Dive Brief:

• Of the Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking higher education from 2002 through 2013 under the GI Bill, 51.7% completed their college or vocational training.
• About one-third of those veterans earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to research by the Student Veterans of America.
• The study, based on a review of 800,000 college records, contradicts what has been the popular belief: that most veterans are failing or dropping out of college.

Dive Insight:

This is an encouraging report for advocates of GI Bill benefits. The Student Veterans of America collaborated on the report with the Veteran’s Administration and the National Student Clearinghouse. According to the study, the most popular undergraduate degree programs for veterans were business, social sciences, homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting, and computer and information services. Academic completion rates were 67% for Air Force veterans, 47% for Army veterans, and 45% for Marine veterans.