In April, the White House issued an executive order against these types of activities: "Since the Post-9/11 GI Bill became law, there have been reports of aggressive and deceptive targeting of service members, veterans, and their families by some education institutions."

ITT Tech, DeVry University, Kaplan and The Art Institutes didn't return calls for comment.

But Richard Castellano, spokesman for the University of Phoenix, said that his school has worked with veteran student organizations to recommend reforms to Congress and the White House, including "a student complaint process and mandatory [education] counseling." He said these reforms "ended up included in the president's executive order."

Steve Gunderson, president and chief executive officer of the Association for Private Sector Colleges and Universities, said for-profit schools are "one of the most highly regulated groups in the country," and have been working closely with Congress and veteran organizations "to achieve solutions to the many areas of concern." (See correction, below.)

He said he was disappointed that the White House "circumvented ongoing discussions with Congress" by implementing its executive order.

Some veterans have also complained about losing credits when they transfer from for-profit privates to other schools. Gunderson blamed that problem on the schools that refuse to accept the credits.

"It is nothing but academic elitism by some regionally accredited institutions for not accepting credits from other regionally-accredited institutions -- regardless of institution type," he said.

Correction: CNNMoney incorrectly attributed quotes to Heather Greenaway of the Association for Private Sector Colleges and Universities. The comments were made by Steve Gunderson.