PBS高端访谈:到底是谁真正从美国军人发案中获利?

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Next: how funds from the federal G.I. Bill are flowing to for-profit schools, even though, all too frequently, veterans' prospects¹ are not appreciably² better after attending them.

　　The for-profit college sector³ is under the microscope. The U.S. Department of Education is expected to cut federal aid to schools with high default rates. The federal government and state attorneys general also are investigating marketing⁴ and lending practices of some schools. More than $10 billion was spent on the G.I. Bill for veterans' education last year.

　　Until now, for-profits have netted a growing amount of money from a new generation of vets⁵. In California, nearly two of every three G.I. Bill dollars is spent on for-profit schools.

　　Aaron Glantz has the story from our partners at the Center for Investigative Reporting.

　　AARON GLANTZ, The Center for Investigative Reporting: The World War II G.I. Bill, it's one of the most cherished programs in American history. It paid the full cost of an education at any four-year college or university.

　　MAN: You mean, he can get any kind of education he wants? Now you're getting the idea.

　　AARON GLANTZ: The G.I. Bill was weakened in the decades after World War II, until Congress passed a new law in 2008 to help veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

　　And so, for the first time since World War II, veterans can receive the full cost of a college education, paid for by taxpayers⁷, up to $19,000 a year. But G.I. Bill money is not going where Congress expected. For-profit schools like the University of Phoenix⁸ and Ashford University are among the largest recipients⁹.

　　MAN: Ashford has given me all the tools I need to be successful.

　　AARON GLANTZ: These schools are set up to make money.

　　Kate O'Gorman is political director at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

　　KATE O'GORMAN, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America: Many veterans simply are being aggressively and deceptively recruited by some bad actors in the for-profit school sector.

　　AARON GLANTZ: She says thousands of veterans are being left with worthless degrees and few job prospects.

　　KATE O'GORMAN: We're not getting the investment that we wanted when we sent these men and women to school.

　　AARON GLANTZ: In California alone, the Center for Investigative Reporting found nearly 300 schools banned from receiving state financial aid that still got G.I. Bill money, even schools with no academic accreditation¹¹ at all, beauty schools, auto¹² repair programs, and dog training academies, together, more than $600 million.

　　The biggest beneficiary is the for-profit University of Phoenix, which fails to graduate most of its students, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

　　Nationally, it took in nearly a billion dollars from the G.I. Bill over the last five years. The University of Phoenix has been especially successful at attracting veterans in San Diego, a port city with a high concentration of veterans.

　　Every year, soldiers and sailors here retire from active duty and turn to the G.I. Bill as they transition to civilian¹³ life, among them, David Pace, who served 20 years in the Navy. Pace dreamed of a career in the business world and enrolled¹⁴ in a bachelor's program at the University of Phoenix.

　　DAVID PACE, Veteran: I figured that, with that college degree, I would get a better job and move on.

　　AARON GLANTZ: He told me a recruiter from the University of Phoenix said he could turn his military experience into academic credit and graduate in just 18 months, leaving him with enough G.I. Bill money to pursue a master's degree.

　　DAVID PACE: But that ain't how it worked.

　　AARON GLANTZ: A year into that degree plan, Pace says he was told he would need to take 10 additional classes to graduate. He feels he was tricked.

　　DAVID PACE: I didn't know that. I really didn't know. I was going by what they told me.

　　AARON GLANTZ: It took Pace three years to graduate. By then, he had exhausted¹⁵ his entire education benefit. Pace attended this University of Phoenix campus in San Diego. It has received more G.I. Bill money than any brick-and-mortar campus in America, $95 million over the last five years.

　　That's almost seven times what the University of California, San Diego, got. In fact, the Center for Investigative Reporting found, the University of Phoenix's San Diego campus received more G.I. Bill money than the entire 10-campus U.C. System.

　　Last June, the school's accrediting¹⁶ body, the Higher Learning Commission, put the University of Phoenix on notice, saying the school didn't support student learning and effective teaching.

　　Students at the University of Phoenix often have trouble repaying their loans. More than a quarter default within three years of leaving school. And, at this campus, fewer than 15 percent of students graduate, according to the Department of Education.

　　I met with retired¹⁷ U.S. Army Colonel Garland Williams. He oversees¹⁸ military programs for all University of Phoenix campuses nationwide.

　　Do you feel like this almost billion dollars of taxpayer⁶ money to the University of Phoenix is a good investment for the taxpayers?

　　GARLAND WILLIAMS, Vice¹⁹ President, University of Phoenix: The veterans have chosen us because of the programs that we offer. We have over a hundred programs that we offer. And they have found the higher education goal that they have sought. And they have — we — those programs lead to careers that they want to aspire²⁰ to. So, they have chosen us.

　　AARON GLANTZ: Do you have any evidence that it's actually leading to careers for these veterans?

　　GARLAND WILLIAMS: The veterans have chosen us. They have chosen to use their entitlement at the University of Phoenix.

　　AARON GLANTZ: Getting an associate's degree at the University of Phoenix costs nearly 10 times what a community college would charge. Nevertheless, the University of Phoenix says it's working with the government to ensure that veterans' needs are met.

　　To prove this point, the company allowed us to observe as a team of auditors²² arrived from the California Department of Veterans Affairs. University of Phoenix staff gathered the veterans' transcripts²³ and financial information as they prepared for inspection²⁴. The auditors will check these documents to ensure compliance²⁵ with G.I. Bill requirements.

　　Their goal: to make sure the school isn't billing the government for students who don't exist.

　　But the inspectors²⁶ don't look at anything else.

　　Latanaya Johnson is a member of the audit²¹ team.

　　Are you looking at whether or not the instruction is good?

　　LATANAYA JOHNSON, California Department of Veterans Affairs: No, that's not a part of the visit, at all.

　　AARON GLANTZ: The University of Phoenix has been put on notice by its accrediting agency. Do you look at that?

　　LATANAYA JOHNSON: No, that's not a part of the visit at all.

　　AARON GLANTZ: Or any issues they might be having with the faculty²⁷ not complying with certain regulations, you look at that?

　　LATANAYA JOHNSON: No, that's a different process completely.

　　SEN. TOM HARKIN, D, Iowa: This situation is unacceptable.

　　AARON GLANTZ: In Washington, lawmakers have tried again and again to strengthen regulations on which schools can receive G.I. Bill money. Democrat²⁸ Tom Harkin, the chair of the Senate committee that oversees education, has spent years investigating the for-profit education industry.

　　SEN. TOM HARKIN: Neither the department of Veterans Affairs nor the Department of Defense²⁹ has any way to assess whether or not they are getting a good education.

　　I might add neither does the Department of Education, nor does any of the entities³⁰ that accredit¹⁰ these schools. They have no way of assessing what's happening to these students.

　　AARON GLANTZ: Kate O'Gorman of says veterans groups have been trying to change things, but have run up against organized opposition³¹.

　　KATE O'GORMAN: We have seen money going into really key committees and campaign contributions. We see for-profit school lobbyists consistently on the Hill. Almost every time the veterans community goes into an office and says, we need these strong reforms and regulations, we see a for-profit school lobbyist walking out.

　　AARON GLANTZ: Now the legislative³² fight is moving to the state level.

　　In California, a bill would have required all schools to tell regulators how many veterans graduate and how many find jobs. It was gutted³³ in the face of opposition from for-profit colleges.

　　MAN: This is a direct attack at our sector.

　　AARON GLANTZ: In a letter to lawmakers, the University of Phoenix's lobbyist called those requirements cumbersome³⁴ and of little practical value.

　　I asked Garland Williams to explain his company's position.

　　GARLAND WILLIAMS: What I can tell you and your viewers is that the support that we provide our veterans, our active duty, and their family members is personal.

　　AARON GLANTZ: But we don't deserve to know how many of them are actually succeeding?

　　GARLAND WILLIAMS: You deserve to know that we provide the utmost care to our military. We think we do it right. We are always a learning organization to get it right, but we think we do it right because veterans choose the University of Phoenix.

　　AARON GLANTZ: Veteran David Pace wishes he had never made that choice. After spending an estimated $50,000 in taxpayers' money to obtain a business degree, he is still doing the same kind of blue-collar, physical labor³⁵ that he did in the service.

　　DAVID PACE: I think that's the most frustrating³⁶ part about it, is that I could have just came right out of the Navy and got this job without the time and the headache.

　　AARON GLANTZ: He's a maintenance electrician for a defense contractor³⁷ at Naval³⁸ Base San Diego. Pace says employers don't take his degree seriously.

　　DAVID PACE: If you say you got a degree from the University of Phoenix, you immediately get: paper factory or certificate factory. It doesn't get the same respect.

　　AARON GLANTZ: He hopes other veterans think more carefully than he did about where they spend their education benefit.

　　But advocates say it's not realistic to expect veterans like Pace to police the G.I. Bill. They say that's the job of Congress and regulators. Five years after the new G.I. Bill became law, there are still virtually no restrictions³⁹ on where that money can be spent.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: And a couple of footnotes.

　　For the record, David Pace does work for BAE Systems, which is an underwriter of the NewsHour.

　　This past week, one major for-profit education company, Corinthian Colleges, under scrutiny⁴⁰ from the government and facing bankruptcy⁴¹, announced that it would sell or close its 97 U.S. schools.

　　This story was part of "Reveal." It's a new investigative radio program from the Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX. It's airing on public radio stations nationally all this week.

1 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

2 appreciably   

adv.相当大地

参考例句：

• The index adds appreciably to the usefulness of the book. 索引明显地增加了这本书的实用价值。
• Otherwise the daily mean is perturbed appreciably by the lunar constituents. 否则，日平均值就会明显地受到太阳分潮的干扰。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

6 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

7 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

8 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

9 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 accredit   

vt.归功于，认为

参考例句：

• The president will accredit you as his assistant.董事长将任命你做他的助理。
• We accredit the invention of the electric light to Adison.我们把电灯的发明归功于爱迪生。

11 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网

12 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

13 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

14 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

16 accrediting   

v.相信( accredit的现在分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• One accrediting agency is the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. 有一个资信鉴定机构是为了高等教育的。 来自互联网
• One accrediting agency is Council for Higher Education Accreditation. 高等教育授权委员会就是这样一个授权机构。 来自互联网

17 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

18 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

19 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

20 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

21 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

22 auditors   

n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生

参考例句：

• The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
• a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议

23 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

24 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

25 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

26 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

28 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

29 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

30 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

31 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

32 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

33 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

34 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

35 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

36 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

37 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

38 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

39 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

40 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

41 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。