In a computer cubicle, of course!
"For-profit colleges cashing in as vets struggle to get degrees" by Daniel Golden, Bloomberg News | September 26, 2010
Chris Pantzke suffered a brain injury from a car bomb while serving in the Iraq War. Determined to get new skills and make a living after returning home, he joined more than 300,000 veterans taking advantage of a new GI Bill offering college tuition.
These days, Pantzke, who has post-traumatic stress disorder, punches the wall when he can’t understand his homework. He enrolled last year in the online division of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, owned by Education Management Corp. His veteran’s benefit and other federal aid pay the $20,000-plus annual tab.
I'm not saying vets don't deserve funding for college (much worthier than bailing out banks); however, online seems to defeat the purpose -- interacting with people while allegedly learning about things.
Taxpayer picks up the tab while they can't afford to send their kid to college (who will probably end up joining the service).
I hope the needless wars based on lies are worth it, America? WhereTF are you?
Working on a computer in his Prince George, Va., apartment, Pantzke has failed seven of 18 courses and dropped two others. The school rejected his pleas for face-to-face tutoring and simpler homework instructions, he said.
“I stare at the screen and fume and fume,’’ Pantzke, 41, said. “I’m kind of regretting my decision.’’
Reminds me of reading the newspaper.
Since the post-9/11 GI Bill with expanded education benefits for returning soldiers took effect Aug. 1, 2009, for-profit colleges have snared $618 million, or 35 percent, of the almost $1.8 billion in tuition and fees spent by US taxpayers, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The industry is now targeting the more than 1.2 million veterans deployed since 2001, and their college grants.
You guys are never out of the cro$$hair$, are you?
Anyone else find that terminology and word choice odd?
Five of the top 10 colleges with the most students funded by the GI bill in April 2010 were for-profit, mainly online institutions, including Apollo Group Inc.’s University of Phoenix and Washington Post Co.’s Kaplan University, according to data from the Department of Veterans Affairs....
Enrolling at online colleges hampers veterans’ reintegration into society and increases their risk of dropping out, said John Schupp, national director of the nonprofit group Supportive Education for the Returning Veteran.
“They don’t transition sitting next to a computer in their room,’’ Schupp said.
While some veterans say online schools provide an opportunity for education that they otherwise couldn’t fit into their schedules, the swelling number of former soldiers at for-profit colleges is drawing scrutiny from the Senate education committee.
That’s because these colleges, which typically charge higher tuitions than public institutions, have been criticized for enrolling students who aren’t academically ready and are more likely to default on their federal loans.
And HERE WE GO AGAIN! Another BAILOUT for BANKS!!
So HOW MANY TIMES did Wall Street SELL and RESELL the STUDENT LOAN SECURITIES?
You vets clear on who you were really fighting for over there, and why you killed?
(Judging by the suicides, yeah, they do)
An undercover investigation by the Government Accountability Office found that recruiters at for-profit colleges encouraged applicants to lie on federal financial aid forms and misled them by exaggerating graduation rates and potential salaries.
Graduation rates are lower at for-profit colleges. Only 22 percent of first-time, full-time candidates at for profit-colleges get bachelors’ degrees, compared with 55 percent at public institutions and 65 percent at nonprofit schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Because of his brain injury, Pantzke has trouble following complex instructions. The institute’s accelerated schedule — each course lasts six weeks — leaves him struggling to keep pace. Pantzke, who would like to get a degree in photography, almost dropped out in February, changing his mind after instructors promised more help. In March, he asked for in-person tutoring and homework that was easier to understand.
A school official responded that “we are not able to provide face-to-face tutoring’’ and that simplified assignments are “typically not considered a reasonable accommodation at the college level,’’ according to an e-mail to Pantzke from Sarah White, assistant director of student affairs.
Not even for a war hero?
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