VA Education Benefits: VA Should Strengthen Its Efforts to Help Veterans Make Informed Education Choices
Published: 2014-05-13T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: In fiscal year 2013, VA provided over $12 billion in benefits for veterans' postsecondary education; however, questions have been raised as to whether some schools are receiving these funds as a result of inappropriate recruiting practices. GAO was asked to examine issues related to schools' recruitment of veterans. This report examines (1) how selected schools recruit veterans, (2) veterans' school search and recruiting experiences, and (3) VA's actions to help veterans make informed decisions and to identify inappropriate recruiting practices.
For the first question, GAO interviewed officials from 9 schools and reviewed websites of 30 additional schools; both groups were selected for variation in sector (public, nonprofit, and for-profit) and other criteria. For the second question, GAO surveyed a nationally representative group of student veterans, producing results generalizable to the student veteran population. For the third question, GAO reviewed relevant federal requirements and agency documents and interviewed agency officials. GAO also spoke with veteran and higher education organizations.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Selected schools used various practices, from mass advertising to individual outreach, to recruit and inform prospective student veterans. Eight of nine schools GAO interviewed reported advertising in print or online media dedicated to military audiences. Most of the nine schools contacted veterans directly by phone or email, sometimes with military-focused recruiters, to provide information on benefits or services or to highlight the school as “military-friendly.” Further, 29 of the 30 school websites GAO reviewed included a section specifically for veterans, some of which were featured prominently on the home page.
Many surveyed veterans reported that school communication was important in selecting a school; however, nearly 23 percent (about 15,200 veterans when generalized nationally) reported excessive contacts from schools and an estimated 10 percent (about 6,900 veterans nationwide) said they felt pressure to enroll. In addition, while most surveyed veterans reported receiving generally accurate information from their school, about 23 percent (about 16,500 veterans nationwide) reported receiving some information they viewed as inaccurate, such as estimated student loan debt. Many veterans also wanted more information from their schools, such as on veteran support services (see figure below). Inaccurate or incomplete information can lead veterans to choose schools that do not meet their needs and exhaust their benefits before achieving their goals. Veteran and higher education groups said that greater access to independent and objective advice would help veterans with their education choices.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has taken steps to inform and protect student veterans, but some efforts have been insufficient. VA is developing tools to help veterans understand their education benefits and compare information on schools. VA has also taken some action to improve veterans' awareness of its free education counseling services, as required by law, but its efforts to expand awareness among prospective students and ease the application process have been limited. At the same time, almost half of surveyed veterans were not aware of VA's counseling when considering schools. To help identify misleading or aggressive recruiting, VA has launched a new complaint system, created a risk-based approach to oversee schools, and taken other steps. While VA has made some progress implementing federally required initiatives, its project planning has lacked realistic timelines and goals—in contrast to sound planning practices. As a result, Congress and others lack information on VA's progress implementing planned initiatives to protect and inform student veterans.
section_title: What GAO Recommends
paragraphs: GAO recommends that VA improve outreach and accessibility of its educational counseling services and more consistently develop and communicate realistic timelines as it implements initiatives based on federal requirements. VA agreed with GAO's recommendations and noted its current efforts to improve its outreach and planning efforts. The Department of Education had no comments on our findings or recommendations.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: In fiscal year 2013, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provided over  $12 billion in benefits for veterans’ postsecondary education; however,  questions have been raised as to whether some schools receive such  funds as a result of inappropriate recruiting practices. Since the Post- 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Post-9/11 GI Bill)  went into effect, the number of veterans receiving VA education benefits  has almost doubled—to over 1 million in fiscal year 2013—and the use of  these benefits will continue to grow as the number of post-9/11 veterans  is expected to increase to more than 5 million by 2020. Because of these  education benefits, schools may be particularly interested in enrolling  veterans. For-profit schools may have added incentive to enroll veterans  because of requirements related to other federal student aid programs  administered by the Department of Education (Education). Recent  congressional hearings and press accounts have included anecdotal  reports of veterans experiencing aggressive recruiting practices or being  misled by school recruiters. Additionally, some state attorneys general  have begun investigations or filed lawsuits against schools for deceptive  marketing and other consumer fraud concerns regarding veterans or  other students, while the Federal Trade Commission recently issued a  notice advising veterans about how to avoid schools that may pressure  them to enroll in a program that does not meet their educational needs.
Reports of misleading and aggressive school recruiting practices, as well  as concerns about whether veterans have access to clear and accurate  information about schools, have resulted in recent federal actions.  Specifically, the President issued Executive Order 13607, which calls on  VA and other agencies to strengthen enforcement mechanisms to ensure  that schools are not engaged in deceptive or aggressive recruiting  practices toward veteran and military students. In addition, legislation  enacted in January 2013 (Public Law 112-249) required VA to develop a  comprehensive policy to improve outreach and transparency to veterans  and provide information to help veterans make informed education  choices.
Given the large and growing federal investment in veterans’ education  benefits, GAO was asked to examine issues related to schools’  recruitment of veterans. This report provides information on the following  questions:  1.  How do selected schools recruit veterans?  2.  What are the school search and recruiting experiences of student  veterans?  3.  What actions has VA taken to help veterans make informed education  decisions and to identify inappropriate school recruiting?
To address the first question, we conducted phone interviews with  officials from nine schools (three schools in each sector—public, for-profit,  and nonprofit) to gather information on the extent and ways they reach  out to veterans and military servicemembers. We also reviewed the  websites of an additional 30 schools (10 per sector) to review basic  information on how schools’ websites are used to engage interested  students and to provide information aimed at prospective veteran or  military students. We selected the schools for our interviews and website  analysis for variation in sector, VA funding levels, and level of degrees  offered (e.g., bachelor’s vs. associate’s), among other criteria. All of our  selected schools received at least $2 million in total Post-9/11 GI Bill  payments from fiscal years 2010 through 2011, the most recent data  available when we selected our schools. The information gathered from  our school interviews and website review is not generalizable to all  schools, but is useful in illustrating the range of recruiting practices used  by selected schools.
To address the second question, we administered a survey to a nationally  representative sample of 900 recently enrolled student veterans (300 per  sector) to ask about their recruiting experiences and information they  received from their current school. A total of 254 students responded to  the survey—an unweighted response rate of 28 percent. We conducted a  nonresponse bias analysis with available administrative data from the  sample population to determine whether any characteristics were  correlated with the propensity to respond. We determined that our survey  respondents were more likely to be older than the general population of  veterans using VA education benefits. We therefore adjusted the sample  weights so that our survey responses reflect the age distribution in the  population. All survey results presented in the body of this report are  generalizable to the population of student veterans receiving Post-9/11 GI  Bill benefits for the first time in 2012. Due to an insufficient response rate,  we were not able to report results by sector. A detailed description of our  sampling methodology can be found in appendix I. The survey instrument  and a tabulation of the results can be found in appendix II.
To address the third question, we reviewed pertinent federal laws and  requirements, including Executive Order 13607 and provisions in Public  Law 112-249. We interviewed VA officials and reviewed agency  documents to examine VA’s progress in implementing relevant portions of  the executive order and the public law. We also interviewed officials and  obtained documents from Education to better understand any relevant  interagency work with VA. In addition, we asked students we surveyed  and school officials we interviewed about the content and usefulness of  relevant information and assistance provided by VA. Lastly, we  interviewed officials from several veterans service organizations and  higher education organizations to obtain their perspectives on key issues.
We conducted this performance audit from February 2013 through May  2014, in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to  obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for  our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe  that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings  and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: Background
subsections: section_title: Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits
paragraphs: Among VA’s several educational benefit programs, the Post-9/11 GI Bill  program, which took effect on August 1, 2009, has become the largest  (see fig. 1). In fiscal year 2013, the Post-9/11 GI Bill program had 754,529  participants and accounted for about $10.2 billion in obligations,  representing the majority of participants and funding of all VA education  programs. This program provides benefits generally to veterans who   For  served on active duty for at least 90 days after September 10, 2001.those who served on active duty for 36 months, VA will pay the full tuition  and fees at an in-state public school and up to an annual maximum  amount at nonprofit and for-profit schools ($19,198 in academic year  2013-14). Veterans may also receive payments towards housing and  other expenses, such as books. Veterans attending participating nonprofit  or for-profit schools, or public schools as out-of-state students, may  receive additional benefits to cover tuition and fees through the Yellow  Ribbon G.I. Education Enhancement Program (Yellow Ribbon   Under this program, schools enter into voluntary agreements  Program).with VA to pay a portion of the tuition and fees that exceed an individual’s  Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit and VA matches the schools’ contribution.
VA education benefits, including Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, may be used  at different types of postsecondary schools. Veterans may use these  benefits at schools from any of the three sectors: (1) public schools,  which are operated and funded by state or local governments; (2)  nonprofit schools, which are owned and operated by nonprofit  organizations whose net earnings do not benefit any shareholder or  individual; and (3) for-profit schools, which are privately owned and  whose net earnings can benefit individuals or shareholders. Additionally  veterans may use benefits for a variety of schools and degree programs,  including 4-year colleges and universities that typically offer bachelor’s  degrees or higher, community colleges that typically offer associates  degrees, and vocational and technical schools that offer certificates, but  typically not degrees. Lastly, students may participate in a program on a  physical school campus, through online programs, or both. To receive  education benefits through the Post-9/11 GI Bill, students submit  applications to VA, schools certify students’ enrollment in classes, and VA  processes claims and payments. VA then pays schools directly for tuition  and fees and sends payments for housing allowances and book stipends  to students who are eligible for these payments.
section_title: VA Oversight of Education Benefits
subsections: section_title: School Oversight
paragraphs: VA conducts compliance reviews to assess whether schools that receive  VA education benefits adhere to applicable laws and regulations. VA’s  central office develops policies for these reviews, which are implemented  by compliance personnel in VA’s regional offices, along with state  approving agencies. To conduct these reviews, compliance personnel at  VA and state approving agencies visit schools, examine school records,  and interview school officials and students to check, for instance, if a  school is enrolling beneficiaries in approved courses and making  payments properly. Compliance personnel must also review whether a  school’s advertising, sales, or enrollment practices are erroneous,  deceptive, or misleading, under existing law. Additionally, existing law  mandates that compliance reviews be conducted annually at all schools  with 300 or more students who receive VA education benefits and at all  schools that receive benefits and do not award college degrees; however,  VA has the authority to waive these reviews for schools with a  demonstrated record of compliance.
section_title: New GI Bill Requirements
paragraphs: Executive Order 13607 and Public Law 112-249 require VA to take  additional steps to oversee schools and inform student veterans about  their education choices (see table 1). The executive order, issued in April  2012, aims to better protect veteran and military students from  inappropriate school behavior, as well as provide these students with  useful information on their school choices. For instance, the executive  order required VA and other agencies to establish “Principles of  Excellence,” calling on participating schools to end fraudulent and unduly  aggressive recruiting practices and provide students, prior to enrollment,  with a personalized form covering the total cost of an education program,  among other things. Although schools receiving VA education benefits  are not required to adopt the Principles of Excellence, VA strongly  encourages schools to do so and posts lists of participating schools on  the GI Bill website. Public Law 112-249, enacted in January 2013,  focused on improving outreach and transparency of information to  veterans and has elements similar to the executive order. It required VA  to develop a comprehensive policy to include, for example, a public  feedback system on schools and expand its outreach on its educational  counseling service. This free service is available, upon request, to all  individuals who are eligible for VA education benefits and can help them  explore their career and educational goals and consider options for  attaining those goals.
section_title: Selected Schools Use Veteran-Focused Recruiting Practices Ranging from National Advertising to Individual Communication
subsections: section_title: Veteran-Focused Recruiting, Advertising, and Promotion
paragraphs: Officials from all of the nine schools we interviewed told us that their  schools engaged in recruiting efforts specifically focused on attracting  student veterans. For instance, three schools had a separate  department for military relations or services, which handled all of the  recruiting and outreach for veteran and military students and coordinated  with the school’s marketing and admissions departments. Four other  schools did not have a separate office, but designated an admissions  director or other official whose role was to oversee recruiting efforts for  veteran and military students.
Officials from five of the nine schools also said that they were actively  trying to increase their military or student veteran population through their  recruitment efforts. For example, officials at a nonprofit school said that in  recent years it has placed a higher priority on adult students and online  learning, in part, to increase enrollment and meet the needs of the  veteran and military student population. Similarly, officials at a public  community college near several military bases said that it wanted to  increase its student population, with a specific focus on student veterans  because they were a large and growing part of their local community.  Officials at one nonprofit and one for-profit school said that they were  interested in attracting student veterans for a variety of reasons, including  a desire to meet the needs of this population and the availability of VA  benefits to pay for tuition costs.
Examples of Criteria Used by External  Organizations to Designate Schools as  Military Friendly    Simplified, expedited, or flexible  enrolment processes for veteran or military  students.  Proportion of veteran or military students  of all enrolled students.  Credit transfer policies that minimize loss   of credit and avoid duplication of course work,  including academic credit for military training  or experience.  Campus support services, such as full-time  veteran counsellors at the school, mentoring,  networking events, clubs and associations,  and veterans’ lounges and centers.  Flexible policies for veteran or military  students, such as availability of evening,  weekend, and online academic programs or  accommodating needs of military students  who are deployed.   Military student outcomes, such as  graduation rates or employment rates for  veteran and military students.  Participation in VA and Department of  Defense programs, including the Post-9/11  GI Bill, the Yellow Ribbon Program, and  Department of Defense’s education benefits  program for servicemembers.
Selected schools’ websites also demonstrated a focus on recruiting  veteran or military students, as 29 of the 30 school websites we reviewed  included sections dedicated to veteran or military students. Over half (19)  of these schools had a direct link on their home page to a veteran or  military student section that included information on veterans’ benefits,  the school’s Yellow Ribbon Program, or information to help veterans  apply to the school (5 public, 7 nonprofit, 7 for-profit). Moreover, seven  schools featured veterans or military servicemembers prominently on  their home page when we reviewed their websites, such as by posting  photos of students in military attire or promoting the school’s veteran  scholarship programs.
As part of their focus on the prospective veteran and military student  population, eight of the nine schools we interviewed promoted themselves  as “veteran friendly” or “military friendly,” and 14 of the 30 schools whose  websites we reviewed (4 public, 6 nonprofit, 4 for-profit) used these or  similar terms. Schools generally cited ratings from external  organizations, such as GI Jobs’ MilitaryFriendlySchools.com, as sources  for their designation as a military friendly school. These organizations  rate schools on various criteria, such as the availability of veteran or  military support services or academic credit for military training or  experience (see sidebar). Officials at one public school stated that they  use such criteria to guide them in considering additional ways to support  veterans and servicemembers at their school.
Officials from eight of the nine schools we interviewed reported  advertising to some extent in print or online media dedicated to military  audiences (see fig. 2). For instance, eight schools advertised in print  media, ranging from national military publications to local military base  newspapers. Officials from one for-profit school said that their school  advertised in about 20 military base newspapers across the country,  typically at bases where the school is regularly invited to speak. Some  of the schools we interviewed also advertised to veteran or military  students through social media, such as Facebook© and Twitter©, and  online advertising, such as banner advertisements on military-affiliated  websites.
In addition to broad advertising, officials from all nine schools we  interviewed reported conducting in-person recruiting activities, such as  participating in education fairs, where they could interact with prospective  veteran and military students. For instance, all nine schools participated  in education or career fairs specifically for veteran or military students,  with one school participating in around 70 such events a year. Officials at  seven schools said that they made recruiting visits on military bases to  which they were invited, generally those that were located near their  campuses. For example, officials from one nonprofit school said that they  did recruiting visits at the 18 military bases where they had a campus, as  well as other bases to which they were invited. Officials from one for-profit  school said that it visited about 30 military bases in a year, generally  through education fairs held on bases. This school also routinely held  office hours for military students currently enrolled in the school, and  these office hours also provided opportunities for school representatives  to meet prospective students who had heard about the school through  word of mouth. Beyond military bases, several schools participated in  education or career fairs sponsored by veterans service organizations or  held campus visits specifically for veteran or military students, such as on  Veterans Day.
Two recent studies conducted large surveys of schools and similarly  found that many schools use recruiting practices that are focused on  veteran and military students. In February 2014, Education published a  study based on a nationally representative survey of schools that enrolled  veterans, military service members, or their dependents in the 2012-2013  academic year. It found that 63 percent of these schools provided  information at college admissions fairs for veterans and servicemembers,  32 percent provided information at events held on military bases, and 28  percent held campus admissions events customized for prospective  veterans or military students. Another recent study conducted a survey  of schools that offered services and programs designed for veteran and  military students and found that almost two-thirds of responding schools  reported engaging in similar recruiting efforts specifically designed to  attract veteran or military students.
section_title: Identification of Veterans and Individual Communication
paragraphs: To communicate with individual students, selected schools identified a  prospective student’s veteran or military status in various ways. Seven of  the nine schools we interviewed explicitly asked if a prospective student  was a veteran or affiliated with the military. While two of these schools  asked this on the application, five schools asked this earlier in the  recruiting process. For instance, officials at two for-profit schools said that  one of the first questions asked of prospective students is whether they  are affiliated with the military—in order to transfer these students to  specialized recruiters who are familiar with VA and military education  benefits. Officials at two nonprofit schools said they do not explicitly ask if  a prospective student is a veteran, but can ascertain their status in other  ways, such as when veterans discuss their background on the phone or  because the contact was made at a veteran or military event. Officials at  these schools also said that they know whether a prospective student is  military affiliated based on the website through which the student came to  them (e.g., a banner advertisement on a military site) or if they were on  the veteran or military section of the school’s website.
In addition, officials at four of the schools we interviewed said that they  work with military-affiliated “lead generator” websites that identify students  who have submitted their contact information and agreed to be contacted  by schools that may match their interests. Officials at one nonprofit  school noted that it used a lead generator for one campus near a military  base and was considering using it with other campuses. Officials from a  public school’s online program said the school used several lead  generator companies to identity potentially interested students, including  prospective veteran or military students. Two nonprofit schools that used  lead generators also purchased military-affiliated names through other  means. One school purchased a list of addresses for military residents in  an urban area with a heavy military presence to send direct mailings, and  another school purchased a list of e-mails of subscribers to a military  magazine.
Although not veteran specific, some of the 30 school websites we  reviewed used techniques focused on encouraging students to provide  their contact information or engage directly with the school at the start of  their website search. For example, 10 of the 30 schools’ websites we  reviewed (8 for-profit schools and 2 nonprofit schools) had a separate  advertising link that appeared at the top of search engine results. This link  opens up a separate “home page” for the school that includes a  prominent request for a person’s contact information and much less  information about the school than the school’s official home page. Also,  some school websites encouraged students to engage with them right  away. Specifically, 9 of the 30 schools (6 for-profit schools and 3 nonprofit  school) used prominent pop-up chat windows or links to “live chats” on  their traditional home page to respond to questions from prospective  students about the school.
Once a veteran is identified, officials from most of the nine schools we  interviewed said that they contacted veterans directly, such as by phone  or email, and their school made special efforts to customize the individual  communication. Officials from six schools said that they contacted  prospective veteran or military students by phone. For instance, officials  at one for-profit school said that they had around 400 admissions  advisors who made individual contacts with prospective students, and  about 60 were dedicated to communicating with military-affiliated  students. Similarly, the recruiting official at a public school’s online  program said that 6 of their 15 enrollment advisors were specifically  designated to respond to inquiries from prospective veteran or military  students, and that they did not have designated enrollment staff for any  other student population group. Also, six schools sent veteran-focused e- mail messages and four schools sent veteran-focused direct mailings,  communicating information such as the military-friendly nature of the  school or information on veteran or military benefits. For example, officials  of one public school said that while they send a general “thank you” e- mail to all students who apply, they send a second e-mail to veterans that  encourages them to contact their office of veteran and military support  services or seek out the school’s former-military peer advisors to respond  to inquiries. Officials at most of the nine schools said that they did not  make any contacts with students who had not first indicated interest or  requested information. For instance, officials at all of the schools said that  they did not make “cold calls,” or calls to someone who had not previously  expressed interest in the school or provided their contact information.  Officials from seven of the nine schools we interviewed said that they did  not send any e-mails or direct mailings to individuals who had not  previously expressed interest or agreed to be contacted.
section_title: A Large Number of Veterans Reported Experiencing Problems with School Interactions and Facing Challenges Obtaining Complete School Information
subsections: section_title: School Communications Influence Veterans’ Decisions, but Almost a Quarter of Veterans Reported Unwanted School Contacts
paragraphs: Many of the student veterans we surveyed relied on school  communication and information when deciding where to enroll. For  instance, 73 percent of our survey respondents reported direct  communications with school personnel as extremely or very important in  their school selection. Veterans cited this as one of the highest rated  factors in their school selection decision, along with school location and  financial considerations. Also highly rated was a school’s military  friendliness—a characteristic that schools promote to appeal to veteran  and military students. Additionally, about half of veterans rated schools’  websites as an extremely or very important factor in their school selection  and almost three-fourths of veterans requested more information after  visiting a school website.
The majority of veterans reported being exposed to school  advertisements—an indirect form of school communication—which,  although not rated as important in their final school selection, may have  influenced the schools they considered in the first place. About 64 percent  of student veterans reported seeing some type of advertisement for the  school they enrolled in and other schools they considered, most  commonly on television or the Internet. While a small percentage of  veterans indicated that advertising was an extremely or very important  factor in their ultimate school selection (12 percent), advertising may  influence their decision to consider a particular school. According to a  study by Public Agenda, a nonpartisan research and advocacy  organization, advertisements are one of the most common ways that  students learn about college choices after having spent some or many  years away from school. Veterans who use VA education benefits are  often nontraditional students, in that they are typically older and have  families and did not go to college immediately after high school.
Our survey results indicate that veterans generally had positive  experiences regarding the amount and nature of communication from  schools; however, almost a quarter reported receiving unwanted school  contacts. The majority of veterans felt that they received the right amount  of email and phone contacts from schools. When asked about school actions they found helpful, a number of student veterans said that the  prompt e-mail replies they received and the conversations they had with  school recruiting personnel who were aware of VA benefits and veteran  needs were particularly helpful in deciding where to attend school. In  contrast, however, about 23 percent—or an estimated 15,200 veterans  when generalized to the population of veterans receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill  benefits—said that they felt the contacts they received from schools were  excessive, generally from schools they considered but did not ultimately  attend. Specifically, about 4 percent of student veterans reported feeling  that the school they chose to attend contacted them excessively, while 19  percent reported excessive contacts from other schools they  considered.
Further, approximately 1 in 10 student veterans—or an estimated 6,900  veterans when generalized to the population—also reported feeling  pressure from a school to enroll. In open-ended comments, a few  students explained that their experiences included receiving “constant” or  “daily” e-mails or phone calls, even after they informed the school that  they were no longer interested or had enrolled in another school. In one  instance, a student said that a school both called and e-mailed her for a  month after she requested an information packet, and then encouraged  her to attend a campus out of state after closing down the campus that  was nearest to her. Another student said that his school called him  repeatedly after he had finished classes to encourage him to enroll in  more classes, even though he was not ready to do so at that time.
section_title: Veterans Reported Facing Challenges Obtaining Accurate and Complete Information to Make Informed School Choices
paragraphs: Although most student veterans we surveyed considered the information  they received from their schools—such as on financial issues or credit  transfer policies—to be accurate, almost a quarter reported receiving  inaccurate information. About 23 percent of student veterans—or about  16,500 veterans when generalized to the population—reported receiving  generally inaccurate information in at least one of the 13 topic areas in  our survey.  For example, about 12 percent reported that the information they received on their estimated student loan debt upon graduation was  generally inaccurate.  Similar rates of inaccuracy were reported for job  placement rates, the acceptance of military experience for academic  credit, and the extent to which VA funds would cover total school costs  (see fig.3). Some veterans we surveyed were not able to assess the  accuracy of the information they received from their school, with up to a  third reporting that they were not sure if the information in each of the  areas was accurate or inaccurate.
Student veterans may report receiving inaccurate information when  schools provide misleading or incorrect information, but students may  also do so if they do not understand the information provided, even if the  information is accurate. Given the complexities of higher education  information, some veterans may not fully understand the school  information they obtain and a lack of familiarity or experience with higher  education issues can make it difficult to assess the accuracy of  information. For example, while most veterans reported that they obtained  information on a school’s accreditation, representatives from several  schools and veterans service and higher education organizations we  interviewed said that veterans sometimes lacked a clear understanding  about the importance of accreditation and how different types of  accreditation could affect their ability to transfer credits to other schools.
If a veteran cannot transfer credits earned previously at a different school,  he or she may have to take additional courses, incur additional tuition  charges, and possibly use all of his or her VA education benefits before  completing the educational program or degree.
Reports of inaccuracy can be useful in highlighting areas that warrant  additional attention, as selecting a school based on inaccurate  information or an incomplete understanding of available information can  adversely affect a veteran’s education or career plans. For example,  representatives from one veterans service organization said several  veterans told them that they were led to believe by school staff or  marketing materials that successfully completing their chosen program  would allow them to work in a certain occupation (e.g., information  technology) or obtain a certain type of job (e.g., police officer); however,  these veterans later discovered that potential employers generally did not  hire graduates of their program or required additional job experience. One  of these veterans said that he was unable to obtain a job in his chosen  field and was left with tens of thousands of dollars in debt and no  remaining VA education benefits. When commenting on the accuracy of  the information he received from his school, a veteran we surveyed said  that although he received credits for his military training, he did not expect  that they would be counted as elective credits and would not satisfy the  required credits he needed to earn the degree in his program. If  veterans do not have accurate or complete information on the ability to  obtain credit for past military experience, they may need to take additional  classes to complete their degree and may not be able to accomplish their  educational goals in the time frame they had anticipated.
Many veterans also reported that they would have liked more information  from schools about each of the 13 topic areas on our survey, suggesting  that students may not obtain all the information they would like during  their school search. For instance, more than 60 percent of student  veterans—or about 37,300 veterans when generalized to the  population—reported wanting more information on veteran support  services from schools (see fig. 4).wanted additional information included financial issues, such as financial  aid eligibility and the extent to which VA benefits cover school costs, as  well as job outcomes, such as job placement rates and employment  opportunities in their field. For example, one student in an open-ended  survey comment wrote that he thought it would have been helpful if his  school had told him that a veteran receiving VA benefits can also receive  other types of financial aid. Veterans who do not have complete  information on possible financial aid options may face challenges   Other key areas in which veterans  financing their education and may have to incur personal loan debt.  Further, in our review of 30 school websites, a key source of information  cited by most of our survey respondents, we also found that information  veterans want may be difficult to locate in some cases. For instance,  when we looked for information on costs and fees, tools to help a student  calculate out-of-pocket costs, and graduation rates, in several cases we  found this information under sections called “Consumer Information,”  “Program Disclosures,” or “Regulatory Disclosures.” Headings such as  these may not be obvious to, or may be easily overlooked by, a  prospective student.
In some cases, veterans may not actively seek information on job or  educational outcomes associated with schools or programs. For  example, about 35 percent of student veterans reported on our survey  that they did not seek or obtain information on job placement rates.  According to the study by Public Agenda, barely half of adult students  look for information on a graduate’s average debt from a particular school  or a typical graduate’s success in the labor market before deciding to  attend. The study found that many prospective nontraditional students  do not think these types of information are essential in selecting schools,  even though their primary goal in seeking education is often to advance  their careers.
Representatives from several veteran and higher education organizations  noted that some veterans could benefit from greater access to  independent and objective advice from knowledgeable individuals, who  could help them sort through all the factors they must consider to make  well-informed education decisions and navigate the higher education  system. A representative from one higher education organization noted  that more traditional students have access to high school guidance  counselors to guide them through their decision-making process. Many of  the nontraditional students surveyed by Public Agenda said that they  would benefit from personal contact with experts who could help them  weigh their options and navigate the college process. A representative  from a veterans service organization noted that many veterans are first  generation college students, who may not necessarily know how to  distinguish between different types of schools and may be more  susceptible to “hard sells” from aggressive recruiters. A representative  from another veterans service organization also explained that some  veterans may not be aware of the differences in the quality of education  provided by different schools; as a result, they can end up with a degree  that does not help them obtain the kind of job they want.
section_title: VA Is Taking Steps to Better Inform and Protect Student Veterans, but Its Counseling Outreach and Planning Efforts Are Insufficient
subsections: section_title: VA Plans to Offer More Information about Schools, but Is Not Effectively Promoting Educational Counseling
subsections: section_title: New Information Tools
paragraphs: In response to the Executive Order and recent legislation, VA is taking  steps to help veterans more easily obtain information on schools to  support their decision making. For example, starting in the 2013-2014  school year, VA required schools that have formally agreed to the  Principles of Excellence (see sidebar) to provide prospective students  with a personalized form that contains information on total school costs.  This form, known as the “Financial Aid Shopping Sheet,” provides  information on a school’s tuition, fees, and other expenses; personalized  information on available grants and loans (based on the student’s federal  financial aid application), and a school’s graduation rate and loan default  rate, among other information. The Financial Aid Shopping Sheet is  meant to help prospective students calculate how much they would have  to pay out-of-pocket at different schools and compare costs and  outcomes across schools.
More recently, VA launched the “GI Bill Comparison Tool” on its website  that provides an interactive way for veterans to obtain school information,  as well as estimates on how much they can receive in Post-9/11 GI Bill  benefits. Over the longer term, future phases of this tool are meant to  provide more customized and veteran-specific information, as such data  become available and as required by the executive order.
The current comparison tool, a preliminary version of which was  launched in February 2014, allows veterans to: estimate education benefits they may be eligible for under the  Post-9/11 GI Bill (previously this information was not readily  available until after a veteran applied for benefits); obtain information on a school’s participation in the Yellow Ribbon  Program and the Principles of Excellence; and access graduation rates, default rates, and median borrowing for a  school’s student body as a whole, as well as access to further  information about a school through a link to Education’s College  Navigator database.
VA is planning future versions of the comparison tool that are  intended to allow veterans to: more precisely calculate personalized Post-9/11 GI Bill and other  VA education benefits, as well as out-of-pocket costs for tuition  and fees; obtain information on veteran-specific outcome measures (e.g., a  school’s graduation rate for veterans, specifically), whether a  school provides credit for military experience, a school’s dedicated  point of contact for veteran support services, and other veteran- related information as these data become available (data  collection is estimated to start in the 2014-2015 school year);  and more easily search for schools and compare information across  multiple schools.
VA officials said that the Comparison Tool is intended to provide veterans  with school information collected from multiple sources in one central  location. It also supplements the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet, which  provides a student with more personalized information on loans and  grants available from the Department of Education, but not on how much  a veteran may be able to receive in VA education benefits. Both the  Comparison Tool and the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet facilitate access  to information that may be hard for students to find on some schools’  websites and may help respond to the needs of veterans who reported  wanting more information on issues such as finances, outcomes, and  veteran support services. Our survey results indicate student veterans  want this information from VA and not just from schools themselves. More  than half of student veterans reported that they wanted more information  from VA on VA education benefits, federal financial aid, or out-of-pocket  costs. Similarly, about half of the veterans we surveyed reported  wanting more information from VA about school graduation rates and  employment outcomes.
In addition to providing more accessible information on schools, VA also  expanded access to CareerScope, an online tool that allows veterans to  assess their interests and aptitudes and help them develop their career  goals. The tool also helps veterans determine if they are ready for college  or other postsecondary training opportunities or if they need additional  preparation. Public Law 112-249 required VA to make available an off- the-shelf tool to help veterans determine if they are ready for college. VA  previously offered the Career Scope tool only to veterans with service- connected disabilities as part of its Vocational Rehabilitation and  Employment program, but now offers it to any veteran who is eligible for  VA education benefits. According to VA officials, many more veterans  have used CareerScope since VA more prominently featured the tool on  its GI Bill website and expanded veterans’ access to it. VA officials said  that CareerScope and the Comparison Tool are intended to allow  veterans at different stages of their decision-making process to more  easily access the information they need.
section_title: Educational Counseling
paragraphs: VA has taken some steps to increase awareness of its educational and  vocational counseling services, which have not been widely used.  Veterans who are eligible for VA education benefits are also eligible to  apply for free education counseling. This service offers one-on-one,  objective advice from knowledgeable counselors and can help veterans  formulate their career and educational goals and plans. Less than 2  percent of eligible veterans, however, have applied for this service in the  last few years. Servicemembers learn about VA’s educational  counseling services as one of many VA-offered benefits and services  when they are transitioning out of the military. However, about half of  student veterans we surveyed said that they did not start thinking about  schools until after leaving the military. As a result, many veterans may  not know about educational counseling services or may not remember  them when they decide to return to school, according to several veteran  groups and schools we interviewed. To improve awareness of these  services among veterans, VA officials told us that VA has encouraged  schools participating in its VetSuccess on Campus program to remind  veterans on their campuses of these services.working with VA’s vocational rehabilitation staff nationwide to increase the  visibility and use of counseling at schools without the VetSuccess on  Campus program. In addition, VA provides information about counseling  services on its GI Bill website, on the CareerScope web page, and  through social media platforms to increase awareness. VA officials also  stated that they are working to finalize a communications plan for  educational counseling that includes additional outreach to schools,  veterans service organizations, and government agencies.
See VA, Factors to Consider When Choosing a School: A guide before using the GI  Bill® SECOND EDITION, (Washington, D.C.: August 2013). The web version of this guide  can also be found on VA’s website:  http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/choosing_a_school.asp. that prospective student veterans would be expected to use when  considering a return to school. According to officials from one school we  interviewed, the most effective way to facilitate veterans’ use of VA  services is to make information accessible to veterans when they are  looking for it and in resources they will turn to for guidance.
The need for more effective outreach to prospective students is  underscored by our survey results and the recent law, which calls for  more comprehensive outreach. Almost half of the veterans we surveyed,  or an estimated 33,000 veterans when generalized to the population,  were not aware of VA’s educational counseling services when they were  considering schools.awareness of its counseling services through efficient and effective ways,  as mentioned above, VA is overlooking some simple ways to inform  prospective students about these services. Veterans who are considering  school, but not yet enrolled are a critical group for counseling outreach,  according to various veterans groups, higher education organizations,  and schools we interviewed. While some veterans may be able to  successfully navigate the higher education decision-making process on  their own, others may need additional assistance. Officials from veteran  and higher education organizations emphasized the need for veterans to  take advantage of VA’s educational counseling services before enrolling  in a school that does not meet their needs and possibly exhausting their  GI Bill benefits (and expending taxpayer dollars) without achieving their  educational and career goals.
While Public Law 112-249 calls on VA to increase  Even if veterans are aware of VA’s educational counseling, they may be  deterred by the current paper application process. In contrast to many of  VA’s other services for which veterans can apply online, the process for  obtaining educational counseling involves finding the application form  online, printing a hard copy, filling it out, and mailing it to a VA office.  Officials from a higher education organization and several veterans  service organizations noted that the cumbersome application process can  deter veterans from using these services. According to officials, VA has  not yet automated the application—a simple 2-page form that primarily  asks for basic identifying information and dates and branch of service— due to limited information technology resources. Yet, VA indicated in its  April 2013 report to Congress that it would prioritize creating an online  application for its counseling services, and Public Law 112-249 required  VA to develop an outreach policy that includes effective and efficient  methods to inform individuals of education counseling.its current strategic plan, VA has emphasized the importance of providing   Additionally, in  benefits and services to veterans through automated and paperless  processes, with the goal of reducing the burden for veterans and meeting  their needs in a timely way.
Data on service timeliness and other program elements  VA lacks key data to manage its educational counseling program,  including the extent to which it provides counseling services in time to  meet veterans’ needs. For instance, even when veterans complete the  application process, many do not follow through with the counseling itself.  After veterans mail in their application form, they must wait for VA to  contact them to set up a counseling session. In fiscal year 2013, VA  closed almost half its counseling applications as incomplete because it  attempted to contact applicants, but was unable to do so. Such data  suggest that counseling services may not be offered in time to be useful.  While VA officials managing the program did not know why the agency  was unsuccessful in these attempts, they stated that one reason could be  that some individuals no longer needed counseling services by the time  VA contacted them. Additionally, several veteran groups we interviewed  noted that the length of time it takes to receive services can be an  impediment to veterans’ use of VA’s counseling services. Our survey  results also indicate that some veterans are making school-related  decisions in a relatively short window of time, often starting and  completing their school search within 2 months. VA officials told us that  they are developing a new performance measure to gauge how quickly  the agency administratively processes counseling applications—from  receipt of an application to closure of the file. However, VA does not have  plans to measure how quickly counseling services are actually offered or  provided to veterans, due to limitations with its case management system.  Despite these limitations, this lack of customer-focused performance data  is not aligned with one the agency’s guiding principles outlined in its  strategic plan: to provide client-centered services to best meet the needs  of veterans. Moreover, VA’s lack of knowledge about whether they are  providing counseling services in a timely way prevents VA from  conducting efficient and effective counseling outreach, as required by  Public Law 112-249.
VA does not collect or have readily available data on counseling  applicants and users, which hinders it from conducting effective outreach.  While the current application form asks for some information about  applicants, such as what VA education benefits they have applied for, it is  not collected or stored in a way that allows VA to use or track the  information. As a result, officials told us that they are not able to identify,  for example, how long after leaving military service veterans generally  apply for counseling or what percentage of counseling applicants are  Post-9/11 GI Bill beneficiaries. Additionally, VA does not collect  information on why veterans seek counseling, such as to obtain help  determining career goals, selecting a school, or completing a degree.  Officials said that while it might be possible to collect some of these data  through the addition of a few questions when VA develops a new online  application, they have not developed any plans to do so. The lack of basic  data on counseling applicants and users prevents program managers  from being able to understand service trends and gaps. Without such  operational information, managers are unable to assess if program goals  are being met and resources are being used effectively, according to  federal internal control standards for effective program operations.  Further, without a better understanding of when and why veterans are  applying for counseling services, VA’s ability to conduct effective  counseling outreach is hindered, as is its ability to provide services in a  client-focused way, as laid out in its strategic plan.
section_title: VA Is Implementing Recent Requirements to Strengthen School Oversight
subsections: section_title: New System for Complaints about Schools
paragraphs: In January 2014, VA launched its new system to allow veterans to file  complaints about abusive and misleading school recruiting and other  violations of the Principles of Excellence, as required by the Executive  Order. The new system is the first to systematically track veterans’  complaints about aggressive or misleading school recruiting actions.  Previously, VA had only anecdotal information about this type of school  behavior, which had been difficult to identify through its regular school  compliance reviews. Under the system, students receiving veteran  education benefits can submit a brief description of the complaint and VA  will work with the school and veteran to come to a resolution. VA will  forward these complaints to a central database operated by the Federal  Trade Commission and the complaints will be accessible to other relevant  federal agencies, as well as state and local law enforcement. This new  coordinated system should allow agencies to more easily identify  complaints involving individual schools across agencies or patterns of  complaints across school chains. To create awareness of the new  complaint system, VA featured it on its GI Bill website and used social  media platforms to announce it. As of March 2014, VA officials said that  they had received over 1,000 complaints through the system and about  12 percent were related to recruiting and marketing practices.
VA has also taken some initial steps to develop a related system to  publish student feedback on schools’ recruiting practices, quality of  instruction, and postgraduation employment outcomes, as required by  Public Law 112-249. In contrast to the complaint system, this feedback  can be positive or negative and will be made public so that veterans can  use it in making their education decisions. VA has yet to determine key  aspects of the feedback system, such as how to categorize the feedback  (e.g., using stars, grades, or reviewer comments); how schools would  verify feedback; and how to determine what feedback should be made  available to the public. VA officials said that when the feedback system is  completed, it will ultimately be integrated with the complaint system.
section_title: Enhancements to Existing Compliance Review Process
paragraphs: VA has also taken steps to strengthen its school oversight by enhancing  its existing compliance process and policies, as required by the Executive  Order.
Risk-based reviews: VA has established a new process to identify  high-risk schools for compliance reviews, specifically schools that are  considered at high-risk of failing to comply with the Principles of  Excellence, including employing aggressive or deceptive recruiting  practices. To identify schools as high-risk, VA is using information  from its new complaint system and prior compliance reviews, as well  as external data from other federal agencies and publicly available  information. For instance, VA’s risk factors include: complaints that a school is inappropriately inducing students to  enroll, large increases in tuition and fees or in veteran attendance, whether a school is close to being out of compliance with the  90/10 rule.
Principles of Excellence checklist: VA has added a checklist of  questions on school compliance with the Principles of Excellence to  its existing compliance review protocols, including a specific question  about fraudulent or unduly aggressive recruiting. While VA’s existing  protocols contain a review of school marketing information to identify  potentially deceptive advertising or enrollment practices, the existing  compliance reviews have generally emphasized identifying payment  issues, according to officials from several state approving agencies.
New training to identify inappropriate recruiting practices: VA has  begun training compliance staff to better identify “red flags” of  potentially misleading, fraudulent, or unduly aggressive recruiting  practices. The training, developed by the Department of Justice, helps  staff identify a variety of possibly misleading statements or practices  that might be made on school websites or recruitment materials, or  identified through student interviews. Examples include: marketing materials stating that federal money, including GI Bill  funds, will cover the entire cost of the program;lack of clarity about a school’s accreditation, such as not  distinguishing between different types of accreditation; and endorsements by, or affiliation with, the military.
According to VA officials, this training should help compliance staff,  who are not investigators or enforcement officials, better identify  problematic school practices and answer the new Principles of  Excellence compliance question on fraudulent and aggressive  recruiting. One official noted that the new training as well as other  efforts to enhance school oversight under the Principles of Excellence  would help bring recruiting issues to the forefront.
GI Bill trademark: VA has protected the phrase “GI Bill” by registering  it as a trademark to combat fraudulent use of the term and to prevent  websites and others from implying VA endorsement.
section_title: VA’s Project Planning Is Inconsistent and Lacks Realistic Time Frames
paragraphs: While VA has made progress implementing its multiple new oversight and  information responsibilities based on the Executive Order and Public Law  112-249, VA’s plans have not consistently included realistic timeframes  for achieving project goals. VA’s plans—including its revised plans—have  frequently underestimated the amount of time needed to implement these  complex efforts and achieve various goals by many months. For example:
VA initially planned to launch the new online complaint system by  November 2012. After learning about delays outside of VA’s control in  June 2013, VA revised that date to November 2013. However, VA  was not able to accept complaints—a key source of risk information  for the risk-based review protocols—until January 2014.
VA proposed to establish its targeted risk-based review program by  August 2012, then estimated March 2013. While it had a draft policy in  place by October 2013 and stated that it was implementing it for fiscal  year 2014, VA did not finalize the policy until January 2014. VA also  had not determined or documented the general data analyses it would  conduct to assess risk by the start of the fiscal year.
Although VA stated in an April 2013 report to Congress that it would  prioritize efforts to allow veterans to apply online for its educational  counseling service, almost a year later, VA officials said that they are  just beginning to plan the steps required for this to occur.
As recently as its January 2014 monthly report, VA was  communicating that the next phase of the Comparison Tool would be  implemented by April 2014. However, the next phase of the tool has  not yet been implemented—it is still in preliminary planning stages, as  VA officials said that they cannot develop a more detailed  implementation plan before they have identified additional funding.
VA has also not consistently documented accurate and detailed  assessments of work to be done or accounted for resource constraints or  other risks that can affect its ability to meet projected goals and  deadlines. Although VA created plans for its new complaint system that  identified the resources necessary to accomplish goals, planning for other  key efforts has been more limited and has not included such information.  For the risk-based review protocols and procedures, the educational  counseling outreach, and the school Comparison Tool, for instance, VA  relied mostly on monthly status reports to track work accomplished and  tasks to be done the next month. While these monthly reports sometimes  included future actions, they frequently did not lay out specific activities  needed to achieve these goals and the associated timing beyond the next  month. The monthly status reports, which are communicated to external  shareholders, such as the White House, also frequently did not outline  necessary resources, such as financial or personnel needs. Additionally,  the reports did not identify potential internal or external risks that could  create implementation delays—such as coordination with other internal  efforts to update VA’s website or external approval for VA’s new  complaint form—and ways to manage these risks.
Key elements of sound planning include identifying specific activities  needed to achieve project goals and realistic timelines that outline when  activities will occur and how long they will take, according to project  planning practices developed by GAO. According to these practices,  sound planning also lays out resource issues or other potential internal or  external risks that may affect the ability to meet project goals and  deadlines. Effective management also requires documentation and  communication of plans and progress to facilitate informed decision- making among stakeholders, based on federal internal controls for  effective government management and strategic planning standards.Although VA officials said that their working groups met regularly to  discuss implementation tasks, given the scope and complexity of the  multiple initiatives VA must implement, the agency’s planning efforts have  been insufficient. Without more realistic time frames and communication  of more complete planning, Congress, other federal agencies, veterans,  and the public lack complete and reliable information to be able to fully  collaborate, assess VA’s plans and progress, and make informed  decisions on resource allocation or other priorities.
section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: A sizeable number of veterans report experiencing problems with school  recruiting and obtaining accurate information from their schools. Many  others reported that they wanted more information about schools. When  generalized to the entire student veteran population, our survey results  indicate that tens of thousands of veterans are affected. Such numbers  highlight the need for agency action to better protect and inform veterans  and prevent them from squandering their educational benefits on  programs that do not meet their educational or career goals. Along with  efforts to enhance oversight, VA has taken steps to provide veterans with  information to become better consumers of higher education. However,  information alone may not be enough to help veterans navigate the  complex decision-making process involved in selecting a school that will  best meet their needs. VA provides individual counseling that can help  veterans fully understand the higher education environment and make  informed decisions, but it is missing opportunities to improve the  effectiveness of its outreach and connect prospective student veterans  with these services. Without easier and timely access to objective  information and guidance, veterans may rely on readily available  marketing materials and advice from school representatives, even the  best-intended of which may not align with a veteran’s specific needs or  goals.
Further, while VA has made some progress in meeting the multiple and  substantial goals for informing and protecting veterans that were laid out  in recent executive and legislative actions, various obstacles have caused  these initiatives to be delayed. Some of these obstacles have been out of  VA’s control. However, VA has often moved forward without identifying  realistic time frames based on sound planning practices— practices that  are critical to ensure that VA can effectively implement the complex  initiatives with which it has been tasked. Subsequently, stakeholders and  policymakers have frequently lacked reliable information on VA’s  progress in implementing measures that will better protect and inform  student veterans. Such information is critical to ensure that VA  implements these new initiatives as quickly as possible, given the many  thousands of veterans using their GI Bill benefits now and in the coming  years and the significant federal investment involved.
section_title: Recommendations for Executive Action
paragraphs: To ensure that veterans’ education benefits are used effectively, we  recommend that the Secretary of VA take the following actions:  1) Take additional steps to improve the outreach, accessibility, and  usefulness of its educational counseling services, particularly for  prospective student veterans, for example by  featuring these services in resources intended for prospective  students veterans; prioritizing efforts to enable veterans to apply for educational  considering cost-effective ways to gather more information on  applicants, users, and key program areas (such as the timeliness of  service) to better identify service needs or gaps and to improve the  effectiveness of future outreach.  2) More consistently develop, document, and communicate realistic  timelines and goals for implementing VA initiatives based on federal  requirements by identifying specific activities needed to achieve goals  and associated implementation timelines, as well as resource issues or  potential internal or external risks that may affect timing.
section_title: Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
paragraphs: We provided a draft copy of this report to VA and Education for review  and comment. VA concurred with our recommendations. In agreeing with  our recommendation related to its educational counseling services, VA  noted that it has started making plans to develop an online application  and is taking additional steps to enhance the outreach and delivery of  these services. In concurring with our recommendation to use sound  planning practices to implement its ongoing initiatives, VA acknowledged  it was slow to use formal project management concepts when it began to  implement Executive Order 13607. VA stated that it has since used more  formal project management methods to implement Public Law 112-249,  citing as evidence of its improved planning the use of interagency working  groups to identify activities necessary to achieve goals, the development  of a master schedule, and the anticipated timeframes for various  initiatives outlined in its April 2013 report to Congress. In our report, we  acknowledge the considerable new initiatives that VA was responsible for  implementing and we note examples of VA’s working groups and the  plans and timeframes outlined in VA’s April 2013 report to Congress.
While VA’s more recent actions represent a step in the right direction, its  overall efforts did not consistently produce sound planning activities and  documents that included appropriate timeframes, specific identification of  activities and resources needed, and risks that could delay  implementation. We continue to believe that, moving forward, VA needs  to improve its planning efforts to ensure that it implements the future  initiatives required by the Executive Order and Public Law 112-249 as  quickly as possible. For example, to mitigate risks and better establish  realistic timeframes, VA could do more to develop implementation plans  for the feedback system and the next phase of the comparison tool. VA’s  comments are reproduced in appendix III.
Education had no comments on our findings or recommendations, but  outlined its efforts to help veterans and other students make informed  educational choices and noted its collaboration with VA and other  agencies to support implementation of the Executive Order. Education’s  comments are reproduced in appendix IV. VA and Education provided  technical comments that were incorporated, as appropriate. We also  provided selected relevant portions of the draft to the Department of  Defense and incorporated its technical comments, as appropriate.
We are sending copies of this report to relevant congressional  committees, the Secretaries of VA and Education, and other interested  parties. In addition, this report will be available at no charge on GAO’s  website at http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staffs have any questions about this report, please contact  me at (617) 788-0534 or EmreyArrasM@gao.gov. Contact points for our  Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on  the last page of this report. GAO staff who made key contributions to this  report are listed in appendix V.
section_title: Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology
paragraphs: The objectives of our report were to examine: (1) how do selected  schools recruit veterans; (2) what are the school search and recruiting  experiences of student veterans; and (3) what actions has the  Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) taken to help veterans make  informed education decisions and to identify inappropriate school  recruiting? To address our first question, we interviewed officials from 9  schools and reviewed the websites of an additional 30 schools. To  address our second question, we administered a national survey of  student veterans. To address our third question, we reviewed pertinent  federal laws, regulations, and requirements, as well as agency  documents, and interviewed officials from VA and the Department of  Education, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the  Department of Defense, and the Department of Justice. For all three  questions, we also spoke with veterans service and higher education  organizations. We conducted this performance audit from February 2013  to May 2014, in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to  obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for  our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe  that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings  and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: School Interviews and School Website Analysis
paragraphs: We conducted phone interviews with officials from nine schools to gather  information on the extent and ways they reach out and provide  information to veterans and military servicemembers (see table 1). We  selected these schools for variation among sectors, degrees offered, and  the amount of funds received from VA under the Post 9/11 GI Bill  program. However, all of our selected schools received at least $2 million  in total Post-9/11 GI Bill funds from fiscal years 2010 through 2011, the  most recent data available when we selected our schools. We also chose  schools with a relatively higher proportion of veterans in their student  population. Finally, we sought to include some schools that had online  programs or were near a military base.
We also reviewed the websites of 30 additional schools to obtain basic  information on how schools’ used their websites to provide information to  veteran or military students.all schools in our website analysis received at least $2 million in total  Post-9/11 GI Bill funds from 2010 through 2011. We selected 10 schools  per sector, in which we randomly selected five schools that were in the  top 10 percent of schools in each sector based on their Post-9/11 GI Bill  funding amounts and five that were not. From each website, we  determined whether the site included specific information for veterans and  whether this information was featured on the home page, as well as other  veteran-related communication. We also looked for the availability of  certain information for students generally, such as costs and fees and  graduation rates. The information gathered from our school interviews  and website review is not generalizable to all schools, but is useful in  illustrating a range of recruiting practices used among our selected  schools.
section_title: National Survey of Student Veterans
subsections: section_title: Overview
paragraphs: To obtain information on the factors that influenced student veterans’  school decisions, as well as their experiences with school recruitment, we  administered a survey to a nationally representative sample of 900  recently enrolled student veterans (300 each in the public, nonprofit, and  public sectors) and asked them about their school search and recruiting  experiences, information they received from their current school, and their  perspectives on relevant information and services from VA. All survey  results presented in the body of this report are generalizable to the  population of 73,000 student veterans who were receiving Post-9/11 GI  Bill benefits for the first time in 2012. Due to an insufficient response rate,  we were not able to report results by sector. We administered the survey  using mail and electronic distribution from July 2013 to November 2013. A  copy of the full questionnaire and aggregate responses for all close- ended questions are included in appendix II. The practical difficulties of  conducting any survey may introduce errors, commonly referred to as  nonsampling errors. For example, difficulties in interpreting a particular  question or sources of information available to respondents can introduce  unwanted variability into the survey results. We took steps in developing  the questionnaire, collecting the data, and analyzing them to minimize  such nonsampling error (see below).
section_title: Sample Design and Survey Development and Administration
paragraphs: Using data from VA, we identified the population of all veterans who were  enrolled in postsecondary education for the first time between July and  December 2012 and were using Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to fund their  education—approximately 90,000 student veterans. To stratify our  random sample into three equal groups based on school sector (public,  public, and for-profit), we merged data from the Department of Education  on school sectors with our list of student veterans, using school identifier  information in both data sets. While some veterans’ school information  could not be matched to the existing information on school sector, we  matched schools representing most of the veterans in our population,  which resulted in a universe of approximately 73,000 veterans from which  we drew our stratified random sample of 900 student veterans, 300  attending schools in each sector.
To inform the design of our survey instrument, we met with individual  veterans and veterans service organizations. We conducted seven  pretests with veterans who attended schools across the sectors to ensure  that survey questions collected the expected information, obtain any  suggestions for clarification, and determine whether veterans were able to  appropriately recall their experiences when they were selecting schools.  We also discussed survey questions and administration modes with  students from two veterans service organizations.
To encourage survey participation, we conducted pre-administration and  follow-up phone calls, sent survey instruments to both e-mail and mailing  addresses, and took other measures. Before administering the survey, we  contacted individuals in our sample for whom we had telephone or e-mail  contact information to inform them about the survey, update their  preferred contact information, and answer any questions or concerns they  had. In addition, we included information from Student Veterans of  America to help promote our survey. We administered the survey using  both e-mail and mailing addresses. We sent a hard copy of our survey to  individuals in our sample with a mailing address but without an e-mail  address, and sent an e-mail message with a hyperlink to an online  version of the survey to those for whom we had e-mail addresses. We  also included a postcard with the hard copy survey that provided  instructions on how to complete the survey online, for those who  preferred to respond online. A few weeks after our initial request, we did a  second round of hard copy mailings to all recipients who had not  completed the survey online or by mail, so that all these recipients  received at least one mailed survey. We also sent follow-up emails and  conducted follow-up phone calls to encourage participation. Additionally,  we requested updated contact information from VA and searched public  records for additional contact information for a subset of those in our  sample for whom we had returned mail or other indications that their  contact information was incorrect.
section_title: Analysis of Respondents
paragraphs: A total of 254 students responded to the survey, for an unweighted  response rate of 28 percent. We conducted a nonresponse bias analysis  to see if characteristics available from the sample frame for survey  respondents correlated with the propensity to respond. We used logistic  regression models with a binary response variable to test for this. Our  non-response bias analysis indicated that our survey respondents did not  reflect the age distribution of the sample frame population. Specifically,  our respondents tended to be older than the population from which we  selected our sample. To adjust for this, we post-stratified the sample  weights by age so that the weighted age distribution of our sample  respondents reflected the age distributions in the sample frame. All  estimates presented in this report are weighted to reflect the sample  design, a non-response adjustment, and post-stratification for age.
Because we followed a probability procedure based on random  selections, our sample is only one of a large number of samples that we  might have drawn. Since each sample could have provided different  estimates, we express our confidence in the precision of our particular  sample’s results as a 95 percent confidence interval (e.g., plus or minus 7  percentage points). This is the interval that would contain the actual  population value for 95 percent of the samples we could have drawn.  Confidence intervals are provided along with each sample estimate in the  report.
section_title: Interviews with Veterans Service and Higher Education Organizations
paragraphs: We interviewed several veterans service organizations and higher  education organizations to obtain their perspectives on key issues  affecting recruitment of student veterans. These organizations included  the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions  Officers, American Association of Community Colleges, American  Association of State Colleges and Universities, American Council on  Education, The American Legion, Association of Private Sector Colleges  and Universities,  The Institute for College Access and Success, Iraq and  Afghanistan Veterans of America, National Association of State  Approving Agencies, NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher  Education, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators,  National Association of Veterans Program Administrators,  Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges, Student Veterans of America,  Veterans of Foreign Wars, and VetJobs.
section_title: Appendix II: Survey of Veterans’ Educational Decisions
paragraphs: The questions we asked in our survey of student veterans are shown  below. Our survey was comprised of closed- and open-ended questions.  In this appendix, we include all survey questions and aggregate results of  responses to the closed-ended questions; we do not provide information  on responses provided to the open-ended questions. For a more detailed  discussion of our survey methodology, see appendix I.  1. Have you received ANY GI Bill education benefits since July  2012? We are interested in all GI Bill benefits, including Post 9/11,  Montgomery, and all other GI bill education benefits.
2. For use at what school did you most recently receive your GI Bill  education benefits?  3. If known, where is the school located?  4. In what year did you first attend this school?  5. What degree or certificate were you working on during your most  recent term of enrollment?
Response  Certificate program  (less than 2 years)
Professional degree  (such as J.D., M.D.)
6. In addition to GI Bill education benefits, what other sources of  financial aid did you use or are you using to finance your education  at current or most recent school? (Check all that apply).
Response  Federal student loans (such as  Direct Loans, Perkins Loans, and  Stafford Loans)
Response  Other (such as state grants,  employer education assistance,  and scholarships from private  entities)
Section B: Enrollment Decisions  7. At what point did you make the decision to start looking at  schools? (Check one response.)
8. How much time did you spend looking at schools? (Check one  response.)
9. About how many schools did you consider attending? (Check one  response.)
Section C: Factors Affecting School Selection  10. Before deciding to attend your current or most recent school, do  you recall going to a school fair either on or off a military base?  (Check one response for each item.)
11. Before deciding to attend your current or most recent school, do  you recall going on a campus visit to that school? (Check one  response).
12. Before deciding to attend your current or most recent school, do  you recall seeing advertising from any of the following sources for  either the school you are attending or any other schools you were  considering? (Check one response for current school and one  response for other school(s) you considered.)
95 percent  confidence  interval – lower  bound  (percentage)
95 percent  confidence  interval – upper  bound  (percentage)
Yes (current  school)
Yes (other  schools)
Yes (current  school)
Yes (other  schools)
Yes (current  school)
Yes (other  schools)
Yes (current  school)
Yes (other  schools)
Yes (current  school)
Yes (other  schools)
Response  12f. Social media  (such as  Facebook, Twitter,  etc.)
95 percent  confidence  interval – lower  bound  (percentage)
95 percent  confidence  interval – upper  bound  (percentage)
Yes (current  school)
Yes (other  schools)
Yes (current  school)
Yes (other  schools)
Yes (current  school)
Yes (other  schools)
Yes (current  school)
Yes (other  schools)
Yes (current  school)
Yes (other  schools)
Yes (current  school)
Yes (other  schools)
If yes to 12k: What other type of advertising do you recall seeing  either for the school you are attending or for any other school you  considered?  13. How important, if at all, were each of the following factors in your  decision to enroll in your current or most recent school? (Check one  response for each item).
Response  13a. School fairs  95 percent  confidence  interval –  lower bound  (percentage)
95 percent  confidence  interval –  upper bound  (percentage)
13b. Campus visits  No basis to  13c. Direct  communications  with school  personnel  9.3  95 percent  confidence  interval –  lower bound  (percentage)
95 percent  confidence  interval –  upper bound  (percentage)
13f.  Recommendations  from family,  mentors, or friends  13g. Information  from VA  13.2  95 percent  confidence  interval –  lower bound  (percentage)
95 percent  confidence  interval –  upper bound  (percentage)
13h. Characteristics  of the school  program (such as  size, reputation,  etc.)  13i. School location  No basis to  13j. Financial  reasons such as  overall cost or  availability of  financial aid  10.8  95 percent  confidence  interval –  lower bound  (percentage)
95 percent  confidence  interval –  upper bound  (percentage)
Response  13k. Military  friendliness (such  as active veterans  organizations, or  veterans services  and programs)
If yes to 13l: What other factor was important in your decision to  enroll in your current school?
Section D: Types of Contact with Schools  14. Before deciding to attend your current or most recent school, did  you visit the school’s website? (Check one response.)
15. Did you request more information after visiting the website?  (Check one response.)
16. Before you decided to attend your current or most recent school,  about how many phone calls, emails, or text messages did you  receive from the school encouraging you to enroll in the program?  We would like you to consider only phone calls, emails, and text  messages from the school you are currently attending. (Check one  response on each row.)
17. Do you feel that you received too few, about the right amount, or  too many phone calls, emails, and texts from the school  encouraging you to enroll in the program? (Check one response for  each item).
18. Thinking of the various ways schools contacted you about  enrolling in the program and provided you with information, what, if  anything, did you find helpful in deciding where to attend school?  19. We also are interested in contact you may have had with any  schools other than the school you are currently attending. Do you  feel that any schools, other than the one you are currently attending,  contacted you excessively? (Check one response.)
20. On average for the schools that contacted you excessively,  about how many phone calls, emails, texts or other types of contact  did you receive? (Check one response for each item.)
21. Did you ever feel pressure from any school to enroll? (Check one  response.)
22. If yes to 21: What type of pressure did you experience?
Section E: Information Received from Schools  23. Do you think the following information you obtained from your  current or most recent school was generally accurate or inaccurate?  (Choose one response for each item.)
I did not look for or obtain  information  I did not look for or obtain  information  23k.  Employment  requirements  for intended  occupations  (such as  certification or  licensure  requirements)
In the space below, please provide any additional details you would  like on the accuracy of information obtained.  24. In which of the following areas, if any, would you have liked  more information from your current or most recent school? (Check  one response for each item.)
If yes to 24n: What other type of information would you have liked?
Section F: Information Received from the U.S. Department of  Veterans Affairs (VA)  25. Did you use VA’s GI Bill website to learn more about your GI Bill  benefits prior to deciding to attend your current or most recent  school?
26. If yes to 25: How helpful was this website in providing you with  information about your education benefits?
27. What, if any, suggestions do you have for improving VA’s GI Bill  website?  28. VA provides educational and vocational counseling, available to  all individuals who are eligible for VA educational benefits. Were you  aware of this service while considering schools? The VA  educational and vocational counseling is not part of any exit briefing  that you may have received.
29. Did you apply for education and vocational counseling services  from VA?
30. If no to 29: Which of the following reasons, if any, best describes  why you did not apply for educational and vocational counseling  services from VA? (Check all that apply.)
31. If yes to 29: If you received VA’s educational and vocational  counseling: How satisfied, if at all, were you with the educational  and vocational counseling you received from VA?
Response  I did not receive  counseling  95 percent  confidence  interval – lower  bound  (percentage)
95 percent  confidence  interval – upper  bound  (percentage)
32. What, if any, suggestions do you have for improving VA’s  educational and vocational counseling services?  33. VA provides resource to veterans looking to go to school. Which  of the following types of information, if any, did you obtain from VA  about the schools you considered? (Check one response for each  item.)
If yes to 33g: What other information did you obtain?  34. If yes to any of questions 33a through 33g: how helpful was the  information from VA when choosing where to attend? (Check one  response for each item.)
If yes to 34g: What other information was helpful?  35. In which of the following areas, if any, would you have liked  more information from VA about the schools that you considered to  help you make a choice about where to attend? (Check one  response for each item.)
If yes to 35j: What other information would have been helpful?  36. If you have any additional comments for us, please include them  in the space below.
section_title: Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Veterans Affairs
section_title: Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of Education
section_title: Appendix V: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact
paragraphs: Melissa Emrey-Arras, (617) 788-0534 or emreyarrasm@gao.gov.
subsections: section_title: Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the contact named above, Michelle St. Pierre (Assistant  Director), Carl Barden, Deborah Bland, Kathleen van Gelder, Mark M.  Glickman, Nathan Gottfried, Kirsten Lauber, Theresa Lo, Ashley McCall,  Sheila McCoy, Amanda Miller, John Mingus, Andrew Nelson, Mimi  Nguyen, Anna Maria Ortiz, Carl Ramirez, Mark Ward, James Whitcomb,  and Craig Winslow made key contributions to this report.
section_title: Related GAO Products
paragraphs: Transitioning Veterans: Improved Oversight Needed to Enhance  Implementation of Transition Assistance Program. GAO-14-144.  Washington, D.C.: March 5, 2014.
VA Education Benefits: Student Characteristics and Outcomes Vary  across Schools. GAO-13-567. Washington, D.C.: July 25, 2013.
VA Education Benefits: VA Needs to Improve Program Management and  Provide More Timely Information to Students. GAO-13-338. Washington,  D.C.: May 22, 2013.
Veterans’ Education Benefits: Enhanced Guidance and Collaboration  Could Improve Administration of the Post-9/11 GI Bill Program.   GAO-11-356R. Washington, D.C.: May 5, 2011.
VA Education Benefits: Actions Taken, but Outreach and Oversight Could  Be Improved. GAO-11-256. Washington, D.C.: February 28, 2011.
Transfer Students: Postsecondary Institutions Could Promote More  Consistent Consideration of Coursework by Not Basing Determinations  on Accreditation. GAO-06-22. Washington, D.C.: October 18, 2005.