A new report by Veterans Education Success found that seven of the ten colleges receiving the most GI Bill benefits spent less than one-third of tuition and fees on academic instruction in 2017, reports The Washington Post.
The report noted that spending on instruction often correlates with students' success in graduating and finding a job, even when students enter college underprepared.
From 2009-2017, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs awarded nearly $35 billion in Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition payments to colleges and universities nationally. Ten schools alone received a total of $5.4 billion in GI payments, with University of Phoenix, DeVry, and Strayer universities receiving the most, the Post reported. The top three recipients spent only 11 to 15 percent of gross tuition revenue on educating students.
The report does not explain where the schools are spending tuition dollars that are not allocated for instruction.
Of the top 10 recipients of GI Bill benefits, Pennsylvania State University spent the largest proportion of gross tuition revenue (70 percent) on instruction, the Post reported. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and for-profit ECPI University followed, with 41.4 percent and 38.3 percent, respectively.
Colorado Technical University used only 8.2 percent of its gross tuition revenue for teaching in 2017, reported the Post. The for-profit school’s owner, Career Education Corp., allotted more than 37 percent of revenue to recruiting and marketing.
Related Link
The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/04/19/some-colleges-receiving-most-gi-benefits-spend-least-educating-veterans-report-says/