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them ever enrolling at the university — with our transparent, upfront tuition pricing and our Tuition Guarantee that a student’s tuition will not change for the duration of their time with us. From the start, University of Phoenix has been dedicated to serving a variety of adult learners in their pursuit of higher education, and we are proud of the success we have achieved on behalf of our current students and over 1 million alumni.” In 2020, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs suspended educational benefits for new students enrolling in programs at the University of Phoenix, citing “erroneous, deceptive or misleading” enrollment practices. Today, Stutesman has yet to graduate from college. He pays $800 per month in student loans. “I would never tell a friend or even an enemy of mine to go enroll at any of these places,” he said. “It’s going to take an act of Congress to get the G.I. benefits back that I lost when the University of Phoenix canceled my degree program.” An act of Congress is what he’s seeking, which is how he found Veterans Education Success. An analysis of BLS data shows veterans were more likely than nonveterans to be employed every year from 2006 to 2019, peaking at more than 6% more employable in 2007. After 2019, things about-faced. Veterans like Young and Stutesman aged 35 to 64 are nearly twice as likely to be unemployed than nonveterans the same age, according to BLS. The Obama Administration improved oversight to address the student debt crisis, but the Trump Administration reversed these measures, leading to more exploitation of veterans. The Biden Administration expressed intent to restore oversight, but the new regulations must be finalized by Nov. 1 or else the process will restart under either Biden or his successor next year. And that’s where Veterans Education Success comes in. ‘THEY SHOULD BE PUT IN JAIL’ Veterans and online college go together like peas and carrots. For soldiers juggling the stress of service, family and unpredictable schedules, studying online is a smart choice. It helps service members balance military duties with getting a degree or learning a trade. In fact, education benefits are one of the primary reasons people enlist in the military,
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DISHONORABLE DISCORD These messages are not via email. Instead, they are exchanged over Discord, a chat room website “primarily used by gamers,” according to the company. Young said he did not have contact with his professors via email or phone during his three years of study. University email servers are standard because they allow administrators to monitor communications sent from university-affiliated email addresses. This oversight is particularly useful for addressing grievances and facilitating mediation when needed. Students in the game design program only communicated with their professors over Discord servers, where administrators were blind to all communication. Using chatrooms over email meant professors routinely deleted students’ questions and even placed them in “time out,” where they’d be unable to chat, reply, react or join voice channels for a time set by the professor. In a letter to Young dated Aug. 18, 2023, Full Sail University Director of Military Affairs Troy East denies any wrongdoing by the school. Full Sail’s public relations director, Casey Tanous, declined to answer any questions from American Veterans Magazine . Full Sail University rakes in more than $200 million a year. Less than half of students complete a four-year degree within eight years, according to data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The overall graduation rate is 39%, according to the U.S. Department of Education . That’s compared to 80% at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where Young studies now. Tuition at Full Sail costs $28,559, 57% higher than the average university, while graduates earn $43,332, 17% worse than the average degree holder. According to Pew Research Center, experiencing a traumatic event, being a post-9/11 veteran and not being a college graduate are all factors making a return to civilian life more difficult . For Young, all apply.
It’s high time universities take that into account, he says.
He didn’t realize the statistic applied to graduates of any four-year school with that degree — the recruiters didn’t mention University of Phoenix graduates made an average $37,769. As a student, “There was never any offer of mental health assistance,” Stutesman said. But it was as an employee in the admissions office where reality set in. In that role, he enrolled 240 fellow veterans. One graduated. Just one. Worse still, he faced back-to-back pay cuts for not enrolling enough students. That came amid a divorce and child custody battle he lost because he didn’t earn enough money. He wanted to leave the job, but quickly learned nobody would hire him to do anything except hawking for-profit universities, he said in an interview with American Veterans Magazine . “I either sleep on a bench and can’t feed my child, or I sell degrees at these universities because I couldn’t get a job doing anything else without getting a big pay cut,” Stutesman said. The University of Phoenix was the first institution to ever launch a fully online higher education degree program in 1989. JOB INSECURITY In an interview with American Veterans Magazine , University of Phoenix spokesperson Lilia Dashevsky said the school is not legally able to discuss the specifics of any student’s individual education. She maintained the university complies with all laws. This was her statement to American Veterans Magazine : “University of Phoenix is proud to support all of our students. Countless adult learners choose us because our flexible online programs and career- focused curriculum meet their unique needs. As a result, our students exceed core competencies that employers identify as top skills which matter greatly in today’s competitive job market through our skills-aligned programs. Furthermore, our commitment to our students begins prior to
IT’S GOING TO TAKE AN ACT OF CONGRESS TO GET THE G.I. BENEFITS BACK THAT I LOST WHEN THE UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX CANCELED ” GALEN STUTESMAN, MARINE CORPS VETERAN MY DEGREE PROGRAM.
RAW RECRUITMENT For the students who testified to the U.S. Department of Education early this year, demands were fourfold, according to Veterans Education Success: • Stop allowing schools to provide only pre- recorded instruction or YouTube videos rather than live instruction. • Stop the bait-and-switch and ensure schools deliver the programs they promised. • Stop nursing schools from inflating their state licensing pass rates by withholding graduation.
• Stop leaving students in the lurch when accredited schools abruptly shut down. For Glendale Marine Corps veteran Galen
Stutesman, that last pillar hits close to home. After he earned 100 credit hours at the University of Phoenix online, his e-business degree program was canceled. Not only were his G.I. Bill benefits exhausted, but he was also left $55,000 in personal debt. Stutesman served in the Marine Corps from 2004 to 2008. As a corporal based out of the Marine Unmanned Aerial Squadron 1 in Twentynine Palms, Calif., he was deployed to Iraq from 2005 to 2006. He was deployed to Afghanistan twice as a U.S. Department of Defense contractor in 2012 and 2013 and patrolled the border as a provost’s marshal, a Marine arm of the U.S. Military Police. Stutesman is a post-9/11 veteran who was married while serving, yet another factor making re- entry into civilian life more difficult, according to Pew Research Center. Inspired by his entrepreneur mother and goaded by his wife, a University of Phoenix employee, he enrolled and started a job as a military admissions advisor six weeks before he was discharged. Recruiters bewitched Stutesman with promises he’d make a $100,000 salary after graduation as a remote worker, justifying the $240,000 degree. The university cited U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, so it seemed legit.
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AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024
Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS
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