Veteran & Military Students at Bowling Green State University Nacho Alarcón, Matthew Garvin, & Beth Hoag

INTRODUCTION TO STUDENT VETERANS

Defining a Student Veteran & Military Student  Veteran Status  National Defense Authorization Act, 2006  Post 9/11 GI Bill  American Council on Education (ACE)  Combat vs. Non-Combat  Dependents of Veterans eligible for Benefits  National guard and Reserves

Surge of Student Veterans  As of Jan. 2012, more than 817,000 have used Post- 9/11 GI Benefits  Student Veterans of America (SVA) projects student veterans will double by 2018

Student Veteran Demographics

A growing number of student veterans are women, 20% of veterans receiving benefits in 2012 were women About 1 in 5 veterans has at least one disability

Student Veteran Enrollment

Women Veteran Students

Challenging Experiences  War-related experiences need processing in a safe environment (Baechtold & Sawal, 2009)  Likely to have experienced military sexual trauma (Baechtold & Sawal, 2009)  Likely to feel misunderstood by academic peers (Baechtold & Sawal, 2009)

Challenges Facing Veteran & Military Students

Bureaucratic Transition Challenges  Military course credit transfer  GI Bill Benefits  Lack of structure in university environment  Navigating the Bureaucracy

Social Challenges  Veterans often feel disrespected or misunderstood (Zinger & Cohen, 2010)  Have a hard time connecting with “traditional students.” “The most common question I am asked is ‘did you kill anyone?’” (p. 54) “I came to [college] and felt totally alone…” (p. 54) “I feel like a GI Joe compared to other students…” (p. 54)

Veterans with Disabilities  4.4% of students who self-report disabilities are veterans (US Department of Education, 2012).  These disabilities are both visible and invisible  Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are two most common cognitive injuries  Injuries have significant impact on college experience  Hesitancy to seek help

Bowling Green State University  Regional, public, four-year institution.  21,000 Students  500 self-identified student veterans

Non-traditional and Transfer Student Services (NTSS)

Background Information on NTSS  Before 2008: decentralized services, isolation  : VP Jill Carr creates task force  2009: VP Albert Colon of task force creates NTSS  2010: NTSS opens in the spring

Functions of NTSS  Led by Dr. Barbara Henry  Houses Veteran Students office  Individualized student advocacy and services  In-person  Electronic  Telephone  Partnership with Counseling Center and Disability Services

BGSU ROTC Air Force Army ROTC: 273 units serving 200,000 students at 1,100 institutions Air Force ROTC: 1,100 affiliate campuses Navy ROTC: 59 units that service over 150 institutions

Meet Brandon BGSU Senior Business Administration Major On full four year ROTC scholarship Taking 21 credits this semester Planned the annual military ball President of Arnold Air Society Works on campus at ITS and off campus at Reverends Intramurals “Cool how it progresses… you go from learning to doing and teaching what you had no idea about three or four years ago”

Is ROTC a priority on campus? I think so…I would think that developing the defenders of our country would be a priority anyway. You know there are some people that don’t agree and ask ‘why are you training military people at my son’s university’ but I think the more places you can have ROTC the better (B Werling, personal communication, November, 15, 2013)

What does the environment communicate?  Potential positive aspects communicated by the environment  Dedicated spaces  Streamlined services  Office partnerships (NTSS, Counseling, and Disability)  Dedicated staff members (some veterans)  “Do no harm” policies  School closed on Veteran’s Day

What does the environment communicate? (cont.)  Potential negative aspects communicated by the environment  Distance of NTSS from Main Campus  Sculpture commemorating 1970 Kent State Shooting Victims  Lack of written policies and priority registration  Highly individualistic culture  No formal Veteran’s Day recognition

Questions?

References Abramson, L. (Writer) (2012). Vets flock to colleges...but how are they doing? [Radio series episode]. In McDonnel, E. (Executive Producer), Morning Edition. Washington, DC: National Public Radio. Retrieved from American Council on Education. (2012). From solider to student II: Assessing campus programs for veterans and service members. Retrieved from Baechtold, M. and De Sawal, D. M. (2009). Meeting the needs of women veterans. New Directions for Student Services, 126, U.S. Army Reserve Officers Training Corps, 2013 U.S. Naval Reserves Offices Training Corps, 2011 U.S. Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps, Zinger, L., & Cohen, A. (2010). Veterans returning from war into the classroom: How can colleges be better prepared to meet their needs. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 3(1),

References (from handout) Baechtold, M. and De Sawal, D. M. (2009). Meeting the needs of women veterans. New Directions for Student Services, 126, Lipka, S. (2010, November 4). Students’ status as veterans and choice of major play big parts in shaping college experiences. Chronicle of Higher Education, 57(12), A Retrieved from search.ebscohost.com.maurice.bgsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN= &sit e=ehost-live&scope=site U.S. Department of Labor. (2013). Veterans Preference Advisor. Retrieved from