Federal Trade Commission Warns Veterans About For-Profit Colleges

The Federal Trade Commission is warning military veterans to be cautious when choosing to spend their GI Bill benefits at a for-profit college.

In a recent post on “8 Questions to Ask” when picking a college, the agency urges veterans to “be aware that some for-profit schools may not have your best interest in mind.”

“They may want to use your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to boost their bottom line and may not help you achieve your education goals,” the post reads. “They may stretch the truth to persuade you to enroll, either by pressuring you to sign up for courses that don’t suit your needs or to take out loans that will be a challenge to pay off.”

The post recommends that veterans consult the Education Department’s College Navigator to determine whether an institution is for-profit or not-for-profit.

The warning suggests the federal agency is continuing to pay close attention to the for-profit sector. In an appearance at June’s annual meeting of the sector’s main lobbying group, the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, a top FTC official said the agency was “actively engaged” in monitoring the marketing practices of for-profit colleges.

The official, Lois C. Greisman, from the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said it was acting partly at the behest of several U.S. senators.

Last year four Democratic senators asked the agency to be more aggressive in investigating problematic lead-generation businesses, a major tool used by for-profit colleges to recruit students.