ICYMI: You Can Die for Your Country, But You Can’t Go to a Career College
In the Biden Administration’s effort to prop up failing conventional four-year colleges and universities, the Department of Education has put “mountains of red tape between veterans and their college choices,” Bob Carey wrote in RealClear Education last fall.
Military service members are trustworthy enough to make life and death decisions in the line of duty, but not trustworthy enough to decide where they want to go to school—at least according to federal regulators, Carey states. The Department of Education has sought to stomp out career college options, even though these schools often provide better schedules, financial counseling to maximize student aid, and teach more career-applicable skills.
“This continued condescending paternalism limits veterans’ earned benefits and will lead to fewer educational opportunities in the long run.”
A 2016 article by Foundation for Economic Education notes that while sticker prices at conventional colleges and universities have rapidly grown, investment in classroom teaching has plummeted. Author Charles Sykes compares enrollment at these schools to buying a brand-new luxury sports car each year and then immediately driving it off a cliff.
“The fact is, many veterans either decide not to enroll (for the reasons listed above) or cannot gain admission to traditional postsecondary colleges. And many of us do not feel welcome at ‘elite’ schools,” Carey writes.
“The government doesn’t tell me I can only spend my military retirement at the base exchange and the commissary – I’m free to shop at Target and Costco if I want. So why should the government restrict veterans’ educational benefits in that same way?”
Read the Full Piece Here.
