The Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagement (OVMAE) is building a tool to help attune faculty, advisors and staff to military culture and student veterans. It will draw on articles, dissertations, books, and personal and professional experiences of veteran students and faculty that promote dialogue and understanding in the classroom and academic success for veteran students. Please contact us if you have suggestions, ideas or resources for promoting conversation about the intersection of military and academic cultures.

[tabs]

Articles

OVMAE is developing five modules for sensitizing faculty and advisors to veteran students. The following articles were culled as potential resources for the presentations that are being planned.

[accordion]

Module One: Military Overview

Browder, Laura. “Women in Combat: Listening to Those Who Have Been There.” Time.com. January 29, 2013. Web.

• No female soldier I ever talked to saw herself as anything less than a military professional on par with her male comrades in arms.”
• Paigh Bumgarner, commander of a convoy gunner, gained the respect of her men by proving her worth.
• 280,000 women have served in our two most recent wars.
• The Military: Prove your worth. Sgt. First Class Gwendolyn-Lorene Lawrence: “We went over and beyond to say, ‘Here we are. We are citizens. We deserve the right to defend our country in whatever capacity we can.’”
• Look into her book…

Berrett, Dan. “Words from Wartime.” Inside Higher ED. April 8, 2011. Web.

• Writing about their combat experiences can seem intrusive. It’s about split 50/50
• 220,000 Vets of OEF and OIF have used the Post 9/11 GI Bill according to VA. (2010).
• Charles Wittington and his expulsion. Lisa Langstraat, “War is a Drug.”

U.S Department of Veterans Affairs. Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors. Washington, DC: Department of Veterans Affairs, 2012. Print.

·        Filled with 13 chapters that explains federal benefits for military veterans, dependents and survivors.

• Chapter 4: education and training describes educational benefits that veterans are eligible for.
• Veterans must serve at least 36 months of active duty to get hundred percent of their G.I. Bill.
• The post-9/11 G.I. Bill is an educational benefit program for servicemembers and veterans who served on active duty after September 10, 2001.
• There are many different types of educational benefits: the post 9/11 G.I. Bill
• transfer of entitlement – members of the armed forces are allowed to transfer their G.I. Bill benefits to a family member
• The yellow ribbon G.I. education enhancement program- helps individuals with payment of the commission are cost exceed the in-state tuition at public schools or the maximum payable allowance at a private or foreign institution
• Marine gunnery Sgt. John David Fry scholarship – they scholarship then titles the children of service members who deceased during the live of duty after September 11, 2001
• Montgomery G.I. Bill
• Educational and vocational counseling services; or Voc Rehab – The servicemember must have a service's ability rating above 30% in order to use this educational transition program.
• Chapter 10: transition assistance provides servicemembers and veterans with different programs to help them leave military service and become successful their future careers.

Altschuler, Glenn, and Blumin, Stuart. GI Bill. Cary, GB: OUP Oxford, 2009. ProQuest ebrary. Web.

• War Risk Insurance Act of 1917
• Servicemember's readjustment act of 1944
• Montgomery G.I Bill
• Post 9/11 G.I Bill

Widome, Rachel, et al. "Health Risk Behaviors of Afghanistan and Iraq War Veterans Attending College."American journal of health promotion : AJHP 26.2 (2011): 101-8. Web.

• Rapidly Growing Population of student veterans due to the end of a 14 year period of war.
• The creation of the post-9/11 G.I. Bill has made it possible for students to attend college because they are able to receive BAH at E-5 Pay.
• This makes it possible for veterans to attend school without having to worry about securing a job because they are supplemented with housing allowance.

ROTC Program at ASU

• ASU Army ROTC was the 1999 recipient of the General Douglas MacArthur Award for the best large school program in the Western region
• The Department of Military Science at Arizona State University was founded in 1935 making it one of the oldest around
• the Sun Devil Battalion serves as the largest commissioning source of new 2nd Lieutenants in to the United States Army
• With over 250 cadets, the Battalion is currently one of the largest in the country.
• The Sun Devil Battalion includes its cross-enrolled institution, Grand Canyon University (GCU) in central Phoenix.
• Project GO
• ROTC Clubs: Color Guard, Desert Rangers, Ranger Challenge, Scabbard & Blade (ROTC's Honor Society)
• Do work with local high school ROTCs, particularly Marcos de Niza.

https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011163.pdf

In 2007–08, about 4 percent of all undergraduates and about 4 percent of all graduate students were veterans or military service members.

Module Two: Veteran Demographics

Sander, Libby. “National Data Signal College Success for Veterans.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. March 24, 2014.

• Between 2002 and 2010, veterans graduated at the same rate to non-veterans.
  • 52% of the 788,915 vets earned post-secondary degree, 54% traditional.
• Million Records Project?
• Roughly 40% had already earned some sort of degree before too, using GI benefits
• $34 billion in tuition and benefits, “return on investment.”
• Enrollment- Public (79.2%), Private Non-profit (10.7%), Private for-profit (10.1%).
• Degree percentage earned: PNP (64%), Public (51%), FP (45%).
• Veterans may need a bit more time to earn degrees
• Veteran student enrollment topped 1 million in 2013.
• Degree completion percentage by branch: Air Force (67%), Coast Guard (54%), Navy (52%), Army (47%), and Marines (45%).
• Post-Research questions: are there military jobs that provide a strategic pipeline, will a mechanic be more likely to secure a job compared to a soldier that does a related major?

Tinoco, E. M. Student veterans in higher education: A transitional challenge”. Community Investments, Winter 2014/2015-Volume 26, Number 3.

• More than 2.6 million troops have deployed to Iraq Afghanistan since 2001.
• 1 million veterans received veterans affairs educational benefits in 2013 through the post-9/11 G.I. Bill. Due to the increasing number of veterans who have served in the military, the estimated number of educational beneficiaries is estimated to reach 2 million before the year 2020.
• Since 1973, military draft ended and there was no more conscription. This is created a military that has been created through volunteers and education has been one of the incentives for Americans to serve their country.
• The Department of Veterans Affairs data from 2013 shows an increase of 3,233,744 education program beneficiaries between fiscal years 2008 and 2012.
• 66% of combat veterans who responded to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) in 2010 identified themselves as first generation college students.
• The cost of attending college has been increasing over the years – tuition costs have risen 683% at public colleges and universities between 1980 and 2005.
• Currently 6 educational programs for veterans, servicemembers, independence that the Department of veteran affairs offers.

Module Three: Challenges Veterans Face

Hampton, Courtney. “Life after War, Thinking the Unthinkable.” The Bottom Line. January 30, 2013.

• DoD taskforce: 30% of returning Armed Forces from OEF and OIF suffer from PTSD
• 10% suffer from Depression
• Martha Bragin, City University of New York “Knowing Terrible Things: Thinking the Unthinkable in Time of War.”
  • Process of post-combat reintegration is impacted by society’s ability or failure to incorporate the soldier’s experiences as its own.
  • “If veterans do not heal, the society cannot grow.”
  • Symptoms of PTSD do not surface until long after the combatant has returned from duty.
• Soldiers are disconnected from their loved ones as they cannot comprehend what they experienced.

N/A. Accommodating Student veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Tips for Campus Faculty and Staff. American Council on Education, 2010.

• Individuals who served in OEF and OIF have as much as a 40 percent chance of acquiring TBI or PTSD by the time they completed their service.
• Campuses already prepared to serve veterans are far more likely to adapt to these challenges than a school who hasn't developed one.
• TBI is defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the functioning of the brain
• Can range from a mild change to a severe effect
• TBI itself is an umbrella term for all head injuries
  • 40 percent of combat head injuries sustained in OEF and OIF were mild concussions
• Within the first six months of injury, most patients are back to normal
• PTSD is a psychological health injury that develops in response to exposure to an extremely traumatic event
  • Can include military combat, rape, robbery, terrorist attacks, etc.
  • Typical response to PTSD is one of intense fear or helplessness
  • Typically have flashback memories
  • Stress reactions may occur when exposed to events or situation that remind them of the traumatic event
  • PTSD symptoms usually emerge with a few months of traumatic event, but can appear even years later
  • PTSD IS TREATABLE
  • Service dogs have been to found to alleviate most of the worst effects of PTSD in veterans
• PTSD and TBI express themselves quite uniquely
• No two traumatic events are the same (one can feel survivor's guilt and one can have a fear of car bombs)
• TBI and PTSD are associated with depression and suicidal thoughts
• Potential worsening system, academic stresses, health concerns, substance abuse, sleep deprivation, etc.
• Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, TBI and PTSD qualify an individual as one with having disabilities.
• Veterans and servicemembers are less likely to access disability accommodations
• For people with military background, accepting disability status is a hard and drawn out process
• Faculty need to get to know a disability services representative (DS)
  • Faculty are not on a need to know basis of student disabilities
  • Accommodations are deemed by the DS office
    • Accommodations include: reduced course load, service animals, specialized software, etc.
  • Faculty SHOULD take an initiative to talk with a student and try and arrange a private meeting if they believe accommodations would be helpful
  • Faculty should get to know extracurricular groups who promote veteran outreach
• Online courses for veterans very popular
  • Faculty should work with technology staff to make sure everything is good for veterans
• Faculty should not handle students medication or diagnosis
• No matter political views, faculty needs to respect veterans and their service

Carey, Benedict. “Combat Stress Among Veterans Is Found to Persist Since Vietnam.” New York Times. August 7, 2014.

• Veterans who enlisted before graduating high school were at an especially high risk of developing chronic PTSD
• Hispanic Veterans three times as likely to develop the disorder, Blacks twice as likely.
• New VA study: 11 percent of PTSD victims -in Vietnam- could live with traumatic stress for the rest of their life.
  • Most do ultimately cope however
  • In 2012 about 120,000 PTSD sufferers sought treatment
  • About 10% of Marines and 13% of combat role veterans suffered PTSD
• Dr. Charles Marmar, chairman of psychiatry at NYU Langone MEdical Center, “A significant number of veterans are going to have PTSD for a lifetime unless we do something radically different.”
• 18 percent of those with PTSD had died by retirement age, about twice the percentage of those without the disorder.
• 1992 National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study: The first and critical study that put PTSD on the map
  • Survey of 2,348 Vietnam vets found that about 30 percent had PTSD at some point and by the 1980s, about 15 percent still qualified for the diagnosis
  • About two in 10 of the veterans who participated in the study in the 1980s had died prematurely, by retirement age.
• Rick Weidman, Director of Vietnam Veterans for America: “ we know a lot of people who are alive today because of the VA medical centers; they may not be getting better, but they're not offing themselves.”
• Veterans with lifetime war related PTSD were heavy users of veterans health services, and two thirds of them reported discussing mental health issues in those visits in the past six months, compared with 11 percent without the disorder.

Buzzell, Colby. “Thank You for Being Expendable.” The New York Times. May 25, 2014.

• Whenever he would call the VA they would put him on hold
• Usually had to wait on the phone for 45 minutes to an hour
• The wait for an appointment was usually eight to 10 weeks, sometimes up to three or four months
• “Now I’m thinking it's a miracle I'm still alive after dealing with the VA for so long.”
• “If you want to know the price of freedom looks like, go to a VA waiting room- wheelchairs, missing limbs, walking wounded, you get all of the above.
• Vietnam Veteran mentioned how he didn't get a “thank you for serving” but rather “thank you for being expendable.
• Most americans are quick to send our sons and daughters to wars but reluctant to pay the cost.
• When he tried to get a prescription while nearly being homeless, they turned him down because doctors were prescribing less prescriptions since vets were dying to overprescription
• “Even on memorial day, the wait at the VA goes on.”

Hoffman, Cara. “The Things She Carried.” The New York Times. March 31, 2014.

• So many women are asked if they are at the VA picking up a husband rather than the fact that they are combat veterans themselves
• Stories about female veterans are all but absent from our culture, yet women face the same issues as men and more
• “The story of men in combat is taught globally, examined broadly, celebrated and vilified in fiction, exploited by either side of the aisle in politics.”
• Women are often cast as victims, wives, nurses, anything but soldiers
• Studies show women experience elevated anxiety about caring for their families upon homecoming, including an increased fear that they may hurt their own children
• “Society may come to understand war differently if people could see it through the eyes of women who've experienced both giving birth and taking life.”
• We can also learn something new about aggression and violence if we read about those who also fight off assault from the soldiers they serve beside or report to

Hsia, Tim and Giacoman, Gus. “Making the G.I. Bill Work for Veterans.” New York Times. September, 2012.

• While the 9/11 G.I. Bill helps many veterans, it is also helping many for-profit universities take advantage of these students
• They appeal to veterans because of online education and aggressive marketing
• For-profits typically do not have rigorous educational standards.
• In April 2012, President Obama signed an E.O. mandating for-profit collegs to disclose more information on finacial aid and student outcomes.
• Each branch of the military has transition assitance programs, but usualyl geared towards employment and not academia.
• Colleges, like Columbia, need to be more active in recruiting at military bases

Bruni Frank. “What War Means.” New York Times. 14 September, 2013.

• Americans say they are “tired of war” as if it is a chore and something tha fatigues a country rather than the ripping apart communities and families face having to see their loved ones wounded or dead.
• We use terms like “boots on the ground”” way to easily without knowing what that actually means
• Sec. Kerry speech in 2013 mentioned 100,000 dead in the last two year of the Syrian Civil War
• Our country sent 2 million men and women to fight in OIF and OEF
  • 6,500 are dead
  • 1,500 are amputees
  • 20 to 30 percent suffer PTSD
• David Finkel’s “Thank you for Your Service.”
• Also wrote “The Good Soldiers.”
• Finkel wants us to remember that it isnt just the warriors who suffer, but the families as well.

Module Four: Veteran Strengths

McCaslin, Shannon E., et al. "Guest Editorial: Overcoming Barriers to Care for Returning Veterans: Expanding Services to College Campuses." Journal of rehabilitation research and development 50.8 (2013): vii-xiv. Web.

• Veteran students arrive on campus with unique experiences, different types of knowledge and skills.
• They also have a code of behavior that influences their success in academics.
• One of the biggest challenges veterans face transitioning from military service to academia is financial.

Module Five: Application at ASU

Tucker, Eric. “Colleges, universities, offering veterans-only courses to help ease transition from military.” Fox News. October 26, 2012.

• Introductory courses can be helpful in ensuring a healthy and comfortable transition from military to civilian culture.
• ACE Survey: 62% of 690 colleges reported having programs and trained staff for Veterans.
• Courses can focus on fears Vets face rather than the fear of living in a dormitory.
• Cleveland State University offers a veteran only success course as an alternate
• Collin College offers various veteran oriented courses that range in subjects
• University of Iowa course requires Vets to go out and interview and interact with Vets from a different service era. Also teaches them study skills, drug addiction prevention and sleep habits.
• It can be easy for Vets to talk about experiences in a room full of vets compared to civilians.
  • “Most people don’t have a job where your job is to kill people.”
• But these courses draw criticism and may not generate enough interest.
  • Don’t have all the same needs that could be satisfied in one course
  • Isolates Vets.
• Possible alternative is a weekend writing crash course.
  • We’re not therapists. Were writers. Writers and others have known the healing power of the arts.

Sander, Libby. “How 4 Colleges Take on Veterans’ Issues, in Research and Real Life.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. September 17, 2012.

• Syracuse University: Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities
  • Created in 2007
  • 600 veterans completed program, 75% operate own business
  • Director Michael Haynie works with Google to try and innovate the process with Vets.
• Purdue University: Military Family Research Institute founded in 2000
  • Mission is to strengthen support of military matter through academic research and community work. Also guides civilians who want to aid
• USC: Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families founded in 2009
  • Anthony M. Hassan, director, “this isn’t about wars. This is about men and women returning to our communities and families.”
  • Works with the school of Social Work.
  • Created a new curriculum related to Vets.
    • 14 students graduated in 2010 and in 2012 250 were expected to graduate.him
    • 1/3 of students pursuing this degree are veterans or their relatives.
• UNC Chapel Hill: Odum Institute for Research in Social Science founded in 2005
  • Designed to connect service members and veterans particularly in rural areas.
  • Federally funded
  • Instructed more than 4,000 service providers
  • Robert S. Goodale, director, “The resources from a large university are critical” (Note: Goodale was not a professor, he worked a chief executive of a local grocery chain)
  • About ½ of vets from OEF and OIF eligible for health care from VA aren’t registered
  • Hotly contested and may lose federal funding https://www.aitaf.org/news/

Sander, Libby. “Colleges Venture off Campus Bridge Military-Civilian Divide.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. September 17, 2012.

• Jobless rates high among Vets.
• Americans are unacquainted with military life and create the stereotypes of either being heroes or head cases.
• Higher education has pivotal civic and research roles to play in familiarizing people with the vet culture.
• Pew Research Center: Less than half of 1% served in active duty.
  • ¾ of civilians polled said the general public doesn’t understand problems service members face.
• Collaboration between higher education and outside groups may just be key to helping solve some issues.

O’Herrin, Elizabeth. “Enhancing Veteran Success in Higher Education.” Peer Review (Association of American Colleges and Universities). Winter, 2011.

• VA Data shows a small percentage of veterans use all of their federal education benefits.
• The 2008 Post-9/11 GI Bill:
  • Most significant increase in education benefits since the initial GI Bill of 1944 (argued to create the middle class)
  • Designed to help two million service members
  • Provides full tuition payment as well as a monthly housing stipend and an annual book stipend.
  • In late 2010, the GI Bill expanded eligibility for 85,000 National Guard members
• Veterans are by definition non-traditional students
• In 2007-08, active duty and veteran students represented 4 percent of all undergrads
  • Radford, Alexandria Walton. 2009. Military Servicemembers and Veterans in Higher Education: What the New GI Bill May Mean for Postsecondary Institutions. Washington D.C.: American Council on Education.
• 15 percent of the military and rapidly growing are women (Probably Need to Update)
  • (Source: Business and Professional Women Foundation, 2007. “Women Veterans in Transition.” 1-43. Web.)
• Of the 2.2 million troops deployed in OEF and OIF, 800,000 deployed multiple times.
  • (Source: Department of Defense, Public Affairs Office, 2009. Number of Deployments for Those Ever Deployed by Service. Component and Reserve Type for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom [based on the Contingency tracking system], as of 31 December, 2009.)
• Sample Experiment of Colleges:
  • Public four-year (74%) and public two year (66%) institutions are more likely to have programs designed for veterans rather than private nonprofit universities (36%)
  • Fewer than half of all schools with military and veteran programs offer training for faculty on veteran culture.
  • (Source: Cook, Bryan, and Young, Kim. 2009. From Soldier to Student: Easing the Transition of Service Members on Campus. Washington D.C., American Council on Education).
• While there are general concepts that are good in general, universities and students tend to find the MOST success through direct input from their own veteran population.
• General guidelines by veterans for most universities by veteran students:
  • Establish specific points of contact within campus offices
    • UCLA: Veterans Resource Team:
      • Provides contact info for each team member.
      • Essentially what the Tillman Center is
  • Create a trans-department working group
    • Farleigh Dickinson University:
      • Interdepartmental task force committee to analyze and evaluate university policies, practices, and procedures.
    • Ensure veterans receive thorough introduction to the university through orientation
      • George Washington University:
        • Orientation directly geared towards veterans
        • Found that a short, mid-week orientation works best.
        • Provides all the necessary information for veterans
    • Veteran-specific learning communities:
      • Some veterans cite hard time bonding with younger classmates and find close relations with other veterans quite useful
      • John Schupp, Cleveland State University. SERV (Supportive Education for the Returning Veteran):
        • Designed to combat the challenges veterans face in successful transitions
        • Cohort-based learning system where gen-eds are offered as veterans-only courses
        • Schools currently using SERV:
          • U of A, Kent State University, Youngstown State University, University of Akron
        • Streamline disability and veterans services
          • University of California Santa Cruz, STARS (Service for Transfer and Re-Entry Students):
            • Peer-mentorship program
            • Students hand-selected and given extensive training
            • However, UCSC has only 100 veterans
        • Veterans identify as being “wounded,” but not “disabled”
          • Creates confusion for the VA process
          • Operation College Promise, New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities:
            • Partnered with War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC)
            • Works to enhance understanding of veterans with disabilities
      • Utilizing the Community:
        • Many campuses have successfully partnered with the local VA to bring services directly to campus
        • Mount Wachusett Community College:
          • Rural campus of about 4,000 students
          • Leased ten acres of land to Veteran Homestead Inc.
          • Constructed rehabilitation clinic adjacent to campus that allows for medical treatment while providing housing for families
          • In return, students are provided internship opportunities in nursing and health programs

Kreuter, Nate. “Veterans in the Classroom.” Insider Higher Ed. November 12, 2012.

• The first step in helping student veterans is recognizing who they are and the issues they specifically face.
• No guaranteed behavioral or visible way to distinguish veterans from traditional students.
• He asks students voluntarily and through FERPA-protected grounds if students are veterans to allow him to better suit them if needed
• Female veterans are nearly as likely as male counterpart to suffer trauma from war
• Practically guaranteed veterans know someone hurt in combat
• If worried about student’s safety, err on referral, rather than ignoring the issue
• Denigrating veterans by students is a two way street, cannot let veterans denigrate students
• No generalization with how veterans will be reacting to their service
• Challenge to get veterans to question professors, which is a good thing in the civilian world
• Military draws a disproportionate amount of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Veterans are targets to for-profit schools
• Instructors can help veterans by making individual accommodations as needed
• Read Karl Marlante, What It is Like to Go to War

N/A. “A Creative Outlet for Veterans.” GW Today.March 12, 2012.

• Lt. Col. Ron Capps attempted suicide back in Darfur, where doing recuperating he took up writing.
• Creative arts is essential for veterans to express what they’ve experienced.
• Developed the Veterans Writing Project at George Washington.
• Veterans can enroll in a 14 week course or a two-day seminar
• Center for Veterans and Writing
• You use a different part of your brain to handle memory when writing
• Many influential American writers (Hemingway, Salinger, Faulkner) all served in the military.

Armstrong, Keith, Suzanne Best, and Paula Domenici. Courage after Fire: Coping Strategies for Troops Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and Their Families. Berkeley, CA: Ulysses, 2006. Print.

• Serves as a tool for servicemembers who are dealing with difficult physical, mental, and life-changing events.
• On page 166 there is a section that is titled, " Dumb" questions civilians ask and how to respond to them
• Page 162 – 165 there is a section that is titled, "what employers should know or do to help Iraq and Afghanistan veterans return to work.
• Suggestions for beginning or returning to school postemployment servicemembers:
• don’t overload yourself with too many courses,
• stay focused on class materials and lectures become involved in school activities
• accept that there will be some students and faculty members who do not like the fact that you fought in the war that they do not believe in
• Take advantage of as many school services as possible
• Meet with veteran’s representatives about school funding and using your G.I. Bill
• Consider combining work with school and if it’ll work with your lifestyle

McGinnis, Derek, and Stephen R. Braun. Exit Wounds: A Survival Guide to Pain Management for Returning Veterans and Their Families. Washington, DC: Waterford Life Science, 2009. Print.

• Serves as part narrative by telling the struggles of the Author; a severely wounded veteran who puts his life on a different track as he struggles with pain.
• Relied on support of his family to overcome chronic pain.
• Chronic pain leads to physical disorders such as: sleep disorders, emotional problems, anxiety, depression and can lead to Suicide. The book serves to educate others about chronic pain and other veterans health issue
• A report found that Reserve and National Guards Soldiers that experience combat had significantly higher chance of binge drinking during the week verses others who were not exposed in combat.
• Serves by providing resources to veterans and their family members pgs. 188-192

Weston, Kyle. “From War Zone to Workplace, Can Veterans Fill a Void?” The New York Times. May 21, 2014.

• Veterans can often point to a long list of accomplishments in war zones.
• They rebuilt and ran entire cities
• They delivered results in the most trying and dangerous circumstances.
• They put the “we” before the “me.”
• According to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America 2013 Member Survey, 16 percent respondents reported being unemployed, 45% of those veterans having been out of work for one year or more.
• 2012 Report by the Center for New American Security:
  • 69 companies responded
  • Reasons why businesses hired veterans:
    • Leadership, teamwork, character, structure and discipline, expertise, resilience, proven success, loyalty
  • Reasons why businesses hesitant:
    • Trouble translating qualifications, military stereotypes, PTSD stigma, skill mismatches, hesitation over possible redeployment, fear that vets may not be re-acclimated, and lack of resources to identify job-seeking veterans.
• Obama Administration's Veterans Employment Center
• Zions Bank internship program.
  • 12 week paid program designed to teach veterans on the job training and basic banking fundamentals
  • 44 veterans have completed the program, 23 retained by Zion, 17 hired by another employer, 3 going back to school, and 1 redeploying.

Eisler, David F. “Building Bridges Between the Military and Universities.” The New York Times. March 7, 2014.

• Ad Hoc Committee Against the Militarization of the CUNY: combined faculty and student opposition to the school’s hiring of Gen. Petraeus.
  • Called him a war criminal
• Critical time for society as wars are winding down and senior military leaders are looking for post-retirement positions, most notably in academia.
• In World War II Cornell commissioned 4,598 officers. Most of the other Ivy Leagues followed suit
• Vietnam caused a huge backlash in military presence on campuses
  • In the late 60s/early 70s, the military cut 88 ROTC programs including 5 of 8 Ivy League programs.
• In the 1990’s the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy further caused a barrier to military presence in academia.
• Exposure to the military through faculty, student veterans, and ROTC programs is the best way for universities to play a part in bridging the civilian-military divide.

Dao, James. “A Million Strong: Helping Them Through.” New York Times. February 1, 2013.

• For many veterans, taking classes in places like Kandahar were normal
• This year, 2013, one million veterans and their families will take college courses financed by federal tax dollars
• Veterans can use their G.I. Bill for the next 15 years
• Figures on graduation for veterans is rather spotty and not really there
• Since the GI Bill took place in 2009, 877,000 people have recieved benefits, $23.7 billion in total
• In 2013, more than $10 billion is expected, plus $560 million in tuition assistance to active-duty students
• Eric k. Shinseki, secretary of veterans affairs, “graduate, graduate, graduate.”
• San Diego State:
  • Veteran House, encompasses veteran students there
  • “Were the same demographic.”
  • Has one of the highest veteran populations in country
  • One of the most extensive academic programs: special engineering mentoring, veterans-only classes, and an endowed center for veterans
  • While the sample data is small, veterans as a group seem to do better than the general population
• American Council on Education: Services that make veterans feel at home seemed to make a positive difference
• Eastern Kentucky University:
  • Veteran population has doubled since 2010
  • Program that has veterans take gen-ed courses together, as a cohort. Retention rate: 85%
  • Course taught called “Introduction to Veteran Studies.”
    • Links a new minor to the course with subjects like war literature, the war on terrorism, politics, etc.
    • Of the 17 students in the first year course, only 4 were veterans
• Taking courses while on active-duty can make veterans take their minds off the war
• Veterans are afraid of learning again after being out of education for so long
• In 2012, the SVA revoked the charter for 26 for-profit colleges

ASU Working with Military Families Certificate

• The working with military families certificate program is offered by the ROTC and the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics
• Required Courses: (12 credit hours)
• FAS 101 Personal Growth in Human Relationships, SB (3)
• FAS 331 Marriage and Family Relationships, SB (3)
• FAS 410 Military Family Systems in a Democracy (3)
• MIS 401 Advanced Military Science III (3)
• They are required to do an internship
• A student must have a minimum GPA of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) in order to be considered for admission to the certificate.

Gallagher, Matt. “How to Run a Successful Writing Workshop for Veterans.” New York Times. 9 September 2013.

• Worked in the NYU Veterans Writing Workshop
• Civilians typically cannot attend these veteran writing workshops
• If you want to break the civil-military divide, they need to be able to do things like this together
• There needs to be a stress of the writing part over the veteran part
• Non Veterans are essential because they can help develop the narrative and make veterans consider their approach to their writing
• A study linked showed that assimilation is far more useful for administration and students
• Words after War nonprofit
• Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime walk, Ben Fountain.

Cass, David M. The Strategic Student Veteran: Successfully Transitioning from the Military to College Academics. N.p.: UvIze, 2014. Print.

• The Material in this book is an aggregation of theories the author posited and lessons he learned as a Veteran.
• Author believes that self- reliance is essential for a smooth and successful transition.
• Misconception among returning Veterans that College academics is more difficult than High School academics.

[/accordion]

Books

These are books that veteran students might find useful in their transition to academic life, faculty might find useful in their understanding of veteran students, and both mind find useful in terms of the history of the shift from military service to academia.

Bennett, Michael J. When Dreams Came True: The GI Bill and the Making of Modern America. Potomac Books, Inc., Washington, D.C.:1999.

Bracewell, Kenneth A. A Veteran's Road to College Success. Kenneth A. Bracewell, 2015.

Bracewell, Kenneth A. The Post 9/11 Student Veteran: A Resource Guide For Student Veterans. Kenneth A. Bracewell 1st edition, 2014.

Cass, David M. The Strategic Student Veteran: Successfully Transitioning from the Military to College Academics. Uvize Inc., 2014.

DiRamio, David. Veterans in Higher Education: When Johnny and Jane Come Marching to Campus: ASHE Higher Education Report, Volume 37, Number 3

Downs, Donald Alexander and Ilia Murtazashvili. Arms and the University: Military Presence and the Civic Education of Non-Military Students. Cambridge University Press: 2012

Hamrick, Florence A., and Corey B. Rumann. Called to Serve: A Handbook on Student Veterans and Higher Education.1st ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2013.

Herrmann, Douglas J. Progress in Educating Veterans in the 21st Century. Seattle, Washington: CreateSpace, 2011.

Hoge, Charles W. Once a Warrior, Always a Warrior: Navigating the Transition from Combat to Home--including Combat Stress, PTSD, and MTBI. Guilford, CT: GPP Life, 2010.

Kelley, Bruce C., Justin M. Smith, and Ernetta L. Fox. Preparing Your Campus for Veterans' Success: An Integrated Approach to Facilitating the Transition and Persistence of Our Military Students. Sterling, Va., Stylus Publications 2013.

Mettler, Suzanne. Soldiers to Citizens: The G.I. Bill and the Making of the Greatest Generation. Oxford University Press: 2005.

Renza, David J.and Edmund Lazotte. Military Education Benefits for College: A Comprehensive Guide for Military Members, Veterans, and Their Dependents, Kobo e-book.

[/tabs]