As you most likely have heard lately, for-profit schools are in the news again. The University of Phoenix was recently banned by the Pentagon from further recruiting on military installations. But they are not alone, many schools are being investigated by various agencies and States Attorney Generals for using deceptive or misleading recruitment practices to coerce veterans to attend their schools. One of the accused currently sued by the Illinois Attorney General is Westwood College, part of Alta Colleges Inc.

The lawsuit comes in part that Westwood College led criminal justice students to believe they could get an education that would prepare them for a law enforcement career in Illinois or beyond. However, the school does not have the accreditation required by state and local law enforcement agencies to secure employment in that field.

When the numbers were crunched, only 3.8 percent of program graduates were actually employed in criminal justice-related careers that required a bachelor’s degree.  Two of the most common jobs criminal justice graduates held were working as security guards or in retail – both which typically only require a high school education or equivalency diploma.

Veterans are in high demand by for-profit colleges because of the GI Bill money schools can receive. So how can you tell a good school from one that is more interested in the bottom line of their investors than your education? Do your own research.

College Navigator

One tool that has helped many veterans choose good schools is the College Navigator. Administered by the Institute of Education Sciences, it returns a plethora of information from customized searches making it easy to make apple-to-apple comparisons without bias.

For example, using the College Navigator to search three schools – one for profit and the other two public – for their Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degree programs, it returned the following selected information:

 

Information Westwood College Governors State University University of Illinois – Chicago
Tuition and Fees    (per year) $25,235 $9,386 $13,634
Books and Supplies (per Year) $2,844 $900 $1,400
Total Credit Hours 180 120 120
Accreditation
Resigned regional accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools,

 

The Higher Learning Commission in 2010

Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools – 1985 to Present

Regionally accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, The Higher Learning Commission – 1975 to Present
Regionally accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, The Higher Learning Commission – 1970 to Present

 

Specifically, let’s look at three students each taking criminal justice majors at these schools. For the student going to Westwood under the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the VA would pay the school up to $21,084.89 per year in tuition and fees. Even with factoring in the $1,000 per year book stipend, the student would still have to make up almost $6,000 per year in out-of-pocket expenses, most likely paid by taking out student loans (many of which are through Westwood itself).

However for the student going to Governors State University, the VA would pay the full tuition of $9,386 resulting in no out-of-pocket expenditure and would have about $100 left over from the book stipend. For the student going to U of I – Chicago, the VA would also pay the full tuition, however, the student would have to pay $400 out of pocket for books after factoring in the $1,000 book stipend.

As far as accreditation, both Governors and the U of I – Chicago are regionally accredited, an important factor when trying to find a law enforcement job in Illinois after graduation. As noted in earlier in this article, Westwood’s national accreditation is not recognized by Illinois Law Enforcement agencies.

The Bottom Line

Research, research, research. Find out all you can about schools on your short list. Visit each one and ask questions. Take what the school tells you and verify the information as accurate and factual before signing up for anything. With the Internet, it isn’t hard to find information about majors or schools. A quick search brought up Affordable Criminal Justice Degrees listing from College Affordability Guide.org.

The VA itself also has some good information on schools. Both their GI Bill Comparison Tool and Choosing a School Guide are excellent resources to help find the right school to use your GI Bill.

Note: On November 4, 2015, Westwood and the Illinois Attorney General came to an agreement. Westwood would put $15 million towards wiping out student loans acquired through them as far back as 2004 and they would discontinue their resident Criminal Justice Bachelor Degree program as part of the agreement.

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Kness retired in November 2007 as a Senior Noncommissioned Officer after serving 36 years of service with the Minnesota Army National Guard of which 32 of those years were in a full-time status along with being a traditional guardsman. Kness takes pride in being able to still help veterans, military members, and families as they struggle through veteran and dependent education issues.