U.S. senators sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Thursday urging him to examine and reconsider the Department of Defense’s (DOD) decision to put the University of Phoenix on probation regarding its participation in the DOD Tuition Assistance (TA) Program for active-duty military personnel.
In the letter, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) expressed concern that DOD’s decision is based on vague, technical violations that the University of Phoenix has already corrected or pledged to fix. More seriously, the senators raised concerns about whether DOD’s decision is based on unsubstantiated allegations by partisan Members of Congress who oppose for-profit institutions.
“The TA program is an important benefit that enables active duty military personnel to choose a post secondary education program that best fits their needs to enhance both career and personal goals,” the Senators write. “The program also serves as an important tool for the DoD to further the recruitment and retention efforts of our nation’s volunteer armed forces. We strongly believe that these earned benefits and educational opportunities for our service members should not be jeopardized because of political or ideological opinions of some Members of Congress regarding the types of institutions that provide post secondary education to our troops.”
Senators McCain and Flake have also sent letters to the Department of Education and the Department of Veterans Affairs today regarding this matter.