Military Times EDGE

Known for their affordability and the ease with which their credits usually transfer to four-year institutions, community colleges are a popular higher-education choice among service members.

The transfer to a four-year school can be even easier if you choose carefully. Education counselors can help you evaluate your options to an extent, but they might not have the time or resources to help every single transfer student.

Enter a new tool from Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of two-year colleges. Last fall, Phi Theta Kappa began testing a free Web site called CollegeFish.org, which collects information from community college students looking to transfer and analyzes it to generate a list of five colleges that would provide good fit for each student. The site is available to all community college students, not just members of Phi Theta Kappa.

For more information about other services provided by CollegeFish.org, check out this great article on education site Inside Higher Ed.

Many businesses seem to be catching on to the value of veterans in their workforce, and now it appears business schools are doing the same.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, America’s business schools are working hard to recruit former service members into their MBA programs. Part of your appeal? Leadership skills, teamwork and the ability to bring an alternate perspective to the classroom, said school administrators.

These schools are also putting their money where their mouths are, offering scholarships and joining the Yellow Ribbon program to help offset the high cost of earning an MBA. That cost can reach upwards of $150,000 for two years at a top-ranked school, according to the Journal article.

Interested in earning your MBA but worried about being saddled by debt to do it? The Web site Military MBA has identified the 20 MBA schools that provide the best value for military veterans.

Already in an MBA program, or a recent graduate of one? Check out some unique networking opportunities for veterans at MBA Veterans.

The good news: VA apparently is “more efficiently” cutting checks for veterans to attend college this semester. In fact, as of Feb. 5, almost 90 percent of enrollments for the 167,000 veterans submitted to VA for the Post-9/11 GI Bill had been paid out, VA said. And all those claims submitted by Jan. 19 were paid.

The not-so-good news? VA already is pursuing repayment of the $3,000 advance payments of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits it made to ease the burden on students waiting for delayed benefits payments. According to a report by Rick Maze in Military Times, VA wants the $3,000 back, interest free, within one year, and requires a monthly payment plan, which would mean monthly payments of $250.

The names of anyone who does not respond to VA’s request for recoupment will be turned over the Treasury Offset Program, which can garnish salaries or tax refunds to collect money owed the federal government, the story said.

It all just seems a bit aggressive, especially given the months of financial hardship and uncertainty many of the first crop of Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients went through while waiting for their payments last fall semester. Many students were forced to live off of savings or credit cards, or even drop out of school, while waiting for payments that often were months overdue.

Many colleges and universities — already cash-strapped themselves in our tough economy — also felt the strain for extending a helping hand to veterans in the form of emergency loans or generous deadline extensions on due dates for student bills.

The $3,000 advance payments should, of course, be paid back. Unfortunately, many of those who were forced to take the payments in the first place likely still are struggling to regain their financial footing.
VA is offering an alternate payment plan for those experiencing financial hardship. Being a successful college student is difficult enough when all conditions are ideal. Let’s hope veterans will consider the alternate repayment route to avoid another financially stressful semester.

Support for service member and veteran students is at an all-time high on college and university campuses across the nation.

Last month, I reported that $6 million for student veterans centers was to be included in the 2010 Education Department budget. But not every school is sitting back to wait for the federal money. Many excellent veterans programs already are in existence, with more coming online seemingly every day. Some recent additions:

* The University of North Texas Veterans Center
* The University of Louisville Office of Military and Veteran Student Services
* The University of Michigan-Flint Student Veterans Support Center

The purpose of such centers is to assist veterans with the transition from service member to student, and to put access to all the tools, departments and programs that promote academic success under one roof.

As part of a story for an upcoming issue of EDGE, I recently spoke to Andrew Rendon, director of the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans at Mississippi State University. Rendon made an excellent point about the importance of making schools veteran-friendly for the long term.

“We are at war right now,” he said. “There is a lot of emphasis on helping veterans. But someday when the war goes away, there won’t be as much emphasis on helping veterans. That’s why we need to right now work on making universities and departments become more veteran-friendly.”

If schools and their individual departments and programs become more attuned to the needs of veteran students, he said, the need for separate veterans centers may go away. “You need [veterans centers],” Rendon said. “But you need the departments on campus to continue to change their policies and become more veteran-friendly.”

Readers, what do you think? Do you see a future in which schools become so attuned to the needs and interests of student veterans that the need for veterans centers goes away?

Proof that miracles do happen? A government form just got shorter – and easier – to complete.

On Jan. 1, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, debuted a sleeker, simpler look on the Web. Changes to the form, which is used to determine eligibility for student financial aid ranging from federal and state grants to work-studies and loans, include fewer questions, friendlier online navigation and the ability to import tax information from the IRS, according to the Education Department.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan hopes the streamlined FAFSA will encourage more students to apply, according to USA Today.

Jan. 1 was the first day students were eligible to file the 2010-2011 FAFSA. The College Board recommends filing as close to that date as possible, since deadlines vary and aid often is determined on a first-come basis.

One final word of advice: Before you start filling out your FAFSA, take the confusion out of whether or not your Veterans Affairs educational benefits affect your eligibility for financial aid by visiting http://www.gibill.va.gov/training/Presentations/FAFSA_and_VA_Education_Benefits.pdf

Private, for-profit colleges in California apparently are stepping up to fill a need in public higher education caused by budget shortfalls and increased enrollment demand. According to a recent article in the Vallejo (Calif.) Times Herald, for-profit schools like University of Phoenix and Kaplan University are seeing huge jumps in enrollment, as limited slots at California community colleges and public schools are making it difficult for students to fulfill their degree requirements.

It’s a disturbing trend in higher education that bears further attention. In November, I wrote about increased occurrences of community colleges having to turn away would-be students because of overcrowding and underfunding.

Private for-profits can provide education where it otherwise might not be available, but these schools are not for everyone. Tuition costs can be much higher than at public institutions, and, as I pointed out in another recent post, the dismal economy is making some employers pay close attention to where job applicants received their college educations – with many giving less-than-favorable marks for degrees obtained from private for-profits.

Community colleges and public institutions are working hard to find solutions to the overcrowding/underfunding problems, but budgetary constraints imposed by the economy have placed a chokehold on any quick solutions. As demand for a college education increases and opportunities grow more limited, your best bets for acceptance remain:

* Applying early.

* Applying to more than one school.

* Conveying your seriousness as a student at every opportunity – on the application itself and on tests such as CLEP, ACT and SAT.

A Center of Excellence for Veterans Success could be coming to a college campus near you.

The FY 2010 budget bill includes $6 million for the Department of Education to fund a 2010 pilot project that would award federal grants to colleges and universities for establishment of the centers, according to AMVETS.

“These centers will provide a critical one-stop shop for student-veterans, offering all the necessary tools to succeed in academic life,”

As the economy continues to spell bad news for recent college graduates, potential employers are paying more attention to the quality of education received by job-seekers – and those employers have pretty strong opinions about their likes and dislikes.

A recent article from Bloomberg.com examined the value in today’s job market of a college degree from for-profit online colleges. Such colleges are popular education options for military learners, in large part because of the convenience and flexibility of their programs.

Criticisms of for-profit online institutions by others in the higher education community are not new and some of these criticisms are legitimate: There are plenty of schools out there that are glorified diploma mills, preying on military learners. But there are also many legitimate, high-quality for-profits schools that truly have the best interests of the students at heart.

In the Bloomberg article, criticisms of the value of for-profit degrees are not limited to peers in higher education. Employers and job-search firms go on record citing reservations about the quality of degrees earned from for-profit online schools.

I’d be curious to see a similar article exploring the weight, in our current economy, of degrees from different-caliber traditional schools. How does a degree from “Podunk College,”

Talk about a great idea whose time has come.

The nation’s first transitional housing and rehabilitation center for wounded combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan is scheduled to open its doors in January. Located on the campus of Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, Mass., the Northeast Veteran Training and Rehabilitation Center will provide combat-wounded veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and other injuries and their families with access to housing, campus services and academic programs – all free of charge – while the veteran participates in therapy, rehabilitation and community reintegration programs.

The $8 million center is being constructed by the Massachusetts-based nonprofit Veteran Homestead and will consist of a rehabilitation complex and a condominium community of 10 two-bedroom apartments. Ten additional housing units are expected to be built in 2010.

The program is open to Iraq or Afghanistan veterans from any state or territory. For more information, contact program director Michelle Wilmott at (978) 353-0234, or visit www.mwcc.edu/info/newsarchive/news102009.html, www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=136995204207, www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTvF5-XXwBA or www.veteranhomestead.org/facilities/nvtrc.html.

The phrase “military friendly” is one that gets thrown about a lot in higher education circles. Many schools identified as military friendly are legitimately so, with a deep respect for and commitment to the unique educational needs of service members and veterans.

The trouble is, any school — or diploma mill — can call itself military friendly, even if there is no substance to back up the claim. A recent survey by the education and student resource Web sites GI Bill Hub and Military MBA suggests that overuse of the phrase “military friendly” has led to its devaluation in the eyes of veterans.

Among the survey’s results:

* When asked if the term “military friendly” provided a meaningful indicator that could be used to make a good decision about a school, the majority of respondents (52.2 percent) said it provided no meaningful value. The remaining 48 percent could not agree on what it actually meant to be “military friendly.”

* Most respondents (69.5 percent) felt “military friendly” schools and lists were overused.

* 85 percent said they would not enroll in a university that advertised its “military friendly” status.

As one survey respondent put it, “I see too many institutions preying on service members and veterans and claiming to be military friendly just because they can accept GI Bill money.”

It should be noted that the survey had a response rate of only 4.13 percent of 1,114 military personnel across all service branches. That said, the findings of the survey and sentiments expressed by respondents reflect very valid points.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill has made being “military friendly” a potential gold mine for colleges and universities. Before deciding on a school, military students need to ensure that the institution is backing up its “military friendly” claims with hard evidence.

Some reliable indicators:

* Is the school a member of Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges?

* Does the school participate in Veterans Affairs’ Yellow Ribbon Program?

* Are veterans’ groups such as Student Veterans of America welcome on campus?

* Are there special admissions counselors or offices dedicated solely to supporting the needs of service members and veterans? This goes beyond school employees serving merely as VA certifying officials.

* Does the school accept credit for military experience? Does it recognize CLEP/DSST examinations?

* Does the school have a veteran-specific page on its Web site?