Selected schools’ websites also demonstrated a focus on recruiting  veteran or military students, as 29 of the 30 school websites we reviewed  included sections dedicated to veteran or military students. Officials from eight of the nine schools we interviewed reported  advertising to some extent in print or online media dedicated to military  audiences (see fig. Once a veteran is identified, officials from most of the nine schools we  interviewed said that they contacted veterans directly, such as by phone  or email, and their school made special efforts to customize the individual  communication. In  contrast, however, about 23 percent—or an estimated 15,200 veterans  when generalized to the population of veterans receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill  benefits—said that they felt the contacts they received from schools were  excessive, generally from schools they considered but did not ultimately  attend. VA Is Taking Steps to Better Inform and Protect Student Veterans, but Its Counseling Outreach and Planning Efforts Are Insufficient

		VA Plans to Offer More Information about Schools, but Is Not Effectively Promoting Educational Counseling

			New Information Tools

In response to the Executive Order and recent legislation, VA is taking  steps to help veterans more easily obtain information on schools to  support their decision making. Yet, VA indicated in its  April 2013 report to Congress that it would prioritize creating an online  application for its counseling services, and Public Law 112-249 required  VA to develop an outreach policy that includes effective and efficient  methods to inform individuals of education counseling.its current strategic plan, VA has emphasized the importance of providing   Additionally, in  benefits and services to veterans through automated and paperless  processes, with the goal of reducing the burden for veterans and meeting  their needs in a timely way. VA has also taken some initial steps to develop a related system to  publish student feedback on schools’ recruiting practices, quality of  instruction, and postgraduation employment outcomes, as required by  Public Law 112-249. Many  others reported that they wanted more information about schools. Some of these obstacles have been out of  VA’s control. Subsequently, stakeholders and  policymakers have frequently lacked reliable information on VA’s  progress in implementing measures that will better protect and inform  student veterans. Recommendations for Executive Action

To ensure that veterans’ education benefits are used effectively, we  recommend that the Secretary of VA take the following actions:  1) Take additional steps to improve the outreach, accessibility, and  usefulness of its educational counseling services, particularly for  prospective student veterans, for example by  featuring these services in resources intended for prospective  students veterans; prioritizing efforts to enable veterans to apply for educational  considering cost-effective ways to gather more information on  applicants, users, and key program areas (such as the timeliness of  service) to better identify service needs or gaps and to improve the  effectiveness of future outreach. 2) More consistently develop, document, and communicate realistic  timelines and goals for implementing VA initiatives based on federal  requirements by identifying specific activities needed to achieve goals  and associated implementation timelines, as well as resource issues or  potential internal or external risks that may affect timing. Education had no comments on our findings or recommendations, but  outlined its efforts to help veterans and other students make informed  educational choices and noted its collaboration with VA and other  agencies to support implementation of the Executive Order. GAO staff who made key contributions to this  report are listed in appendix V.

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The objectives of our report were to examine: (1) how do selected  schools recruit veterans; (2) what are the school search and recruiting  experiences of student veterans; and (3) what actions has the  Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) taken to help veterans make  informed education decisions and to identify inappropriate school  recruiting? To address our first question, we interviewed officials from 9  schools and reviewed the websites of an additional 30 schools. For all three  questions, we also spoke with veterans service and higher education  organizations. National Survey of Student Veterans

		Overview

To obtain information on the factors that influenced student veterans’  school decisions, as well as their experiences with school recruitment, we  administered a survey to a nationally representative sample of 900  recently enrolled student veterans (300 each in the public, nonprofit, and  public sectors) and asked them about their school search and recruiting  experiences, information they received from their current school, and their  perspectives on relevant information and services from VA. All survey  results presented in the body of this report are generalizable to the  population of 73,000 student veterans who were receiving Post-9/11 GI  Bill benefits for the first time in 2012. 6. 12. 16.
Why GAO Did This Study

In fiscal year 2013, VA provided over $12 billion in benefits for veterans' postsecondary education; however, questions have been raised as to whether some schools are receiving these funds as a result of inappropriate recruiting practices. GAO was asked to examine issues related to schools' recruitment of veterans. This report examines (1) how selected schools recruit veterans, (2) veterans' school search and recruiting experiences, and (3) VA's actions to help veterans make informed decisions and to identify inappropriate recruiting practices.
For the first question, GAO interviewed officials from 9 schools and reviewed websites of 30 additional schools; both groups were selected for variation in sector (public, nonprofit, and for-profit) and other criteria. For the second question, GAO surveyed a nationally representative group of student veterans, producing results generalizable to the student veteran population. For the third question, GAO reviewed relevant federal requirements and agency documents and interviewed agency officials. GAO also spoke with veteran and higher education organizations.

What GAO Found

Selected schools used various practices, from mass advertising to individual outreach, to recruit and inform prospective student veterans. Eight of nine schools GAO interviewed reported advertising in print or online media dedicated to military audiences. Most of the nine schools contacted veterans directly by phone or email, sometimes with military-focused recruiters, to provide information on benefits or services or to highlight the school as “military-friendly.” Further, 29 of the 30 school websites GAO reviewed included a section specifically for veterans, some of which were featured prominently on the home page.
Many surveyed veterans reported that school communication was important in selecting a school; however, nearly 23 percent (about 15,200 veterans when generalized nationally) reported excessive contacts from schools and an estimated 10 percent (about 6,900 veterans nationwide) said they felt pressure to enroll. In addition, while most surveyed veterans reported receiving generally accurate information from their school, about 23 percent (about 16,500 veterans nationwide) reported receiving some information they viewed as inaccurate, such as estimated student loan debt. Many veterans also wanted more information from their schools, such as on veteran support services (see figure below). Inaccurate or incomplete information can lead veterans to choose schools that do not meet their needs and exhaust their benefits before achieving their goals. Veteran and higher education groups said that greater access to independent and objective advice would help veterans with their education choices.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has taken steps to inform and protect student veterans, but some efforts have been insufficient. VA is developing tools to help veterans understand their education benefits and compare information on schools. VA has also taken some action to improve veterans' awareness of its free education counseling services, as required by law, but its efforts to expand awareness among prospective students and ease the application process have been limited. At the same time, almost half of surveyed veterans were not aware of VA's counseling when considering schools. To help identify misleading or aggressive recruiting, VA has launched a new complaint system, created a risk-based approach to oversee schools, and taken other steps. While VA has made some progress implementing federally required initiatives, its project planning has lacked realistic timelines and goals—in contrast to sound planning practices. As a result, Congress and others lack information on VA's progress implementing planned initiatives to protect and inform student veterans.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that VA improve outreach and accessibility of its educational counseling services and more consistently develop and communicate realistic timelines as it implements initiatives based on federal requirements. VA agreed with GAO's recommendations and noted its current efforts to improve its outreach and planning efforts. The Department of Education had no comments on our findings or recommendations.