are enrolled in the country’s top 36 most selective, non-profit colleges.
Veterans often have difficulties navigating the available benefits, said Dr. Catharine Bond Hill, one of the authors of the report and former president of Vassar College. There may be problems selecting which benefits to choose and when benefits are received. Sometimes, monies are released after tuition is due at institutions, which creates problems with registration, Hill said.
“That is something the institutions could be better about recognizing and be a little more forgiving,” said Hill.
Facing frustration and lack of flexibility at not-for-profits institutions, veterans have increasingly turned to for-profit institutions in disproportionate numbers. The report states that nearly one in three veterans using GI Bill benefits attends a for-profit institution.
“I think for-profit institutions have realized the extent of GI benefits and are marketing themselves to veterans,” said Hill. “There is a certain amount of flexibility in terms of when and where you take the courses, but the data on the graduation rates from the for-profits is really atrocious.”
