1. Tuesday March 6, 2018 Marriott Downtown, Salon I
For the Love of our country: Creating a climate of accessibility, support, and empowerment for military-connected students in a community college setting
Teresa Morales, Suffolk County Community College Toni-Anne Nhotsoubanh, Suffolk County Community College
Tuesday March 6, Marriott Downtown, Salon I

2. Overview of Suffolk County Community College • 2-year public community college • 3 campuses • More than 27,000 students • Approximately 100 programs of study • 80% of student ages • As of Spring 2018 over 500 military-connected students enrolled (Suffolk at a Glance, 2018)

3. Goals for the Presentation
Review statistics, characteristics and demographics of military-connected students
Identify challenges faced by military-connected students entering higher education
Apply Schlossberg’s theory of transition to understanding the challenges of military-connected students
Articulate and explore key best practices of military-friendly institutions
Examine Suffolk County Community College’s military-friendly model of services

4. Culture & Language How do we refer to our military student population
Culture & Language How do we refer to our military student population? What may be the implications of those labels?

5. Test your knowledge of veterans and military-connected populations

6. What percentage of the military-connected student population are enrolled in 2 year public colleges? a. 19% b. 23% c. 38% d. 10%

7. What percent of military-connected student took classes online, at night or on weekends? a. 61% b. 33% c. 12% d. 73%

8. A picture of military-connected students • age 25 and up • married • almost half have children • almost half work while in school • almost three quarters use the GI Bill to fund their education • earn GPA’s higher than the national average (Student Veterans of America, 2017)

9. A picture of Military-Connected students (continued) • More than half are first generation college students • 44% are in bachelor's degree programs • 44% of veteran students report four or more risk factors associated with non-completion (Molina, 2014 & Community College Research Center, 2016 & Cole & Kim, 2013)

10. Factors Impacting Military-Connected Students: Assets • Exposure to diverse cultures and experiences (Osborne, 2014) • Tend to be highly adaptable and persistent (Vacchi, 2012) • Strong leaders and team players (CCRC, 2016, p. 3) • Maturity and focus

11. Factors Impacting Military-Connected Students: Challenges • familiarizing with a less structured environment (Kirchner, 2015) • relating to younger peers (Osborne, 2014) • difficulty asking for help (Osborne, 2014) • lack of trust towards civilians (Vacchi, 2012) • red tape working with VA and college processing (Vacchi, 2012)

12. Schlossberg Theory A psychosocial theoretical framework used to facilitate an understanding of adults in transition; and is used as a vehicle for “analyzing human adaptation to transition”. It aids them in connecting to the help they need in order to cope with the “ordinary and extraordinary process of living” (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton & Renn, 2010).

13. What is a Transition? “Any event, or non-event that results in changed relationships, routines, assumptions, and roles” (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton & Renn, 2010, p. 215). Evans, et. al. (2010) “stressed the role of perception in transitions, noting that a transition exists only if it is so defined by the individual experiencing it” (p. 215).

14. Impact of Transition • Type of transition • Context-relationship to transition/setting • Impact-alters one’s daily life (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton & Renn, 2010).

15. Schlossberg’s Transition Model 4S’s – variables characterizing the transition, the individual, and the environment. Situation Self • personal • psychological Support • social Strategies • coping responses • coping mode (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton & Renn, 2010).

16. The 8 Keys to Veteran Success • culture of trust and connectedness • consistent and sustained support • early alert system • coordinate and centralize campus efforts for all veterans • collaborate with local communities and organizations • uniform set of data tools • comprehensive professional development for faculty and staff • ensure sustainability of effective practices (Adapted from U.S. Department of Education, n.d.)

17. Examples of Best Practices • A designated space for military-connected students • Create a Planning/Advisory Committee • Club or Organization for Veterans

18. Examples of Best Practices (continued) • A designated office for military-connected students • Identifying Points of Contact in Offices/Departments • Veteran specific orientation • Opportunities for Training and Education

19. Suffolk County Community College Model Highlights of Program Development • Informal Points of Contact • Assigned Point of Contact and Veteran’s Service Committee • Appointment of Dean of Veterans Affairs, assignment of counselors and expansion of committee • Hired College-Wide Director of Veterans Affairs • Established Veteran’s Resource Center • Hired additional staff

20. Identify your institution and state
Identify your institution and state. What resources do you offer to support military-connected students?

21. Best Practices • Established point of contact in key service departments • Veteran’s Lounge • Student Veteran’s Association • Veteran’s Resource Center • Veteran Work-Study • College seminar designated for military-connected students • in-state tuition rates for veteran students • Newsletter to military-connected students • Buddy checks

22. Recent Projects & Future Directions •Relocation of a certifying official to be housed in the Veteran’s Resource Center •Establishment of Vet Success on campus •Provide course offerings on local Air National Guard base

23. Questions Teresa Morales moralet@sunysuffolk
Questions Teresa Morales Toni-Anne Nhotsoubanh

24. References Bellone, S. (2018). Suffolk County Serving Veterans
References Bellone, S. (2018). Suffolk County Serving Veterans. Retrieved from Community College Research Center. (2017). College’s Experiences Integrating Support Services for Military Veterans. Retrieved from Community College Research Center. (2016). Improving Student Services for Military Veterans. Retrieved from Cook, B.J. & Kim, Y. (2009). From Soldier to Student: Easing the Transition of Service Members on Campus. Retrieved from Evans, N.J., Forney, D.S., Guido, F.M., Patton, L.D. & Renn, K.A. (2010). Student Development in College: Theory, Research and Practice. (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Grifften, K.A. & Gilbert, C.K. (2015). Better Transitions for Troops: An Application of Schlossberg’s Transition Framework to Analyses of Barriers and Institutional Support Structures for Student Veterans. The Journal of Higher Education, 86 (1), Retrieved from

25. References (Continued) Heineman, J. A. (2016)
References (Continued) Heineman, J.A. (2016). Supporting Veterans: Creating a “military friendly” community college campus. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 40 (3), doi / Kim, Y.M. & Cole, J.S. (2013). Student Veterans/Service Members’ Engagement in College and University Life and Education. American Council on Education. Retrieved from Kirchner, M.J. (2015). Supporting Student Veteran Transition to College and Academic Success. Adult Learning, 26 (3), doi: / Miles, R.A. (2014). Career and Life Transition of Veterans Enrolled in Community Colleges and Programs Developed to Meet their Needs. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 30 (3), Retrieved from Molina, D. (2014). Higher Ed Spotlight: Undergraduate Student Veterans. Retrieved from Osborne, N.J. (2014). Veteran Ally: Strategies for Closing the Military-Civilian Gap on Campus. Innovative Higher Education, 39, doi: /s z

26. References (Continued) Student Veterans of America. (2017)
References (Continued) Student Veterans of America. (2017). Research Brief: Profile of the Contemporary Student Veteran. Retrieved from Student Veterans of America. (n.d.). National Veteran Education Success Tracker. Retrieved from Suffolk County Community College. (2018). Suffolk at a Glance. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Education (n.d.). 8 Keys to Veterans'’ Success Sites. Retrieved from Vacchi, D.T. (2012). Considering Student Veterans on the Twenty-First-Century College Campus. About Campus. Retrieved from

27. Thank you for joining us today!
Please remember to complete your online evaluation following the conference.
See you in Los Angeles in 2019!