Military veteran students, alumni, faculty and staff from Career Education Colleges and Universities member schools are in Washington, DC this week to speak with their elected representatives in Congress about the importance of protecting veterans’ access to career education.
Veteran students and graduates of career schools will visit members of Congress and discuss:
- The GI Benefit is an earned benefit that veterans should be free to use at any institution of higher education they choose;
- The negative impact changes to the 90/10 rule will have on veteran access to higher education – loss of access for over 100,000 veteran students;
- The need for clear regulations and accountability across all of higher education – over 400 public and non-profit colleges would fail a 90/10 rule if it was applied to them
While in Washington, DC, over 90 veterans established Veterans for Career Education (VCE). The student veterans agreed to adopt the following mission statement: VCE supports the right of veterans to use their earned education benefits to gain career skills at the college or institution of their choice.
“The Post-9/11 GI Bill is a benefit that I earned and no one should restrict where I go to school,” said Navy veteran and student at UEI College, Larry Goerzen. He is studying HVAC in Stockton, California.
“This campaign is founded by veterans, for veterans,” said Marine veteran and student at Bellus Academy in Poway, California, Kristyl Rodriguez. She is studying in a joint cosmetology and barbering program. “Many of us did not want a traditional college experience. Some of us left other institutions to attend a career school. We should have the option of using our benefits at the school of our choice.” Kris serves as co-chair of Veterans of Career Education
“Veterans should be able to use their hard-earned education benefits at any college or university they choose,” said Michael Dakduk, a Marine veteran and co-chair of VCE. “Veterans attending career institutions in the private sector, and veteran graduates, are not going to sit quietly on the sidelines while some lawmakers and advocacy organizations try to restrict where they use their earned benefits.”
Michael Dakduk is the former head of Student Veterans of America (SVA). He previously served in the Marine Corps with combat deployments to both Afghanistan and Iraq. He now serves as Executive Vice President and Director of Government Relations for CECU.