More than 600 degree-granting institutions (public, private, nonprofit, and for-profit) have been targeted for risk-based surveys from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as part of the  roughly 1,300 postsecondary institutions that have been reviewed over the last fiscal year. Of particular concern is that the proliferation of surveys seems to be triggered by the old definition used to calculate the 85/15 ratio, which is inapplicable since Congress passed a law to set a 35% waiver last year.  The House Committee on Veterans Affairs is expected to hold a hearing later in September to delve into the agency’s rationale for triggering so many surveys. 

Risk-based surveys were created in the Forever GI Bil of 2017 as a program integrity measure allowing VA to utilize the services of State Approving Agencies (SAA) to conduct compliance reviews and balance the expansion of GI Bill benefits in the legislation. The Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 added to the compliance requirements by mandating VA work with SAAs to conduct new risk-based surveys for all institutions using GI Bill benefits, and establish a searchable database to track responses to the surveys. Implementation of the surveys began October 1, 2022, but recently the VA has put increased pressure on SAAs to conduct more surveys. 

There is a sense from state approving agencies, veteran program administrators, and institutional representatives that VA has over-enforced risk-based surveys as if they were compliance audits rather than a mechanism for flagging institutional action for review, which is their intended purpose. Adding to the concerns, the surveys have reportedly been requiring excessive documentation and an extremely short response time.

According to the VA, the principal objectives of risk-based surveys are to “Provide a mechanism for VA and SAAs to review and mitigate potential fraud, waste, and abuse by utilizing data and risk factors that are outside of the normal approval, compliance, and liaison processes.” There are legislated risk factors that must be considered, which include a rapid increase in tuition, rapid increase in student veteran enrollment or violation of the 85/15 rule. There are many factors, and VA can determine if other institutional behavior warrants a review.