Presenters: Creating a Comprehensive Military Student Services Office Presenters: Kelly Wesener, Ed.D. Scott Peska, Ed.D.

Presentation Outline Starting off on the right foot Defining your population Image is Everything Establishing Veteran Services Discovering Funding Opportunities Tackling Institutional Barriers

Starting Off on the Right Foot Getting campus community support and momentum for office creation Creating think tanks, task forces, and advisory boards Creating a positive “buzz” on the campus Involving military students in the process Presenting an accurate portrait of veterans and their positive contributions Use video produced by NIU to educate about the needs of veterans

Defining Your Population Capturing and using data to understand who you serve and what they need How is “veteran” defined for your campus and for the office Researching the needs of your military student populations Collecting data to inform your work

Image Is Everything Creating the office brand Choosing an office name Creation of mission, vision, and values Space needs Promotion and publications Developing a content-rich, user-friendly website

What does what Defining the services provided by the office and building collaborative relationships with other campus departments, outside services, and governmental agencies to provide key services Financial Aid Counseling Academic Advising Orientation Disability Services State and federal programs Office programming models

Tough Economic Times Funding Opportunities Grants Development opportunities

Tackling Institutional Barriers Recruiting veterans Developing veteran friendly institutional policies and procedures

Questions and Answers