Two reports released today provide new evidence on the educational
and labor market outcomes for veterans who did and did not use
their education benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill (PGIB) and
those who used the benefits to attend different types of colleges,
including public, nonprofit, and for-profit institutions.
Among the findings:
- Veterans who did not personally use their PGIB benefits earned
$1,700 less annually than those who did use the benefits, after
accounting for a variety of factors, such as academic preparation,
military rank, and military occupation.
- About 41% of veterans who used PGIB benefits to attend a
four-year, for-profit university earned a degree within six years
of enrollment. This was significantly lower than those who used
benefits to attend a four-year public (58%) or nonprofit (61%)
institution.
- Among veterans pursuing a degree at a two-year institution, the
average annual earnings for those who attended a for-profit
institution was $32,800, compared with $38,600 for those who
attended a public institution, even though using PGIB benefits at
for-profit colleges costs taxpayers more than twice as much as
two-year public colleges.
These and other findings are the latest results of an in-depth,
interagency study on how enlisted veterans used PGIB, the largest
education program operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA). The first of two reports released today specifically
looks at outcomes for veterans based on the type of education they
received and provides results for veterans who did not personally
use their education benefits. The second report explores
enrollment and outcomes at public flagship institutions.
About 2.7 million enlisted veterans were eligible to use the
PGIB benefits between 2009 and 2019, the period included in the
study. Unprecedented interagency sharing of individual-level data
has allowed the first in-depth assessment of how institutions of
higher education are serving students who use the PGIB benefits,
covering every enlisted service member across all military
branches. The inaugural report from this study was released in
February and provided a first look at PGIB usage and outcomes.
PGIB represents a significant federal investment: Between 2009
and 2019, nearly $100 billion was budgeted for the program. The
results from this study provide data and information to help
policymakers and the public better understand how these benefits
are being used. Because of the size and scope of the study, the
results can also help inform broader higher education policy and
practice.
Among the other findings from the new reports:
- Nonparticipants: Of PGIB-eligible veterans, slightly
more than half (51%) did not personally use their benefits. These
nonparticipants were more likely to live in rural areas and
micropolitan areas or to have left military service at the lowest
or highest ranks. On average, nonparticipants earned $44,800 a
year, with those who are female, Black, American Indian/Alaska
Native, or from the lowest military ranks earning between $5,000
and $17,600 less.
- Nondegree programs: A current topic in Congress is
whether to include short-term, nondegree programs in U.S.
Department of Education federal student aid programs (so-called
“Short-Term Pell”). Such programs are currently eligible for the
PGIB, although a relatively small proportion of veterans use their
benefits for such programs. Among those who did, earnings were
substantially lower at for-profit providers than public providers,
although for-profit providers charged VA more in tuition and
fees.
- Instructional spending: The research team looked at how
PGIB students’ outcomes differed by the percentage of tuition that
an institution spent on instruction. Veterans tended to enroll at
institutions that spent less on instruction and were unlikely to
enroll at institutions that spent the most on instruction. Those
who attended schools that spent the most on instruction earned the
most after college, and this pattern held true even when accounting
for other factors.
- Flagship universities: About 2% of veterans used their
benefits at public flagship universities, which are the top public
colleges in their states and have relatively selective student
admissions (e.g., University of California, Berkeley, and
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). Veterans who first
enrolled at flagship institutions completed a bachelor’s degree at
a higher rate nationally (60%) than those who enrolled at other
four-year institutions (45%). After accounting for other veteran
characteristics, veterans who completed a bachelor’s degree at a
flagship university also had about 3% higher earnings than those
who completed a bachelor’s degree at another four-year
institution.
"The latest results of our study provide unique insight into the
types of institutions veterans attended using their PGIB benefits
and their subsequent degree completion and earnings after attending
different types of colleges," said Alexandria Walton Radford,
senior director at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and
co-author of the reports. “This information not only helps
policymakers and leaders better understand the use and outcomes of
Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, but also provides useful data and
information about broader higher education policies and
practices.”
“For decades, the GI Bill has been one of the single greatest
federal investments in higher education,” said Kelly McManus
vice president of higher education at Arnold Ventures, which
provided funding for the study. “For the first time, we finally are
getting measurable insight into how different types of institutions
are serving veterans. We’re looking forward to policymakers using
this data to improve the existing program and push for even more
data sharing and transparency.”
“We are thrilled to help enable this additional study of GI Bill
outcomes at flagship public universities,” said Emily Goldman
of the Joyce Foundation, which funded an examination of public
flagship universities, with a focus on the Great Lakes region. “We
are particularly pleased to see that flagship universities in the
Great Lakes region consistently produce better outcomes for
veterans and we remain committed to helping other colleges in the
region better support their students.”
About the Study
A research team from AIR was embedded at the U.S. Census Bureau
to conduct the study alongside researchers from the Census Bureau
and VA’s National Center for Veterans Analysis & Statistics.
Arnold Ventures funded the study, including the purchase of student
records from National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit
organization that provides data on enrollment and degree completion
for students nationwide. Veterans Education Success, a nonprofit,
helped to conceptualize the project and provided
assistance.
This project demonstrates the type of information and insights
that can be gleaned when agencies collaborate and share data. The
study is the first to link data from VA, the Veterans Benefit
Administration (VBA), U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), IRS, Census
Bureau, and the National Student Clearinghouse to explore the
number and characteristics of veterans who used PGIB, the degrees
that were obtained by those using the benefits, and their labor
market outcomes.
Agency representatives worked over seven years to establish data
transfer agreements and to merge the data using an interagency
platform at the U.S. Census Bureau. The research team analyzed
aggregate outcomes drawn from several different datasets, including
PGIB benefit use, PGIB payments to schools, degree completion,
labor force participation, and earnings. They drew clear
conclusions about student outcomes by accounting for
sociodemographic data from VA and other agencies, as well as
information about military rank, military occupation, service in
hostile war zones, and academic preparation at enlistment by
linking data from DOD.
“This report demonstrates the utility and benefits of
interagency collaborations for evidence building,” said Barbara
Downs, the Census Bureau’s Evaluation Officer. “The analyses
leverage data and expertise from multiple bureaus to produce
statistical evidence to better understand our nation’s people and
economy.”
“We are thrilled that federal agencies are finally collaborating
on student veterans’ outcomes, something Congress and veterans
organizations have requested for years,” said Carrie Wofford,
president of Veterans Education Success and former senior counsel
of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor &
Pensions.
These reports were authored by Radford, Paul Bailey, Amber
Bloomfield, and Naomi Rockefeller from AIR; Bruce Webster Jr., of
the Census Bureau; and Hyo Park from VA. More reports are
forthcoming, providing insights into outcomes for Black, Hispanic,
and American Indian/Alaska Native veterans, and for veterans who
did not personally use nor transfer their GI Bill benefits.
About AIR
Established in 1946, the American Institutes for Research (AIR)
is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution that conducts
behavioral and social science research and delivers technical
assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of
health, education, and the workforce. AIR's work is driven by its
mission to generate and use rigorous evidence that contributes to a
better, more equitable world. With headquarters in Arlington,
Virginia, AIR has offices across the U.S. and abroad. For more
information, visit www.air.org.
About Arnold Ventures
Arnold Ventures is a philanthropy dedicated to tackling some of
the most pressing problems in the United States. Working in the
areas of criminal justice, education, health, public finance, and
infrastructure, the organization invests in sustainable change,
building it from the ground up based on research, deep thinking,
and a strong foundation of evidence.
About the Joyce Foundation
The Joyce Foundation is a private, nonpartisan philanthropy that
invests in public policies and strategies to advance racial equity
and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes
region.
About Veterans Education Success
Veterans Education Success is a nonprofit policy and direct
service organization that works on a bipartisan basis to advance
higher education success for veterans, service members, and
military families, and to protect the integrity and promise of the
GI Bill® and other federal postsecondary education programs.
Dana Tofig
American Institutes for Research
202-403-6347
dtofig@air.org
Julie Iriondo
U.S. Census Bureau
julie.iriondo@census.gov