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Durbin Continues Criticism Of For-Profit Colleges

Concerns are still being raised about the marketing practices of for-profit colleges when it comes to recruiting military veterans. The topic came up during a recent event highlighting outreach efforts at NIU. Last week, Illinois’ senior U.S. Senator Dick Durbin visited the NIU campus, where he met with several students who have served in the U.S. military.

The Democrat heard about the school’s Military Student Services Office, which is a single point of contact for those who have served. For 2013, Military Times magazine ranked NIU in the top 50 for top schools for veterans.

While he praised the work of schools like NIU, Durbin again voiced concerns about how some for-profit schools aggressively market military veterans.

"Sadly, many of the degrees and diplomas are nor worth anything. Many of the students discover that too late having wasted GI bill benefits" Durbin said.

Durbin introduced a bill last year that aims to curb some of the recruiting practices carried out by for profit schools. The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities has criticized the effort, saying it would cut off access to job training programs for thousands of veterans.