White House Cracks Down on Diploma Mills That Target Vets

President Obama signed an executive order on Friday aimed at cracking down on for-profit colleges that look to profit from service members' federal benefits without providing a meaningful education.

The Washington Post explains that while the federal government cannot shut down such institutions, the new order should make it more difficult for the institutions to misrepresent their offerings.

Speaking to a group of soldiers in Georgia, Obama gave the example of a recruiter who enrolled Marines with brain injuries who didn’t remember what courses they signed up for. "That's appalling, that's disgraceful," Obama said. "They're trying to swindle and hoodwink you."

The Associated Press also notes that the Obama administration wants to trademark "GI Bill," a term that was reportedly misused by a website that claimed to give information about benefits, but actually directed users to for-profit companies.

A recent Senate investigation found that for-profit schools have a higher dropout rate and lower success rates than traditional colleges. You can read more here.