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according to a survey of 5,000 Army recruits by the Santa Monica, Calif., nonprofit policy thinktank RAND Corporation. The sheer demand for online education among veterans is perhaps why they’re so often preyed upon. The pandemic only exacerbated that demand, explains Will Hubbard, vice president for veterans and military policy at Veterans Education Success. “The reality is we didn’t choose COVID — COVID was put on us,” Hubbard told American Veterans Magazine. “Online education as a result did not spike because it was so much better. There was no other option available at the time. The idea that online education is somehow the solution for the future — it couldn’t be further from the truth.” Without advertising, Veterans Education Success has seen “an overwhelming number of people reaching out to us, capacity we do not have,” Hubbard said. “The unfortunate reality is what we see is the mere tip of the iceberg. We know there are tens or even hundreds of thousands who have been affected by predatory schools that have taken advantage of these individuals.” For every person Veterans Education Success helps, thousands more go unsupported, he said. That’s why the group took to the Neg Reg to advocate systemic change. During testimony, federal school regulators’ tone and tenor changed every time a veteran testified. Usually a purely performative display, Hubbard said he believed this year’s public comment period changed the trajectory of the conversation. Because the issue didn’t reach consensus, the DOE will write the final rules — given the negotiations they heard from veterans like Young. “The impact those folks had cannot be underestimated,” Hubbard said. “They’ve earned the opportunity to earn a strong future. A school that comes in and takes that from them, they should be put in jail. The executives should be put in jail.” SCAM U Justice is not absent in the world of predatory for-profit higher education, although far too many await it. Chandler-based educational services company Zovio, Inc., faced fraud charges in San Diego County Superior Court and was found guilty in
2022 of “giving students false information about career outcomes, pace of degree programs, and transfer credits, in order to entice them to enroll at Ashford,” according to Judge Eddie C. Sturgeon’s decision. Zovio administered San Diego-based Ashford University, later sold to the University of Arizona and rebranded as University of Arizona Global Campus. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said students “deserve more than empty promises and mounting debt, yet that is all that Ashford University had to offer them” when he lodged the fraud charges in 2017. Zovio was ordered to repay north of $22 million to students around the country, largely in Arizona. In its deal with UAGC, Zovio paid $37.5 million upfront to maintain the reigns to most daily operations, including recruiting and support services. As part of the deal, UAGC would share tuition profits with Zovio to the tune of $225 million over 15 years. “The company emphatically denies the allegations that it ever deliberately misled its students, falsely advertised its programs, or in any way was not fully accurate in its statements to investors,” Zovio said in a document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Despite the rebrand, “Zovio continues to provide the same misleading enrollment and marketing services to the University of Arizona Global Campus as it previously provided to Ashford,” Bonta said in a statement. In March, amid a $177 million deficit after revenue tanked in the wake of that court ruling, the DOE wants to force the University of Arizona to pay back even more loan debt to students like Angela McMillen, who took out more than $140,000 in loans for a doctorate degree in psychology that turned out to be a master’s degree unsuitable to practice psychology in any capacity. The Navy veteran from Pierce, Colo., said she was “duped” after realizing her credits weren’t transferable. Zovio and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau entered into a consent order after the federal agency found Zovio “engaged in deceptive acts and practices.” The company dismissed its outstanding loans to students and paid more than $31 million in civil penalties — but did not stop the deceptive practices, the California court later ruled. That from a school earning $62 million every quarter on the backs of students who, more than 75% of the time, do not return after their first year of enrollment. After losing in court, Zovio founder
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OUR MISSION Celebrate the addition of the USS Arizona nuclear attack submarine to our Naval Fleet in
THE UNFORTUNATE REALITY IS WHAT WE SEE IS THE MERE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. WE KNOW THERE ARE TENS OR EVEN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY PREDATORY SCHOOLS THAT HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THESE INDIVIDUALS. ” WILL HUBBARD, VICE PRESIDENT, VETERANS EDUCATION SUCCESS
grand style with a series of festivities and community events.
ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
Educate the next generation about the history and significance of Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona battleship, and her gallant crew. Support the crew of the USS Arizona submarine and create an enduring bond between them and the citizens of Arizona for the life of the boat.
The Foundation was established in 2021 to support the commissioning of the new USS Arizona nuclear submarine currently under construction. The USS Arizona Legacy Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our vision is to honor, expand, and nurture the memory of the USS Arizona battleship BB-39 and her crew while supporting the
future legacy of the USS Arizona Virginia-class submarine SSN-803.
HONORING the PAST,
FORGING the FUTURE.
CONTACT Nicole LaSlavic President & CEO
Scan for more information
ussazlegacy.org
PO Box 10802 Tempe, AZ 85284
Nicole@ussazlegacy.org
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AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024
Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS
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