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Best Practices in Student Veteran Education: Making a 'Veteran-Friendly' Institution

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Title: Best Practices in Student Veteran Education: Making a 'Veteran-Friendly' Institution
Language: English
Authors: Dillard, Robert J., Yu, Helen H.
Source: Journal of Continuing Higher Education. 2016 64(3):181-186.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 6
Publication Date: 2016
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Adult Education
Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Best Practices, Veterans Education, Higher Education, School Holding Power, Student Needs, Student Characteristics, Student Organizations, Nontraditional Students, Program Development, Well Being, Space Classification, First Year Seminars, School Orientation
DOI: 10.1080/07377363.2016.1229106
ISSN: 0737-7363
Abstract: With the conclusion of major military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. institutions of higher learning are experiencing an inflow of student veterans on a scale not seen since the conclusion of World War II. In response, a large number of American colleges and universities quickly sought to exploit this glut of new students by arbitrarily labeling themselves "military-friendly" or "veteran-friendly" institutions without taking any tangible steps toward better serving the educational needs of their student veterans. Consequently, student veteran retention rates have been poor, resulting in lost federal and state aid money, a potentially wasted generation of student veterans, and a broken promise from the American people to our service members. However, transforming an underperforming campus from ostensibly veteran-friendly to veteran-friendly-in-practice can be accomplished with minimal expenditure of resources. In August 2013, recognizing the coming challenges associated with a massive new influx of student veterans on college campuses nationwide, the Obama Administration developed "8 Keys to Success: Supporting Veterans, Military, and Military Families on Campus," a list of general steps that institutions of higher education could follow in order to ensure veteran educational success (Baker, 2013). The American Council on Education provides an alternative for defining veteran-friendly institutions, with recommendations mostly centered on best practices for student services. Priority registration, flexible enrollment dates, and making transfer credit policies easier for student veterans are recommended courses of action for student service divisions, while establishing student veteran support groups and designated spaces are also included (Brown & Gross, 2011). Out of these measurements of institutional success, the current study aims to provide an even clearer link between theory and practice in improving institutional quality for veterans' education. The purpose of this article is to provide explicit instructions on how to create a veteran-friendly institution based on the real-world experience of two faculty members at a large state university.
Abstractor: ERIC
Number of References: 13
Entry Date: 2016
Accession Number: EJ1120094
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0119500211;gwp01sep.16;2019Feb21.14:56;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0119500211-1">Best Practices in Student Veteran Education: Making a “Veteran-Friendly” Institution. </title> <p>With the conclusion of major military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. institutions of higher learning are experiencing an inflow of student veterans on a scale not seen since the conclusion of World War II. In response, a large number of American colleges and universities quickly sought to exploit this glut of new students by arbitrarily labeling themselves "military-friendly" or "veteran-friendly" institutions without taking any tangible steps toward better serving the educational needs of their student veterans. Consequently, student veteran retention rates have been poor, resulting in lost federal and state aid money, a potentially wasted generation of student veterans, and a broken promise from the American people to our service members. However, transforming an underperforming campus from ostensibly veteran-friendly to veteran-friendly-in-practice can be accomplished with minimal expenditure of resources. Creating a new and vibrant campus culture that is veteran-friendly and in practice adheres to commonly accepted prerequisites can be accomplished through collaboration among faculty, staff, and administration.</p> <p>In August 2013, recognizing the coming challenges associated with a massive new influx of student veterans on college campuses nationwide, the Obama Administration developed "8 Keys to Success: Supporting Veterans, Military, and Military Families on Campus," a list of general steps that institutions of higher education could follow in order to ensure veteran educational success (Baker, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref1">1</reflink>]). Meeting these requirements is within the capacity of any institution of higher education. This is because the majority of the keys are built around transforming campus cultures and norms of practice through faculty and staff education initiatives, rather than costly modifications to facilities or drastic alterations to curricula.</p> <p>The American Council on Education provides an alternative for defining veteran-friendly institutions, with recommendations mostly centered on best practices for student services. Priority registration, flexible enrollment dates, and making transfer credit policies easier for student veterans are recommended courses of action for student service divisions, while establishing student veteran support groups and designated spaces are also included (Brown & Gross, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref2">3</reflink>]). Out of these measurements of institutional success, the current study aims to provide an even clearer link between theory and practice in improving institutional quality for veterans' education.</p> <p>The purpose of this article is not to rehash old techniques or recommendations. Instead, this work provides explicit instructions on how to create a veteran-friendly institution based on the real-world experience of two faculty members at a large state university.</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-2">Characteristics of Student Veterans</hd> <p>Naturally, any fully encompassing approach to transforming a nominally veteran-friendly institution into a veteran-friendly institution in practice requires an understanding of student veterans themselves. Unlike traditional students, student veterans bring with them a diverse set of characteristics that ideally should help their academic performance. Student veterans are typically older, have real-world work experience, and are likely to have a specialization in a particular field. Because of this, college is perceived by many transitioning veterans as simply a means for greater career advancement. This results in many veterans underestimating the rigors of academic life. While it would appear that student veterans have all of the advantages necessary for academic success, the statistics regarding retention rates would indicate otherwise. In the initial years after the implementation of the post-9/11 GI Bill, alarmists indicated that student veteran dropout rates were as high as 88% after the first year (Wood, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref3">12</reflink>]). However, more recent analysis puts student veteran graduation rates closer to 52%, which is dramatically better, but still far below traditional students, which is a concern (Zoroya, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref4">13</reflink>]). Despite the inherent values such as maturity, responsibility, and accountability gained through military service, student veterans also frequently have to deal with obstacles such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and family and work concerns. Perhaps the greatest stumbling block of all is the culture shock associated with military-to-academic transitions, which has a tendency to leave otherwise successful student veterans feeling isolated and confused upon their arrival on campus.</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-3">Military-to-Academic Transitions</hd> <p>The culture shock experienced by transitioning student veterans can be felt in several facets of academic life. Upon entering the military, ordinary young men and women begin a process that conditions them to behave in extraordinary manners. The initial introduction to military life, in the form of a basic training, wears down instincts of individualism and trains recruits to act and think as part of a unit while also conditioning them to ignore matters of pain and risk in the name of mission fulfillment. Every military throughout the world shares this sort of approach to molding service members because mission success and limited losses demand strict obedience and adherence to team goals from service members. Not only does running toward the sound of gunfire when ordered defy the individual instinct, it is also an act that is utterly contrary to the academic experience.</p> <p>The academic environment is designed to make students more critical. Rather than obeying orders, students of higher education learn how to ask questions and how to challenge the status quo. Institutions of higher education remain the intellectual core of a nation and thus have a sacred obligation to seek progressive change in all aspects of a society. Even for traditional students, the adjustment to the norms and practices of higher education is difficult. Not only are traditional students tasked with making a major life transition away from their homes to their temporary residences at or near the college campus, they are also required to begin living independently, while taking a considerable step forward intellectually.</p> <p>For the student veteran, these challenges are amplified tenfold. In addition to the extra time separated from school in general, there is also a drastic change in the learning environment that can make student veterans feel out of place. Military life and the high school experience have one particularly pertinent similarity in the context of the current study, which is their relatively rigid structure. Much like high school, military life is heavily regimented and takes place on an inflexible timeline. By contrast, college life is less defined in structure, with far more of the actual learning taking place outside of the classroom (Cass, [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref5">5</reflink>]). At the same time, instead of focusing on team effort as a matter of military necessity, higher education is focused more on developing the individual mind. This transition away from the team-centric culture to a self-centered culture further intensifies the overall culture shock for student veterans.</p> <p>It is also worth noting that student veterans, unlike their traditional student counterparts, will also suffer the ill effects of an extended period of time spent away from academics in general. While military personnel are constantly learning, training, and improving, their experience is not suitably comparable to traditional academics. What follows is a summation of best practices, and a guide to their implementation, for creating a "veteran-friendly" institution. They are based on real-world experience and can assist any university, at a marginal level of expense, in achieving truly "veteran-friendly" status.</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-4">Best Practices for Creating a Veteran-Friendly Institution</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0119500211-5">Creation of a Student Veterans Organization</hd> <p>As Summerlot, Green, and Parker ([<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref6">11</reflink>]) emphasize, campus leadership can facilitate the difficult transition from military to academic life by assisting in the founding and maintenance of student veteran groups on campus. The benefits gained from this can be felt on multiple levels. On the one hand, veterans are a -nontraditional minority among students, and thus already apt to relate better to one another than traditional students. In this way, strong bonds can be formed that can grow into larger networks of support throughout the student veteran population. It is widely accepted among social psychologists that social support for the individual can have a beneficial impact during periods of accentuated stress regardless of which psychological model is used (Cohen &Wills, [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref7">6</reflink>]). Making the transition into higher education is usually stressful for all students, but for student veterans, long separated from school in general, this is an especially taxing experience. The supporting network of an active student veterans organization on campus can go far in mitigating the stresses associated with adjusting to college life.</p> <p>At the same time, a thriving student veterans organization can begin to impact the entire campus environment. If a campus climate is understood to be the aggregated values and attitudes of the entire student body, faculty, and staff of a university, then a student veterans organization can influence the perceptions that traditional students, as well as unaccustomed faculty and staff, have regarding student veterans. A supportive climate is best understood as an environment where a student does not have to hide his or her military background (Summerlot et al., [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref8">11</reflink>]). An effective student veterans organization can play a leading part in educating and acclimatizing the entire campus community to the unique experiences of student veterans and the challenges of transitioning.</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-6">How to Do It</hd> <p>A vibrant student veterans organization can be created organically through the efforts of a few motivated student veterans and one faculty or staff member willing to serve as an advisor. Because policies vary across universities on the formation of student organizations, specific guidance for creating a student veterans organization is available by the parent organization, Student Veterans of America (<ulink href="http://www.studentveterans.org">www.studentveterans.org</ulink>). However, as is typical of nontraditional student populations, student veterans are not prone to actively become involved in student organizations. Thus, it is absolutely fundamental that faculty, staff, and campus leadership also advocate the student veterans organization at every possible opportunity. From face-to-face interactions with employees at the campus office of Veterans Affairs (VA), to individual faculty and staff members, promotion of the student veterans organization as a positive and supportive climate for student veterans who are struggling is essential for creating a supportive climate and a "veteran-friendly" institution.</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-7">Professional Development Seminar for Faculty and Staff</hd> <p>If fostering higher levels of success among student veterans is a community effort as suggested by Burnett and Segoria ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref9">4</reflink>]), then faculty and staff education stands at the forefront of any effort to create a veteran-friendly institution. Professional development opportunities geared toward training and educating faculty and staff in the needs of student veterans can have a multifold impact. First, enabling faculty and staff members who are otherwise unfamiliar with military culture to empathize and understand the difficulties of life for recently separated military veterans can help to establish a campus-wide system of mentors and advocates (Burnett & Segoria, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref10">4</reflink>]). In addition, the general level of confusion and culture shock experienced by transitioning student veterans can be moderated through staff and faculty education in the form of professional development workshops. Rumann and Hamrick ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref11">9</reflink>]) emphasize the significance of how faculty- and staff-led campus initiatives in military cultural education can be advantageous for the student veteran success rate. Beyond simply reaffirming a university's mission to support student veterans, educating faculty and staff about military life and culture "could compliment a campus's broader commitment to diversity and social understanding" (Rumann & Hamrick, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref12">9</reflink>], p. 31). Thus, establishing a program for faculty and staff education in the affairs of student veterans can accomplish a wide array of educational missions.</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-8">How to Do It</hd> <p>Establishing an education program for faculty and staff in the needs of student veterans is neither overly complicated nor exceedingly labor-intensive. Quite often, such a program, providing professional development seminars annually or semiannually, can be created through a faculty- or staff-led initiative with limited material support from university leadership. A three- to four-hour block of instruction, prior to the start of the semester to ensure maximum participation, featuring familiarization with topics such as military culture, deployments, PTSD, TBI, the lives of military dependents, academic transitions, and available and pertinent campus resources, is sufficient for fostering faculty and staff understanding of student veteran needs. Likewise, the training should incorporate real-world scenarios that faculty could potentially experience with student veterans in the classroom. Most university campuses already have an adequate number of subject matter experts to cover such an assortment of topics, but if additional assistance is needed, partnering with local community veteran organizations can be helpful for finding volunteer instructors (O'Herrin, [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref13">8</reflink>]). The authors, however, found that an education program led specifically by faculty had a tremendous impact on peer participation, as evidenced by the overwhelming increase in faculty attendance during their university's professional development program. In comparison to previously held veteran education training conducted by staff personnel, participation increased threefold from less than 20 to more than 60 participants in the most recent training session. The authors are not suggesting that university staff personnel are less qualified or committed to the success of student veterans, but rather that faculty participation responded to faculty organizers. Based on survey responses gathered at the completion of training (<emph>N</emph> = 42), the item "I will be able to use what I learned in this workshop" received a mean response of 4.93, using a 5-point scale with 1 coded "strongly disagree" and 5 coded "strongly agree." When asked to identify which topics were most useful for future interaction with student veterans, all participants identified the list of on-campus and off-campus resources provided at the end of the training, as well as the real-world training scenarios the organizers used to facilitate discussion. Finally, the overall veteran education workshop received a mean evaluation of 4.95, using the same 5-point scale mentioned previously.</p> <p>Another key element to establishing a campus-wide support network for student veterans is making it readily visible. This can be accomplished by identifying the offices of qualified personnel (those who have attended the professional development seminar) with a sticker or some other identifier (e.g., list of trained personnel on the university website) signifying the office as a safe haven for student veterans and dependents. These safe havens are often referred to as "Green Zones," signifying their status as secure areas in military parlance. This sends a message to student veterans and provides reassurance that there are faculty and staff on campus who are willing and able to help.</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-9">Professional Interaction With Student Veterans Seminar for Staff</hd> <p>In preparation for the predictable growth in the student veteran population on American college campuses following World War II, scholarly analysts of education began calling for the professionalization of faculty and staff in the culture and experiences of military life (Rumann & Hamrick, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref14">9</reflink>]). Building a level of awareness among campus staff and administrators requires a special level of attention beyond the professional development seminar described in the previous section. In fact, based on survey responses gathered by the authors of the current study, campus staff members prefer a separate seminar devoted to staff professionalization with a particular focus on customer service interactions with student veterans. The goal in this case is the promotion of better customer service standards for staff working with student veterans in all facets of college life. In addition, a separate and distinct professional development seminar for staff only can improve customer service by familiarizing attendees with important disability-related matters such as PTSD and TBI (Burnett & Segoria, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref15">4</reflink>]). While this is a topic that would ideally be discussed in the seminar described previously, a greater emphasis on staff-to-student interaction could dramatically improve customer service experiences for student veterans and help to promote a more veteran-friendly campus.</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-10">How to Do It</hd> <p>As described earlier, a professionalization seminar focused on the needs of student veterans can be accomplished with minimal resources. The best approach in this case is close faculty and staff collaboration with material support from campus leadership. A one-hour block of instruction and discussion facilitated by motivated faculty or staff members (preferably veterans themselves) and featuring representatives from the campus student veterans organization, the Office of Veterans Affairs, and any local veteran resources or organizations can be sufficient for dramatically improving the collegiate experience for student veterans. Even more than faculty professional development sessions, staff professional development seminars such as this need participation from student veterans because of the particular focus on customer service and any staff-to-student interaction. Discussion-based training scenarios can educate administrators, academic advisors, and personnel specialists in what is proper and improper speech and behavior when dealing with student veterans.</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-11">Student Veteran-Designated Space on Campus</hd> <p>Within the very wording of the "8 Keys to Success" formulated by the Obama Administration is an acknowledgment that space is a consistently endangered resource on most campuses. However, meeting this requirement does not necessarily entail a massive reallocation of resources or space. Apportioning even the smallest amount of space (an unused office or classroom) exclusively for veteran use can be beneficial in multiple ways.</p> <p>On the one hand, creating a designated space reaffirms a campus's commitment to the well-being of student veterans in a tangible way, even if the accommodations are meager. In addition to fulfilling the "8 Keys to Success," such a space provides student veterans with the opportunity and environment to interact solely with other students who come from similar backgrounds and life experiences. This can have the effect of fostering a self-supporting network among student veterans, which can be invaluable for long-term academic success. Student veterans are most at ease around people like them (Rumann & Hamrick, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref16">9</reflink>]). Creating a student veteran "safe space" such as this is not intended to create a buffer between student veterans and traditional students, a potentially counterproductive measure. Rather, a designated space serves to further assist in mitigating the stresses associated with the military-to-academic transition.</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-12">How to Do It</hd> <p>A designated lounge area for study, relaxation, or group activities is within reason for any university campus and the only major requirement is active support from campus leadership and administration. Monetary support can be found through external grants as necessary, such as the Vet Center Initiative grant by The Home Depot Foundation, but improving the conditions of the designated space with additional amenities is really a secondary concern. It is commonly accepted wisdom that student veterans suffering from PTSD can better manage stress levels with an allocated space which provides a temporary quiet respite from the normal routine of life on a college campus. Allocating a designated space for student veterans should be within the capacity of any university.</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-13">Veteran First-Year Seminar</hd> <p>In order to provide student veterans with a positive introduction to higher education that encapsulates elements of critical thinking, professional writing, and cooperative work and study, the practice of first-year seminars has spread rapidly in recent years (Kuh, [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref17">7</reflink>]). Beyond simply habituating nontraditional students to the practices and rigors of academic life, first-year seminars have been proven to establish lasting rapport between students and strong mentorships between faculty and students. One of the cultural factors driving low retention rates among student veterans is the transition from a group-centered environment to a completely independent lifestyle and approach to work and success. This psychological shock can be enough to overwhelm student veterans who are already at risk due to their time separated from the learning environment. The aforementioned social safety net identified by psychologists that can greatly assist student veterans during periods of stress can also be applied to the classroom environment (Cohen & Wills, [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref18">6</reflink>]; Sarason, Sarason, & Pierce, [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref19">10</reflink>]).</p> <p>In addition to the team-centered benefits gained from participation in a veterans' first-year seminar, the concentrated and recurrent mentorship provided by an experienced instructor can similarly provide student veterans with invaluable support (Branker, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref20">2</reflink>]). Statistics have shown that by engaging nontraditional students, such as veterans, in the sort of activities normally encapsulated in first-year seminars, academic performance can be improved due to the frequent and direct interaction with supportive faculty (Kuh, [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref21">7</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-14">How to Do It</hd> <p>Due to practical concerns, Veterans are often transitioning out of the military and into academia without orientation at all, and quite often they are not required to attend orientation sessions as part of university policy (O'Herrin, [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref22">8</reflink>]). The result of this is an obvious level of disorientation even greater than that experienced by traditional students. Establishing a first-year seminar geared toward the unique needs and experiences of student veterans can be easily accomplished through a faculty-led initiative coupled with the advocacy of university leadership. The associated resource requirements are no greater than those for any other first-year program. A concentrated effort on the part of university leadership, the university's Veterans Affairs Office, and academic advisory staff to ensure maximum enrollment is an essential element of ensuring program success. Like other first-year seminars, the social support network created simply by bringing student veterans together can yield intangible advantages for student success. With a capable instructor and mentor these benefits are even further amplified. Based on survey responses gathered at the completion of the authors' Veteran First-Year Seminar (<emph>N</emph> = 9), 100% of the student veterans recommended the veteran-specific course to all new student veterans and 89% believed the course should be mandatory for all new student veterans.</p> <hd id="AN0119500211-15">Conclusion</hd> <p>While meeting the officially delineated prerequisites of a "veteran-friendly" institution is an important and fundamental step, promoting a veteran-friendly campus culture is a matter of proactive collaboration across campus and the entire community (Rumann & Hamrick, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref23">9</reflink>]). Simply put, an institution of higher learning cannot live up to the label of being "veteran-friendly" from a strictly administrative or bureaucratic standpoint. Cooperation is necessary at every level. A unity of effort, with at least a minimal level of campus-wide coordination, is essential for transforming a campus culture and establishing the infrastructure necessary to build a "veteran-friendly" institution and ensure long-term stability.</p> <p>In practice, one of the great shortcomings often experienced by universities (including that of the authors of the current study) actively striving for better student veteran performance is a lack of proper information dissemination coupled with the aforementioned lack of campus unity. If possible, consolidation of the coordinating effort of all of these programs should happen within a single office or committee. It is already understood that a major portion of improving campus cultures and attitudes toward Student Veterans can be accomplished through greater efficiency and customer service efforts within the Office of Veterans Affairs. The campus improvement practices outlined in the current study are also best implemented through said campus's VA office. However, depending on issues of resources or manpower, this may not always be possible, in which case the coordinating effort can be managed by a campus-wide committee including student leadership, faculty, staff, and administrators. More important than who leads and manages the effort to make an institution "veteran-friendly" is the commonly accepted attitude on campus that being "veteran-friendly" is the responsibility of all. For the institution with a unified campus culture dedicated to honoring our nation's veterans, the best practices described here can change the collegiate experience for student veterans immeasurably.</p> <ref id="AN0119500211-16"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref1" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Baker, S. (2013). 8 Keys to success: Supporting veterans, military and military families on campus. Retrieved from https://<ulink href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/08/13/8-keys-success-supporting-Veterans-military-and-military-families-campus">www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/08/13/8-keys-success-supporting-Veterans-military-and-military-families-campus</ulink></bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref20" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Branker, C. (2009). Deserving design: The new generation of student veterans. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 22(1), 59–66.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib3" idref="ref2" type="bt">3</bibl> <bibtext> Brown, P. A., & Gross, C. G. (2011). Serving those who have served: Managing veteran and military student best practices. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 59, 45–49.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib4" idref="ref9" type="bt">4</bibl> <bibtext> Burnett, S. E., & Segoria, J. (2009). Collaboration for military transition students from combat to college: It takes a community. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 22(1), 53–58.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib5" idref="ref5" type="bt">5</bibl> <bibtext> Cass, D. (2014). The strategic student veteran. Boulder, CO: Uvize.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib6" idref="ref7" type="bt">6</bibl> <bibtext> Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310–357.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib7" idref="ref17" type="bt">7</bibl> <bibtext> Kuh, G. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib8" idref="ref13" type="bt">8</bibl> <bibtext> O'Herrin, E. (2011). Enhancing veteran success in higher education. Peer Review, Winter, 15–18.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib9" idref="ref11" type="bt">9</bibl> <bibtext> Rumann, C. B., & Hamrick, F. A. (2009). Supporting student veterans in transition. New Directions for Student Services, 126, 25–34.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Sarason, I. G., Sarason, B. R., & Pierce, G. R. (1990). Social support: The search for theory. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(1), 133–147.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Summerlot, J., Green, S. M., & Parker, D. (2009). Student veterans organizations. New Directions for Student Services, 126, 71–79.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Wood, D. (2012, October 25). Veterans'college drop-out rate soars. Retrieved from <ulink href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/Veterans-college-drop-out%5fn%5f2016926.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/Veterans-college-drop-out%5fn%5f2016926.html</ulink></bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Zoroya, G. (2014, March 24). Study: Recent Veterans are succeeding in college. Retrieved from <ulink href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/24/Veterans-students-graduation-college-completion-rates-va/6735003/">http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/24/Veterans-students-graduation-college-completion-rates-va/6735003/</ulink></bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Robert J. Dillard and Helen H. Yu</p> <p>Reported by Author; Author</p> <p></p> <p>Robert J. Dillard, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX.</p> <p>Helen H. Yu, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX.</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref3"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref4"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref6"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref19"></nolink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Continuing+Higher+Education%22"><i>Journal of Continuing Higher Education</i></searchLink>. 2016 64(3):181-186.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 6
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2016
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Descriptive
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Adult+Education%22">Adult Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Best+Practices%22">Best Practices</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Veterans+Education%22">Veterans Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Holding+Power%22">School Holding Power</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Needs%22">Student Needs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Characteristics%22">Student Characteristics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Organizations%22">Student Organizations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nontraditional+Students%22">Nontraditional Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Program+Development%22">Program Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Well+Being%22">Well Being</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Space+Classification%22">Space Classification</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22First+Year+Seminars%22">First Year Seminars</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Orientation%22">School Orientation</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1080/07377363.2016.1229106
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0737-7363
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: With the conclusion of major military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. institutions of higher learning are experiencing an inflow of student veterans on a scale not seen since the conclusion of World War II. In response, a large number of American colleges and universities quickly sought to exploit this glut of new students by arbitrarily labeling themselves "military-friendly" or "veteran-friendly" institutions without taking any tangible steps toward better serving the educational needs of their student veterans. Consequently, student veteran retention rates have been poor, resulting in lost federal and state aid money, a potentially wasted generation of student veterans, and a broken promise from the American people to our service members. However, transforming an underperforming campus from ostensibly veteran-friendly to veteran-friendly-in-practice can be accomplished with minimal expenditure of resources. In August 2013, recognizing the coming challenges associated with a massive new influx of student veterans on college campuses nationwide, the Obama Administration developed "8 Keys to Success: Supporting Veterans, Military, and Military Families on Campus," a list of general steps that institutions of higher education could follow in order to ensure veteran educational success (Baker, 2013). The American Council on Education provides an alternative for defining veteran-friendly institutions, with recommendations mostly centered on best practices for student services. Priority registration, flexible enrollment dates, and making transfer credit policies easier for student veterans are recommended courses of action for student service divisions, while establishing student veteran support groups and designated spaces are also included (Brown & Gross, 2011). Out of these measurements of institutional success, the current study aims to provide an even clearer link between theory and practice in improving institutional quality for veterans' education. The purpose of this article is to provide explicit instructions on how to create a veteran-friendly institution based on the real-world experience of two faculty members at a large state university.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: ERIC
– Name: Ref
  Label: Number of References
  Group: RefInfo
  Data: 13
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2016
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1120094
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1120094
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  BibEntity:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/07377363.2016.1229106
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 6
        StartPage: 181
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Best Practices
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Veterans Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Higher Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School Holding Power
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Needs
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      – SubjectFull: Student Characteristics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Organizations
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      – SubjectFull: Nontraditional Students
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      – SubjectFull: Program Development
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      – SubjectFull: Well Being
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      – SubjectFull: Space Classification
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: First Year Seminars
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School Orientation
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Best Practices in Student Veteran Education: Making a 'Veteran-Friendly' Institution
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Dillard, Robert J.
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            NameFull: Yu, Helen H.
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              Y: 2016
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Continuing Higher Education
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