This book offers academic strategies to help veterans transition from the structured military environment to the unstructured college environment and become self-reliant, successful students
With the passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill in 2008, more than 1.4 million service members and their families became eligible for higher education benefits, and veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan enrolled in colleges and universities in record numbers. The first wave of research about these new student veterans focused primarily on describing their characteristics and the transition from military service to civilian life and the college campus. This new edited collection presents findings from the second wave of research about student veterans, with a focus on data-driven evidence of academic success factors, including persistence, retention, degree completion, and employment after college. An invaluable resource for educators poised to enter the next phase of supporting military-connected college students.
As the United States? wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue, increasing numbers of students who experienced combat will enroll in colleges and universities. There is mounting evidence that these veterans will require support unique to their needs beyond the processing of financial aid paperwork from the Veterans Administration. Obviously, combat frequently inflicts injuries, both physical and mental, that will require attention, but veterans are a unique population in other ways as well. Soldiers experience extraordinary bonding in wartime, and colleges can provide opportunities for that fellowship to be a source of support and connection. Female veterans will bring a new, nontraditional perspective to campus, and student service organizations should pay careful attention. There is also a significant group of students who leave for service and return?under the best of circumstances, they need accommodation to succeed. Institutions of higher education traditionally have responded to the needs of special student populations by developing programs and offering services. This volume contains information about programmatic initiatives that can help create a welcoming environment for veterans, one that encourages serious, creative involvement. The authors bring broad experience and deliberate consideration to bear on questions that are only becoming more important to the entire spectrum of American colleges and universities. This is the 126th volume of the Jossey-Bass higher education quarterly report series New Directions for Student Services, an indispensable resource for vice presidents of student affairs, deans of students, student counselors, and other student services professionals. Each issue of New Directions for Student Services offers guidelines and programs for aiding students in their total development: emotional, social, physical, and intellectual.
Called to Serve Over the past several years, veteran enrollment in universities, community colleges, and vocational programs has increased dramatically. Called to Serve offers academics and administrators a handbook highlighting the most current research, program initiatives, and recommendations for creating policies and services that can help student veterans and service members succeed, including: Strategies for organizing and staffing services for veterans and service members Suggestions for creating institutional infrastructures and policies related to enrollment, transfer, and degree completion Frameworks for working with service members with physical, emotional, and learning disabilities Praise for Called to Serve "An excellent resource tool for key university leadership who desire to support the success of incoming and current student veterans." —Renee T. Finnegan, colonel (retired), executive director, Military Initiatives and Partnerships, Office of the President, University of Louisville "One of the more compelling issues of our time is the integration of returning veterans and service members into our society following their service to our country. This handbook will be a critical tool in guiding higher education professionals in developing strategies to ensure their success in college." —Kevin Kruger, president, NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education "This timely book explains and presents a new meaning of 'called to service.' The issues and vignettes bring to life real situations that will be facing all campuses. I highly recommend this valuable resource to those looking forward and not back." —Gregory Roberts, executive director, ACPA–College Student Educators International "I have waited over forty years for such a comprehensive handbook to be written about the challenges, opportunities, and rewards that are associated with providing higher education to America's veterans—our future leaders. Well done." —Robert E. Wallace, Vietnam veteran and executive director, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., Washington Office