WASHINGTON — When her Army career was cut short by a medical discharge in 2005, Tasha Berkhalter decided to pursue a degree that she hoped would lead to a career as an FBI agent. The now-defunct, for-profit ITT Technical Institute promised a flexible class schedule that would meet her needs as a working single mother.
Officials at the school also said that her GI Bill benefits would cover the full cost of tuition, she later testified to the Department of Education. Instead, she graduated in 2010 with a degree that companies didn't view as valid and, to her surprise, $100,000 in debt.
"I was sick to my stomach," said Berkhalter, a 41-year-old substitute Spanish teacher based in Lima, Ohio.
