 Laurie Jordon -- Northern Arizona University  Reda Chambers -- Chandler-Gilbert Community College  Kara Cutler -- Northern Arizona University

The Right thing to do. The military drawdown continues making it even more important to be prepared for influx of military connected students. GI Bill was established in Official Student Support initiatives were established in What took so long? Provide critical handoff Between the Community College and the Universities Add support initiatives based on National Best Practices Transition – Retention – Graduation – Career Success

Culture: the widening gap between the military and civilian populations WWII 12 million Americans in uniform, 15% of population on active duty 1.4 million people serving on active duty (0.04%) Total= 7.3 % of Americans have served We have been at war for over a 15 years. Close the Gap

Who are Today’s Military? 2.5 Million have served since 9/11 16% Females on active duty Guard and Reserves in unprecedented numbers Often have had several deployments Heavily engaged in combat Our military are away from home in more than 1,000+ military bases in 130+ countries world-wide

Who are going to school as a means of transition? Have the Post 9/11 GI Bill 660,000 enrolled in higher education Only 15% traditional college age Older students: Average age is 27 27% female and 49% married Most work at least part-time Some post-secondary education Resilient and know what they want Motivated to succeed Excellent addition to our classes However, may bring challenges to our campuses

Chapter one – Military to Community College Chapter two – CC to University campus Chapter three – College to Civilian Career Transitioning Civilian to Military – Military to Civilian

Chapter one: Community College

WHY do they come? Service members who voluntarily leave  moving on to next chapter  may or may not have planned on college all along Service members who are involuntarily separated  emotional impact of being RIF’d  financial impact  impact on goals/vision for future In both cases: GI Bill answers the question of “What do I do next?”

Who comes to community colleges? Tend to be less prepared than veterans who start at university  Academics  Confidence  Proactivity

Who comes to community colleges? Recently discharged Age Overwhelmingly enlisted (vs. officers)

What do they bring with them? Source: CGCC annual survey of student veterans, Oct. 2015

What does it mean? All of this suggests that the transferring student veteran is different from the student veteran who begins at the university  Academic preparedness  Emotional/experiential preparedness  Confidence to tackle the next level It is the community college’s responsibility to help close this gap!

How do we help? Connect veterans to other veterans Connect those veterans to campus groups, events and academics

How do we help? Student Veterans club

How do we help? Veteran Centers veteran centers Lounge area Study area VA work study: peer support VA work study: benefits counseling

How do we help? Veteran New Student Orientation GI Bill Benefits Campus resources: DRS Faculty tips & tricks How to use technology tools Student Vets club Campus resources: Counseling VA resources Campus tours with “battle buddy” How to follow your degree plan Faculty liaison for student veterans

How do we help? Faculty Liaison for Student Veterans Advice/mediation on faculty-student interactions Available both to students and to faculty Vet-friendly office hours

How do we help? Faculty Training & Resources 8-10 training sessions per year on campus (each different) Self-paced course available online (Toolkit for Training Faculty to Best Serve Student Veterans) Veterans section of syllabus: recommended to all faculty to include in syllabus All available at: cgc.edu/veterans (Click on Faculty Training & Resources)

Smooth Handoff Between the Community College and Universities

Chapter two: University Unaware of the process on how to initiate VA Benefits Bigger Class sizes / less individual attention A ton of fresh out of high school kids (aka traditional students) More Bureaucracy Transfer Credit Issues = more time in school Still dealing with military connected transitional challenges Possible Challenges

Best Practices? Resources, Policies, and Recommendations Service and support based on: AZ Senate Bill 1373, section : Arizona Veterans Supportive Campuses Executive Order Establishing Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and Other Family Members President Obama’s “8 Keys to Success” in serving student veterans Department of Defense Voluntary Education Memorandum of Understanding American Council on Education (ACE) Toolkit for Veteran Friendly Institutions

Arizona Veterans Supportive Campus AZ Senate Bill 1373, section | Signed April 2011 To qualify as an “Arizona Veteran Supportive Campus Post – Secondary Institutions must: Conduct a campus survey of student veterans Establish a campus steering committee Conduct sensitivity and awareness training on campus Establish student veteran orientation programs Have peer mentoring and peer support programs for student veterans Develop and implement outreach strategies to local military bases Have one-stop resource and study centers on campus for Veterans Promote community-based collaborations Source:

Support Initiatives we have implemented and continue to improve upon: 1. Identifying our Military Connected incoming students & Early Outreach: Veteran Application Track new plan Obtain lists of students from the Community College that are heading our way PeopleSoft Military Connected Student “event” to capture students Call campaign – student vets calling incoming student vets Detailed Veteran Checklist – Every single step is in black and white Military Status questions have been added to all advising enrollment forms Calls and Walk-ins of new students are tracked 2. VA Certifying Officials coordinating the certification, use and transfer of educational benefits Many different sources to identify the Veteran way BEFORE the term begins. TRANSITION

Student Veteran Orientation TRANSITION ALL students from true first term to transfer students are encouraged to attend. Student Veteran Checklist is covered Departments all across campus present resources Includes optional Academic Jump Start Session Includes a “SEASONED” Student Veteran Panel to answer any and every question

Connected Students are Successful Students RETENTION Veteran Success Center – Safe Space plus resource liaison Advising Departments –Transfer Articulation Peer Mentoring program Strong SVA campus chapter Offerings of 2 targeted Vet Courses FYS SYS Early enrollment for veterans Cross Departmental lines to form a Veteran student success task force

Connected Students are Successful Students RETENTION Utilizing Salesforce for data collection Establish an early alert system to ensure all veterans receive academic, career, and financial advice before challenges become overwhelming Comprehensive and targeted resource page for Veterans. Have your GO-to people on campus – Campus Connectedness

Transition Course Veteran/military cohort of 25 students 3 credit liberal studies course (cultural understanding) Transition focused/resource facilitator Adaptive sports element to course “The Return A Field Manual For Life After combat” by David J. Danelo

Community Based Project Symposium

FYS 121:Small Group Presentations Veteran Student Housing Project Campus Trail clean-up

Military Life to Student Life Student Life to Professional Civilian Career  Broadcast value as military veterans.  Differential to stand out from the pile of resumes Career Development

A few program ideas: Offer a veteran targeted career development course. Offer resume and interview workshops to help translate and articulate valuable skills veterans bring to any organization. Offer Vet to Vet job shadow experiences. Foster a connected environment for networking and veteran mentoring opportunities. Know your - folks

QUESTION AND ANSWER