A Veterans Affairs writer warns GIs.
Go to Google and search for “GI Bill schools.” The first link you get isn’t a page run by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The first result is GIBill.com, and it uses the name of the most recognized public education program in existence to its financial benefit. It appears to be a legitimate site for information, but a cursory search of its privacy policy shows it is owned by an online marketing firm that, according to a major business publication, specializes in directing students to for-profit schools through its page. It’s a questionable marketing strategy that seeks to legitimize a page that serves little purpose other than to funnel student Veterans and convince them their options for education are limited to their advertisers.
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Update: Tom Ricks.
February 16th, 2011 at 8:50AM
My understanding is that the entire for profit system exists because of the GI bill. It was originally created as a way for service members to get college credits while enlisted and has been around since at least the 80s. You know, correspondence courses. The military promoted this as part of the whole self improvementability of military service. That’s how the whole thing got started. It took off from there, but the original purpose was to bilk the GI bill crowd. Now they’ve moved on to wanting to eat everything, but hey, that’s business.