Amanda Kraus, Ph. D. Nick Rattray Dan Standage UA Veterans in Higher Ed Conference September 17, 2010

 Influx of student veterans to higher education  Enrollment in Community Colleges or Vocational Institutions on the rise  Post-9/11 G.I. Bill expanded benefits  Complex transitions to civilian life and life with disability

 Students with military experience make up about 4% of undergraduate students.  Compared to traditional undergraduate students, veterans tend to be older and are more likely to be non-white.  Although only seven percent of the armed forced were women in 2006, 27% of all student veterans in were women.  Around half of undergraduates with military experience received veterans educational benefits at public four-year universities. In , 12 percent of military undergraduates attended for-profit institutions, which is a rate three times higher than traditional undergraduates.

 As of September 2009, the number of American troops who have been injured is 35,390, 46% of whom could return to duty within 72 hours.  The rate for mental health and cognitive issues following return from deployment was 14% for major depression, 14% from PTSD, and 19% for a probable Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). RAND estimates that the cost from PTSD-related and depression costs could range from $4.0 to $6.2 billion over two years.

 Philosophy on program development  Disabled Veterans Reintegration and Education Project  Veterans Education and Transition Services (V.E.T.S.) Initiative (V.E.T.S.) Initiative

 VETS Office  Student Veterans of America at the University of Arizona  SERV Classes  GI Bill counseling  Network of point people on and off campus  PTSD support group and on-site VA counseling  Veterans in Higher Education Conference  Veterans in Higher Education National Clearinghouse

 Identity  Norms  Rites of passage  Language  Shared experiences  Access issues related to higher education  Cohort mentality

 Consider student veterans as a cultural group.  How does your campus support this identity?  What are the challenges associated with supporting this identity?

 Department of Defense disability statistics  VA disability rating and benefits  Physical versus “other” disabilities  Self-imposed “hierarchy”  Combat-related injury  Service-related injury  Non-service-related injury  “Wounded warrior” and “battalion”– language in rehabilitation  Potential of adaptive athletics

 Universal design of office  Physical access  Assistive technology on all computers  Partner with DRC events  Athletics  Philanthropy  DRC/Mental Health marketing in VETS Office  First-hand referrals  DRC contacts  Strong relationship with local VA

 The social model of disability promotes disability as a sociopolitical construct, not an individual impairment.  What challenges do the DOD disability statistics and the VA disability rating system pose to operationalizing the social model of disability? Disability identity?  Reflect on the “hierarchy” students veterans use to make meaning of disability? What implications might this have for service provision?

 UA V.E.T.S. studentaffairs.arizona.edu/vets  Radford, A. W. (2009). Military service members and veterans in higher education: What the new GI bill may mean for postsecondary institutions. Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education.  US Department of Defense (  Tanielian, T., & Jaycox, L. H. (2008). Invisible wounds of war : Psychological and cognitive injuries, their consequences, and services to assist recovery. Santa Monica: Center for Military Health Policy Research, RAND.  U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.