Student veterans group disputes graduation rates
Published: November 1, 2012
WASHINGTON – Leaders of the Student Veterans of America are crying foul at recent news reports noting that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are dropping out of school at alarming rates, calling the claim “unfounded and simply not true.”
Last week, the Huffington Post wrote that 88 percent of recent war era veterans were pulling out of college, a disheartening and disturbing statistic.
But SVA officials say the 88 percent figure comes from a mistaken interpretation of a Colorado Workforce Development Council presentation earlier this summer, and that no national statistic tracking graduation rates of student veterans exists.
In a statement, SVA executive director Michael Dakduk said the insinuation that student veterans routinely flunk out of classes is “an insult to the talents, abilities, and dedication of every veteran succeeding in America's institutions of higher learning."
Group officials also expressed concern that the misleading dropout statistics could be used by some politicians to support cutbacks in veterans education benefits, a move they say could severely limit servicemembers’ post-military career options.
