Military tuition assistance blocked for new students at Globe University

A U.S. Department of Defense tuition-assistance program has put Globe University and the Minnesota School of Business on probation.

The status means the schools may not receive tuition benefits for new students on active-duty, in the Reserves or National Guard.

But current military students will continue to receive benefits and can finish out their academic programs, said Lt. Commander Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the department.

"A student can go ahead and continue courses already in progress," Christensen said. "So we're not going to shut down a student's ability, and make him disenroll from class."

The move does not affect veterans or G.I. Bill benefits.

A Globe spokeswoman said the probation was prompted by a recent suit by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson that alleges that the schools had misled students about their job prospects.

The schools insist they did not — and their spokeswoman called the Defense Department action "unnecessary."