In September 2017 the Department of Veterans Affairs accepted the shift in its state-based eligibility for veterans' benefits from Iowa to Arizona, but also stated in a letter that the VA has independent regulatory authority aside from the Arizona State Approving Agency. In September 2017, the VA gave Ashford approval to enroll GI Bill students indefinitely. Ashford University and its parent company Bridgepoint Education were the subject of an investigation published in "The Chronicle of Higher Education". The article included information about Bridgepoint's political moves with Arizona politicians in order to maintain GI Bill funding.