College Education OK With Vets, National Poll Reveals

Eighty-nine percent of the veterans in American universities are satisfied with the teaching they are getting, but half of them feel that instruction could be improved, a nation-wide poll just released by the Veterans Office proves.

The purpose of the project, sponsored by the Disabled American Veterans, is to help college administrators and personnel workers meet veterans' needs. The findings of the investigation were based on responses to a scientifically-selected sample of ex-GI's attending all types of colleges throughout the country.

Only six percent of vets in New England schools said they were getting inferior or poor instruction, while 92 percent considered their instruction average or better. These figures are the best for the five geographic areas into which the country was divided for the survey.

Median Expenses

Single veterans reported a median monthly expense of $106.13, while married ones with no children said they spent $176.43 monthly. The newly-increased subsistence allowances ($75 for single veterans and $105 for married) "does not fully close the wide gap between actual average expenses and subsistence allowances," the report says.

This bridge is partially filled, in the case of married veterans, by earning from outside employment. In families with no children, 77 percent of veterans' wives do outside work, while the same figure for families with one child drops to 23 percent. The burden, in the latter case, is carried by the veterans themselves, half of whom seek jobs to augment their incomes.