Post-MBA: Choosing The Right Career Path

Temple University’s Fox School of Business was tops in job placement at graduation AND three months after, the latter number a remarkable 100% — the only school in the U.S. News top 50 to achieve perfection. Courtesy photo

VA Stops GI Bill Bill Enrollments At Temple

If you’re a veteran planning to get your MBA from the University of Phoenix or Temple University, you may want to reconsider.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday that it would stop GI Bill enrollments at both the University of Phoenix and Temple University stating that these universities misled students about the value of their degrees, Inside Higher Ed reports.

Temple University’s Fox School of Business is currently ineligible under a Department of Veterans Affairs plan as the result of a “erroneous, deceptive, or misleading” enrollment practices, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Veterans planning to attend Temple could lose their GI Bill benefits, up to nearly $37,000 a year.

The plan, according to the VA, is a response to the b-school’s false reporting to U.S. News & World Report’s annual college rankings.

“This sends a powerful message, one we’ve been advocating for VA to exercise since 2012, that the federal government and taxpayers will no longer tolerate schools that seek to defraud veterans and other military-connected students out of their hard-earned federal education benefits,” Carrie Wofford, president of Veterans Education Success, says in a press release.

SCHOOL RESPONSES

Temple has 60 days to propose “corrective measures.” The university has made a public statement saying it intends to outline to the VA which corrective measures it has taken.

“Temple University and the Fox School of Business provide an excellent academic experience for all of its students, including veterans,” Temple spokesperson Ray Betzner says in a statement. “We have just received this notice from the Department of Veterans Affairs and will respond as requested to demonstrate the substantial corrective actions that have been undertaken. We look forward to continuing to provide an outstanding education to veterans. It is important to note that our current veteran students are not affected by this announcement.”

Here’s what a Phoenix spokesman said in response.

“Let us be clear: after an FTC investigation that lasted more than five years, the one marketing campaign the Commission had issues with ended six years ago and occurred under prior ownership,” the spokesman asserts in a statement. “The University admitted no wrongdoing in choosing to settle with the FTC and continues to believe we acted appropriately. We chose to settle to end the potential for protracted litigation that would impact our focus on our students.”

Sources: The Philadelphia Inquirer, Veterans Education Success, Inside Higher Ed

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