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(EMAILWIRE.COM, September 03, 2009 ) - Fort Lauderdale/Miami Florida
According to a report issued towards the end of last month (August, 2009), by the American Council on Education, the new GI Bill could raise the number of veterans as well as active-duty servicemen who enroll full time and attend four-year college institutions.
The report bases its conclusions from recent behaviors of veterans as harnessed from several government studies. In the academic year of 2007/2008, undergraduate veterans and servicemen that received federal tuition benefits were 15% more likely to attend full time college and 9% more likely to attend a 4-year public college than were veterans and service men who did not receive the tuition benefits at all. The report reveals that in the same academic year, 43% of veterans and the servicemen attended 2-year public colleges, while 21% attended 4-year public institutions. Surprisingly, a staggering 13% share of the enrollment was into the private for-profit and non-profit colleges.
In a survey, close to half of the recent veterans and servicemen cited college tuition and fees as a great determining factor in deciding which college to enroll in. The albeit timely GI Bill provides veterans of the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq with adequate aid to attend most expensive state universities and colleges.
The report, which draws on data from several government studies, bases its conclusions on the experiences of recent veterans. In 2007-8, undergraduate veterans and service members who received federal tuition benefits were 15 percentage points more likely to attend college full time and nine percentage points more likely to attend a four-year public college than were veterans and service members who did not receive the benefits. That year, 43 percent of veterans and service members attended two-year public colleges, while 21 percent attended four-year public institutions. Private for-profit and nonprofit colleges each had about a 13-percent share of the enrollment.
In one of the government studies, almost half of recent veterans and service members surveyed cited cost as a factor in their choice of college. The new GI Bill, which went into effect on August 1, provides veterans of the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan with enough aid to attend the most expensive public college in their state.
Alexandria Walton Radford, the author of the report is quoted saying, “Such expanded benefits may encourage veterans to seek entry into more expensive colleges particularly if those institutions demonstrate responsiveness to their needs."
As expansive as the report was, it fails to consider the effect that the expanded tuition benefits could have on enrollment in private institutions and also doesn’t describe any challenge faced by veterans transitioning into the education system; neither does it extend suggestions as to how colleges can be made more ‘veteran-friendly’.
Sheila Danzig, executive director of www.Degree.com said four-year colleges should be taking the lead and learning from the junior and community two year colleges to learn what makes them a first choice for the military if they want to compete in today's market. Degree.com is the premier internet portal for online degree studies. Online colleges will be competing for the military as well.
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