VA Backs Off Threat to Cut GI Bill Funding for Ashford University

January 10, 2018
  • Industry News

Ashford University will maintain its GI Bill eligibility — for now.

The for-profit institution, which was the subject of a Chronicle investigation in November, faced a Tuesday deadline from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to be approved by the veterans agency in its home state. Failure to get that approval, the department had warned, would lead the federal government to "suspend payments" for the thousands of GI Bill students who attend Ashford.

In the days leading up to the deadline, the stock price of Ashford’s parent company, Bridgepoint Education, had slipped to $7.60 a share — its lowest price in over a year.

But the department has backed down somewhat from its threat, and Ashford will continue to receive millions in GI Bill dollars even though its state-approval status is still unsettled. The key concession made by Ashford: The university applied this month with the state of California to be recognized for GI Bill purposes.

Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education: https://www.chronicle.com/article/VA-Backs-Off-Threat-to-Cut-GI/242198