for Student Service Members and Veterans in Indiana

Transcription

1 Apil 2009 The Highe Eduction Lndscpe fo Student Sevice Membes nd Vetens in Indin Mtin Stenbeg, Shelley McDemid Wdswoth, Jo Vughn, nd Ryn Clson Mility Fmily Resech Institute t Pudue Univesity Suppot Len Gow Undestnd KEY:Sevice povided. Stff ws uncetin if sevice povided; o sevice povided on cse-by-cse bsis. Sevice not povided on tht cmpus. Mility FmilyResech Institute t Pudue Univesity Highe 1402 West Eduction Stte Steet, Lndscpe PWF West Lfyette, IN

2 Dediction Po Bonos Vetenos Fo The Good of Vetens The willingness with which ou young people e likely to seve in ny w, no mtte how justified, shll be diectly popotionte s to how they peceive the vetens of elie ws wee teted nd ppecited by thei ntion. Geoge Wshington

3 Tble of Contents Intoduction... 5 Indin Answes the Cll to Seve... 5 GI Bill Covege Is Expnding... 5 New Legisltion... 6 An Emeging Need... 6 Who e Student Sevice Membes nd Vetens?... 7 ntditionl Students... 7 The Uniqueness of Student Sevice Membes nd Vetens... 7 Specil Needs... 8 The Impotnce of Suppot fo Students... 9 Going to the Souce: Wht Highe Eduction Institutions Repot?... 9 Who Ws Contcted... 9 How Dt Wee Gtheed...10 Inteview Questions...10 Wht did Stff Membes nd Administtos Tell Us?...11 Admissions...11 Finncil Aid...12 Acdemic Affis...13 Student Sevices...14 Netwoks...15 Rtings of Helpfulness...15 Summy of Item Responses...15 Diffeences between Stff Membe nd Administto Responses...15 Wht Kinds of Institutions Offe Moe?...16 Type of Institution...16 Institution Size...16 Type of Degee...16 Pesence of Gdute Pogms...16 Summy...16 Wht the Dt Tell Us?...16 Oppotunities nd Chllenges in Indin...17 Mching Fowd One Step t Time...18 Innovtive Pctices Aound The County...18 Admissions...18 Finncil Aid...19 Housing...19 Student Suppot Sevices...19 Counseling nd Disbility Sevices...20 Seveely Wounded Student Vetens...20 Acdemic Affis...20 Student Sevice Membes nd Vetens Enich the Lening Envionment...21 Conclusion...21 Refeences...24 Appendix A: Oveview of Colleges Contcted nd Responses Received...29 Appendix B: Detiled Responses fo Individul Institutions...35 Highe Eduction Lndscpe 3

4 Mility FmilyResech Institute t Pudue Univesity 4

5 Intoduction The od to highe eduction cn be long nd chllenging. The demnds of cdemic wok combined with employment, fmily, fiends, nd socil life pove insumountble fo some students (Kczewski, 2008). Students who e now seving o hve seved thei county in the Amed Foces nd wnt to ttend college my fce unique obstcles tht impede thei pogess. In this epot, we conside the needs of student sevice membes nd vetens nd the ediness of cmpuses coss Indin to seve them. We lso highlight innovtive pogmming coss the ntion tht ddesses gps in suppot fo student sevice membes nd vetens. The United Sttes is cuently expeiencing the longest nd lgest-scle sustined involvement in w in ecent histoy. Ove 1.6 million deployments hve occued to suppot Opetion Iqi Feedom (OIF) in Iq nd/o Opetion Enduing Feedom (OEF) in Afghnistn nd ove 420,000 toops hve seved on multiple deployments (Kob, Rundlett, Begmnn, Duggn, & Juul, 2007). The dwdown in the size of the Amed Foces duing the 1990s incesed the ole of the Ntionl Gud nd Reseves in ou ntion s mility. As esult, membes of the Ntionl Gud nd Reseves e cuently seving longe, moe fequent deployments thn since Wold W II, with ppoximtely 38% deployed, nd 84,000 deploying moe thn once (Kob, Rundlett, Begmnn, Duggn, & Juul, 2007). When they e not on ctive duty, mny membes of the Ntionl Gud nd Reseves e students t institutions of highe lening. Afte completing thei sevice, mny ctive duty mility membes pusue highe eduction using the benefits they eceive vi the GI Bill. The pesence of student sevice membes nd vetens on college cmpuses nd thei fmilies is likely to incese given ecent expnsions in GI Bill benefits nd continued lge-scle deployments. Indin Answes the Cll to Seve In cities nd towns thoughout Indin nd the county, sevice membes e being clled fom thei civilin lives s students, wokes, pents, nd childen to deploy ound the wold fo extended peiods of time, in mny cses epetedly. Indin contibutes dispopotionte she of these sevice membes: despite being the 15th most populous stte, Indin nks 10th in its contibution of citizens to the Ntionl Gud nd Reseves with bout 15,000 membes (Smith, 2004; Indin Ntionl Gud, 2009). Duing the cuent w, the Indin Ntionl Gud hs expeienced 15,719 deployments. Accoding to the Deptment of Vetens Affis (VA), Indin is home to ove 500,000 vetens with 13% of the popultion holding veten sttus (Ntionl Cente fo Vetens Anlysis nd Sttistics, 2001). Indin is lso home to bout 1,300 ctive duty sevice membes, most of whom seve in ROTC pogms o s ecuites. Although Indin hs n impessive numbe of mility membes nd vetens, the stte is cuently not home to ny ctive duty mility instlltions. As esult, mility membes nd thei fmilies must tvel to neighboing sttes fo ccess to some mility suppot sevices including commissies, medicl ce, nd othe benefits povided to ctive duty sevice membes. Students who e now seving o hve seved in the Amed Foces nd wnt to ttend college my fce unique obstcles. As of July 2008, 7,507 sevice membes wee using thei GI benefits in Indin. Between one thid nd one hlf of ll mility membes e 25 yes of ge o younge (46.5% in the Active Component; 32.8% in the Ntionl Gud nd Selected Reseves; Deputy Unde Secety of Defense, Mility Community nd Fmily Policy, 2008). Fo such young men nd women, ening degee o cetifiction is ntul step in the tnsition bck to civilin life o to futhe mility cee. Thousnds of sevice membes nd vetens e cuently students t institutions of highe lening in Indin. As of July 2008, 7,507 sevice membes wee using thei GI benefits in Indin (U.S. Deptment of Vetens Affis [VA], 2008). This numbe does not include mility childen who ttend college t educed tes s childen of disbled vetens o mility spouses. GI Bill Covege Is Expnding Oiginlly encted in 1944, the Sevicemen s Redjustment Act (GI Bill) ws widely used by sevice membes. Howeve, tuition eimbusement tes did not keep up with the ising Highe Eduction Lndscpe 5

6 cost of eduction, leding to the Post-9/11 Vetens Eductionl Assistnce Act of 2008 o New GI Bill, which will substntilly incese tuition benefits fo some vetens nd will go into effect on August 1, The New GI Bill is n eductionl benefit pogm fo individuls who seved on ctive duty on o fte Septembe 11, 2001 (VA, 2008b). The New GI Bill moe thn doubles cuent GI Bill benefits nd inceses the numbe of sevice membes who cn utilize those benefits by coveing ll sevice membes including those in the Ntionl Gud nd Reseve who hve seved on ctive duty fo moe thn 90 dys since Septembe 11, Vetens my lso eceive full benefits if they seved t lest 30 continuous dys on ctive duty fte 9-11 nd wee dischged becuse of disbility cused by thei sevice (U.S. Deptment of Vetens Affis, 2008). Given the expnsion of the funding nd eligibility, the extension of benefits to fmily membes, nd pesent dy emphses on highe eduction, institutions of highe lening could see n incese in sevice membes nd vetens within thei student bodies in the coming months nd yes. New Legisltion The Highe Eduction Oppotunity Act ws signed August 14, 2008 nd becme Public Lw (U.S. Deptment of Eduction, 2008). This lw equies tht eductionl lendes exclude VA benefits o mility llownces fom clcultions of income fo fedel id. It futhe mndtes the inteest te fo Fedel student lons be held t no moe thn 6% duing such obligtions. Futhe, PL mkes povision fo e-dmission of students due to ctive duty sevice in the Amed Foces, to include Ntionl Gud nd Reseves. On the bttlefield, the mility pledges to leve no soldie behind. As ntion, let it be ou pledge tht when they etun home, we leve no veten behind. Nncy Pelosi An Emeging Need The Mility Fmily Resech Institute ws fist leted to the needs nd concens of student sevice membes nd vetens by senio executive of the Indin Ntionl Gud, who commented tht highe eduction institutions in ou stte seemed unevenly peped to undestnd nd espond to the needs of student sevice membes nd vetens. With this impetus, MFRI seched fo existing esech nd documents elted to the needs of student sevice membes nd vetens, s well s elevnt existing nd pending legisltion. We lso initited convestions with student vetens t cmpuses in Indin nd the Midwest egion, ntionl ogniztions of student vetens, nd othe ntionl ogniztions with elevnt expetise, such s the Ameicn Council on Eduction (ACE) nd the Sevicemembes Oppotunity Colleges (SOC). At the invittion of the Roudebush Vetens Administtion Medicl Cente, MFRI pticipted in oundtble with othe inteested ptnes to identify issues elted to highe eduction. Student veten issues wee identified by this goup s pessing poblem in Indin. Ou initil explotions eveled tht student sevice membes, vetens, nd thei fmily membes my peceive themselves s hving unique expeiences tht set them pt fom othe students (DiRmio, Ackemn & Mitchell, 2008). Like othe nontditionl students, student sevice membes nd vetens nd thei fmilies my hve inteuptions o delys in thei eduction, be uncetin bout thei ediness to succeed in college, nd bing life expeiences to thei student oles tht othes lck. Howeve, some of the content of student sevice membes nd vetens expeiences my be unique young mn wlking into n ivy-coveed hll tody might only two weeks befoe hve been fiing dedly wepon in the steets of Bghdd. t supisingly, student vetens sometimes feel tht thei highe eduction institutions e pooly peped to seve them (DiRmio et l., 2008). The Deptment of Defense (D) nd Vetens Affis (VA) hve ceted nd continue to gow substntil infstuctues to help student sevice membes nd vetens pply fo thei GI Bill benefits nd identify cdemic pogms they might wnt to ttend. Howeve, ou ely infomtiongtheing suggested tht the concens of student sevice membes nd vetens evolved moe ound the chllenges of enteing, feeling welcomed by nd comfotble in, nd succeeding in institutions of highe eduction, thn ound the mount of money given to cove tuition nd expenses. Most student vetens who spoke with us peceived tht both weness of student vetens needs nd sevices wee lcking on thei cmpuses. Fo instnce, when sked bout the tnsition into college, student veten fom Pudue told MFRI stff, The numeous plces you hve to cll to find out bout you benefits cn be fustting. In qulittive study by DiRmio et l. (2008, p. 89), while discussing sevices povided by VA epesenttives, wounded student epoted, Thee s nothing hee fo vetens... I got no help. When discussing getting into college nothe student veten in DiRmio s study (2008, p. 90) epoted, Getting to college did not go smoothly... I think it s becuse I fogot to stt filling Mility FmilyResech Institute t Pudue Univesity 6

7 out my foms, o I wsn t filling them out in timely mnne. I don t know wht it ws, but they [college stff] didn t like me. A combt veten in the Iq nd Afghnistn Vetens Assocition (IAVA) ws finncilly penlized when he ws ctivted fo second deployment to Iq hlfwy though his degee pogm nd two weeks wy fom finls. His college mde no ccommodtions, focing him to withdw fom clsses. While deployed to Iq, he ws wounded nd wded the Puple Het nd Commendtion medl fo Vlo. Despite notifying lendes tht he ws leving on combt deployment, he etuned home to find tht his student lons hd been sent to collection. Stuggling to mke pyments nd keep up with clsses, he ws foced to leve school (Willimson, 2008). While ech of these exmples could be dismissed s n isolted cse, collectively they illustte the divese difficulties tht student sevice membes nd vetens cn expeience when ttempting to tnsition fom mility sevice to highe eduction in civilin communities. Who e Student Sevice Membes nd Vetens? Tody s student vetens she mny of the chcteistics of othe nontditionl students, but e lso unique. Like mny othe nontditionl students, vetens my hve been out of the eductionl envionment fo peiod of time, nd sometimes ive on cmpus with outside esponsibilities to spouses nd childen. Becuse mility membes e moe ethniclly divese nd come fom lowe socioeconomic sttus thn the genel popultion, they e moe likely thn othe students to be the fist in thei fmily to ttend college (McLen & Elde, 2007). Unlike mny othe students, student sevice membes nd vetens my hve hd the unique expeience of being mobilized to w zone with little dvnce notice. They might hve ecently etuned fom combt nd could be combining thei tnsition to highe eduction with tnsitions out of the mility nd to new community of esidence. This complex combintion of tnsitions cn give ise to unique chllenges fo student sevice membes nd vetens, who my benefit fom mny of the sme sevices s nontditionl students, but lso equie diffeent pogmmtic inititives. ntditionl Students While tditionl students e pimily between the ges of 17-22, come to college diectly fom high school, live on o ne cmpus, nd hve student s thei pimy ole (Teenzini, Pscell & Blimling, 1996), nontditionl students e typiclly defined s students who e olde, hve been out of the eductionl system fo some time, nd hold multiple Highe Eduction Lndscpe oles in ddition to tht of student, such s pent nd spouse. Bumn, Wng, DeLeon, Kfentz, nd Lindsey (2004) epot tht nontditionl students identify cee, self-impovement, nd fmily issues s pimy esons fo thei e-enty into college. Accoding to the US Deptment of Eduction, the popotion of students who e 25 yes o olde nd enolled in postsecondy eduction incesed fom 28% in the 1970s to 44% in Some nontditionl students e of tditionl ge but hve hd nontditionl expeiences (Aslnin & Bickell, 1988; Ben & Metzne, 1985; Hon, 1996); mny student sevice membes nd vetens would fll into this ctegoy. Although most nontditionl students likely hve the bility to succeed in highe eduction, they my fce obstcles in stting nd stying in college becuse of the complicted blend of cdemic, socil, fmily, nd cultul chllenges they fce. Becuse of thei obligtions to wok nd fmily, nontditionl students my be less ble thn othe students to use suppotive cmpus sevices tht e vilble only duing the dy (Coss, 1981; Hill, Godon & Kim, 2002). Even though the nontditionl student popultion is lge nd incesing, mny post-secondy institutions hve been slow to develop new sttegies to meet thei needs (Knowles, 1990). Sevel studies hve shown tht when esouces e mde vilble to ssist nontditionl students, they cn chieve cdemiclly s well o bette thn tditionl students (Kswom, 1980; Wight, Smith & Buge, 1978). Studies hve shown, fo exmple, tht nontditionl students hve moe extensive pio knowledge to link to thei couse content (Ghm & nldson, 1999; Kswom, 1997), tht they mnge thei time well by plnning, pioitizing, nd ogniztion (Kimi nd Khn, 2007), nd tht they e often vey self-diected lenes (Ghm & nldson, 1999; Hughes & Ghm, 1990; Kswom, 1997). I only eget tht I hve but one life to give fo my county. Nthn Hle The Uniqueness of Student Sevice Membes nd Vetens Mility cultue emphsizes vlues like hono, stength, self-elince, discipline, nd espect fo uthoity. Regdless of thei bnch of sevice, mility membes she customs nd coutesies in eltion to dily dess, use of lnguge, nd outines nd ituls which help which help to foste collective identity nd vlues. Mility cultue lso emphsizes unit cohesion nd scifice fo othes, but self-elince in chllenging cicumstnces. 7

8 ity cultues, they hve been tught to hono obligtions to othe membes of thei cultue (Rendon, Jlmo, & Amuy, 2000). Like membes of othe minoity cultues, student sevice membes nd vetens encounte misundestnding nd steeotypes bout thei motives nd expeiences. It is not supising when student vetens nd vetens look to thei pees fo undestnding, suppot, nd stength. Like othe minoity students, student sevice membes nd vetens my feel tht only pees with expeience in mility cultue cn undestnd thei expeiences. Just s the pespectives of othe minoity students should be consideed on thei own tems nd not judged ccoding to the stndds of the dominnt cultue, student sevice membes nd vetens should be undestood in thei own ight. Just s the pespectives of othe minoity students should not be judged ccoding to the stndds of the dominnt cultue, student sevice membes nd vetens should be undestood in thei own ight. Student sevice membes nd vetens hve expeience in mility envionments whee they know wht deptment o office to go to egdless of whee in the wold they e. In contst, student sevice membes nd vetens on college cmpuses find divese nd confusing y of equiements, fcilities, nd sevices. Thei tining fo stength nd self-elince my mke it difficult fo them to sk fo help (DiRmio et l., 2008). Student sevice membes descibe shing the expeience of being iitted nd imptient with clssmtes they peceive s likely to whine bout nything. In one study, student veten tlked bout the juxtposition of his college expeience nd witnessing the hnging of buned bodies in Iq: You go fom tht sitution to sitting in English clss tying to len bout dngling pticiples with 18 ye old feshmen sking if you killed nybody. You cn see the fusttion is petty hd (Redden, 2008, Clssmtes s Temmtes, p 1). Anothe student sid, I cme bck knowing I could hndle nything, but I ws wong. Thee wee so mny things tht chnged so quickly. I hd seen so much destuction nd so much deth. I couldn t elte to the students ll those hppy people on cmpus who hd no ide wht ws hppening in Iq. I dnk lone in my oom t night. I knew things ween t ight. Thnkfully I found people who could help (Hoskins, 2006, p. 22). In mny wys, student sevice membes nd vetens constitute minoity cultue. Like membes of othe mino- Some student vetens feel lone nd isolted when beginning college nd need some ssistnce o comfotble plce to go to fulfill thei socil integtion needs (Chickeing & Reisse, 1993). Student vetens feel need to connect with student veten pees who hve simil wold expeience nd mtuity levels. Socil connectedness nd identity integtion e common themes mong student vetens (Chickeing & Reisse, 1993). Studies of both civilin nd mility students hve found positive eltionships between sense of connection to the college o univesity nd cdemic pesistence nd success (Elkins, Bxton, nd Jmes, 2000; Kelly, 1996). Specil Needs Unlike Opetions Deset Shield nd Deset Stom in the 1990s, Opetions Iqi Feedom nd Enduing Feedom (in Afghnistn) e pimily boots on the gound cmpigns, with polonged nd extensive involvement of infnty toops, mny of whom e constntly in dnge nd fequently in combt. Theefoe, mny student sevice membes nd vetens hve ecently been plced t isk fo medicl issues elted to the physicl nd envionmentl conditions of deployment (e.g., psites, exteme climte, nd chemicl exposue), combt stess, Post-Tumtic Stess Disode (PTSD), tumtic bin injuy (TBI), nd othe chllenges (DiRmio et l., 2008). Significnt dvnces in combt medicine hve incesed the numbe of wounded vetens etuning fom combt who peviously would hve died. The Deptment of Defense epots tht ppoximtely 33,000 wounded vetens hve etuned fom combt, nd tht 75% of the seveely wounded e likely to be mediclly etied fom the mility, often to seek new cees tht my equie dditionl eduction fo them nd/o thei fmily membes (Cgg, 2008). A substntil minoity of sevice membes lso etun with psychologicl injuies. Combt-elted stess is noml esponse to the hoible sights nd sounds of w, nd does not Mility FmilyResech Institute t Pudue Univesity 8

9 lwys esolve esily o quickly. As esult, some student sevice membes nd vetens will come to college with PTSD, depession, nxiety, o othe psychologicl helth chllenges. In ddition, significnt minoity of sevice membes hve expeienced TBI, mostly mild injuies in the fom of concussion (Cte, 2008). TBI nd psychologicl injuies like PTSD e not esily visible to othes, which cn sometimes led to mispeceptions by fculty nd othe students of student sevice membes nd vetens behvio. Due to the possible impending incese in the pesence of student membes, vetens, nd thei fmilies on college cmpuses, the demnd fo tnsition nd suppot sevices my gow. Futhe, in Indin the childen of disbled vetens e gnted fee emission in college which my esult in n incesed numbe of childen of disbled vetens ttending college in Indin. The Impotnce of Suppot fo Students Student vetens ccess ll es of institutions of highe lening, fom dmissions nd finncil id to counseling nd student life. deptment is exempt. Helping students connect to the institution is pioity fo mny student ffis pofessionls (Boye, 1990). When cmpuses povide inclusive nd suppotive envionments (Blimling & Whitt, 1999; Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, & Whitt, 2006), student etention nd success inceses (Tinto, 1990). One wy to impove inclusion is to povide sevices suppoting the needs of unique subpopultions of students, including students with disbilities, fist genetion nd fist ye students, intentionl students, nd othes. Specil pogmming fo unique student popultions lso pomotes student success by incesing socil connection mong students nd with the institution. Student vetens hve been ctive in inititing effots to incese suppot on college cmpuses. As ely s 1972, student vetens t the Univesity of Wisconsin fomed goup to suppot the needs of student vetens nd thei fmilies. A gowing need fo such ogniztions esulted in the cetion of the Ntionl Student Vetens of Ameic in Jnuy This colition of student veten goups coss Ameic hs s its mission to ssist in ceting new student goups, coodinte between goups, nd dvocte fo student vetens on the locl, stte, nd ntionl level (Student Vetens of Ameic, 2008). The impotnce of student vetens ogniztions cn be summized in the wods of combt student veten fom Pudue, who stted: When I initilly begn to pply to schools, mny dmissions deptments fom vious univesities wee unhelpful. Once I ws hee (s student), the fist few weeks wee vey tough; eveything fom no sleeping, to bd nightmes, to ult-vigilnce. These poblems nd moe mde the socil e-integtion fo me vey difficult. Moeove, getting bck into the hythm of studying nd tht sot of mindset is vey difficult. Assimiltion ovell ws vey difficult, nd fotuntely I met few guys with the sme bckgound s myself, mking tht pocess bette. Becuse of this, we hve stted student vetens ogniztion, so tht othes will know whee to find cmdeie. Despite widesped necdotl evidence, thee is little systemtic esech on the cicumstnces student sevice membes nd vetens fce on college cmpuses. In pticul, no dt is vilble egding the highe eduction lndscpe in Indin. Fo this eson, we decided to gthe systemtic infomtion fom evey institution in the stte. Going to the Souce: Wht Highe Eduction Institutions Repot? MFRI sought to gin deepe undestnding of the lndscpe of suppot fo student sevice membes nd vetens in the univesities nd colleges coss Indin. Ou gols wee to: 1) Assess weness of the student veten popultion in colleges nd univesities in Indin, 2) Detemine wht suppots nd sevices cuently exist to ssist mility membes nd thei fmilies s they ente o etun to highe eduction, 3) Incese weness of the needs of student sevice membes nd vetens needs, nd 4) Incese the visibility of pomising pogmming fo student sevice membes nd vetens. Ultimtely, we imed to identify gps in suppot fo student sevice membes nd vetens nd to she possible new sttegies tht institutions could implement to ensue ccess nd success fo this unique popultion. Who Ws Contcted MFRI contcted ll of the institutions of highe lening tht offe couses fo cedit in Indin, including both fo-pofit nd not-fo-pofit institutions. We etieved the listing of cmpuses in Indin by using the 50sttes.com nd the Indin Commission on Highe Eduction websites. Bnch cmpuses wee typiclly counted s single institutions becuse in most cses ech cmpus povided diffeent esponses to the questions posed. In two cses, individul pogms wee counted s cmpuses becuse thei missions wee unique to meeting the needs of milityconnected students. These institutions wee the continuing eduction pogms t the Univesity of Evnsville nd Indin Univesity. Ivy Tech college cmpuses wee ech contcted septely, but fte the study begn, the centl dministtion of tht institution collboted with the cmpuses to poduce single institutionl esponse; we include s one of Highe Eduction Lndscpe 9

10 the institutions in the study specil enty fo the Ivy Tech system. Indin Business College lso esponded s centl dministtion nd s septe cmpuses; we included enties fo ll. The finl list compised 91 cmpuses. A list of ll of the cmpuses o pogms contcted ppes t the beginning of Appendix A. We coded ech of the ogniztions ccoding to the Cnegie Clssifiction of Institutions of Highe Eduction. infomtion ws vilble fo Bown Mckie College in South Bend o the continuing eduction pogms t the Univesity of Evnsville nd Indin Univesity (Cnegie Foundtion, 2007). Accoding to the Cnegie clssifictions, 33% of the institutions e public, 44% e pivte not-fo-pofit, nd 19.8% e pivte fo-pofit. Most of the institutions (84.6%) hve fewe thn 10,000 students, nd most (51.6%) only offe undegdute pogms. Ovell, 35.2% of the institutions offe pimily o only Assocites degees, while 25.3% offe pimily Pofessionl degees. Tbles 1.1 though 1.4 povide moe detiled infomtion bout the institutions. Tble 1.1 Public/Pivte Clssifiction Numbe Pecent Public % Pivte fo pofit Pivte not-fo-pofit Cnegie infomtion vilble Totl 91 Tble Institutionl Size Numbe Pecent Up to 10,000 students % Moe thn 10,000 students Cnegie infomtion vilble Totl 91 Tble Pesence of Gdute Pogms Numbe Pecent gdute pogms % Some o lot of gdute pogms Specil focus Cnegie infomtion vilble Totl Undegdute Instuctionl Pogm Tble 1.4 Numbe Pecent Assocites dominnt % Ats nd sciences dominnt Blnced ts nd sciences; nd pofessions Pofessions dominnt Specil focus Cnegie infomtion vilble Totl 91 How Dt Wee Gtheed Becuse ou gol ws to len bout institutions pogms, policies nd pctices in the sme wy tht student sevice membes nd vetens might, two MFRI stff membes who wee, espectively, student veten nd the fmily membe of veten conducted ll inteviews. Contct with ech cmpus begn with n initil cll to the min cmpus numbe to seek nswes to sevel specific questions. At most institutions, it ws necessy to mke dditionl clls o be tnsfeed to sevel offices (up to 12 clls o offices) to cquie nswes to ll questions. Duing the telephone clls, the esponses of univesity stff membes to ech question wee ecoded in witing. Afte the initil ound of inteviews ws completed, ll of the infomtion povided fo ech institution ws compiled into n institutionl epot, which ws then sent by U.S. mil to senio dministto t the institution, usully the povost o pesident, long with cove lette inviting confimtion nd coection of the infomtion in the epot. A totl of 77 institutions esponded; 14 institutions did not espond despite numeous invittions. Infomtion povided by stff membes nd senio dministtos ws enteed septely fo ou nlyses. Inteview Questions The inteview contined 11 questions tht wee developed bsed on existing esech nd inteviews with student vetens. The questions wee gouped into five ctegoies nd wee chosen to eflect es of the univesity with which students intect duing thei cdemic cees. The fist e ws Admissions, whee we focused on the ese with which student sevice membes nd vetens wee likely to be ble to be dmitted o e-dmitted to the institution. The specific questions wee: you wd cedit fo mility expeience o couses Mility FmilyResech Institute t Pudue Univesity 10

11 tken while in the mility? deployed, will student veten hve to e-pply upon etun fom deployment? The second e ws Finncil Aid, which indicted how knowledgeble stff membes nd dministtos wee bout the dministtion of finncil benefits fo student sevice membes nd vetens, nd the degee to which institutions wee ccommodting of mid-semeste deployments. The thee specific questions wee: es the GI Bill continue between semestes? you wive tuition if using the GI Bill o voctionl ehbilittion? deployed mid semeste, do you cedit o eimbuse tuition? The thid goup of questions focused on Acdemic Affis nd delt with cedit nd pogm equiements typiclly oveseen by fculty govennce committees nd ffect the degee to which student sevice membes nd vetens cn minimize disuptions in thei eduction. The two questions wee: deployed duing semeste cn the student veten be given n incomplete nd be llowed to mke-up cousewok upon etun? the student veten is gdute student, cn he o she be given n extension to complete gdute cousewok if deployed while in the gdute pogm? The fouth goup of questions focused on Student Sevices, which indicted the degee to which institutions hd suppotive pogms nd sevices ledy in plce fo student sevice membes nd vetens. The fou questions in this goup wee: Is thee designted peson to wok with student vetens? Cn tht peson efe students to Disbility Suppot Sevices? you hve student veten ogniztion? you hve specil ssistnce fo fmily membes of vetens? Pticipnts gve one of fou esponses to ech question: yes, no, don t know, o mybe o cse-by-cse decision. The finl ctegoy of questions, the Netwok ctegoy, petined to institutionl pticiption in ogniztions tht hve the gol of suppoting student sevice membes nd vetens. The fist ogniztion is the Sevicemembes Oppotunity Colleges, which is ntionl ogniztion compising institutions tht hve committed to poviding specific set of suppots, nd the VA Roundtble, n infoml stte ogniztion of institutions who begn meeting egully in 2008 to discuss the needs of student sevice membes nd vetens. Thee wee two questions in this goup, fo which the nswes wee gtheed by the eseches fom extenl souces. The infomtion ws coded s yes o no. : Ae you membe of SOC? Ae you membe of the VA Roundtble? Wht did Stff Membes nd Administtos Tell Us? In this section of the epot, we summize the esponses of stff membes nd dministtos to the individul questions in ou inteview, gouped by content e. Admissions This goup of questions focused on the ese with which mility students cn ente nd e-ente institutions of highe eduction. Gphs 1.1 nd 1.2 summize the esponses to ech question. Gph 1.1 Gph 1.2 key: you wd cedit fo mility cousewok nd/o expeience? key: Stff (n=89) Administtos (n=77) YES mybe no don t know Stff (n=89) deployed, will the sevice membe hve to epply fo dmission upon etun fom deployment? Administtos (n=76) YES mybe no don t know Highe Eduction Lndscpe 11

12 you wd cedit fo mility cousewok nd/o expeience? Among stff membes, 56.2% epoted tht cedit would be given, nd 32.6% epoted tht cedit could be given fo mility eduction nd/o expeience. Administtos epots wee moe positive, with 66.2% epoting tht cmpuses wd some fom of cedit fo mility tnscipts nd/o mility expeience, nd 26.0% esponding mybe. Mility sevice incopotes consideble tining. Mny sevice membes eceive pofessionl tining nd eduction s pt of thei mility expeience. All sevice membes lso go though stenuous physicl fitness egime in boot cmp, nd could potentilly eceive cedits fo physicl eduction o fitness. The mility povides suppot fo sevice membes to pusue eduction duing thei sevice, nd mny institutions of highe eduction offe clsses on mility instlltions o online fo sevice membes. The bility to eceive mximum cedit fo mility tining nd pio cousewok cn be vey helpful to student sevice membes nd vetens. The Ameicn Council on Eduction (ACE) hs estblished stingent evlution pocess tht ssesses mility tining bsed on high qulity stndds tht include igoous eview of couses by subject-mtte expets nd fculty membes. The evlutos ive t consensus ecommendtions egding tnsfe cedits. Colleges nd univesities coss the county cn use the ACE guidelines, which e publicly vilble on the ACE website, to detemine exctly which types of mility tining would qulify fo cedit on thei cmpuses ( deployed, will the sevice membe hve to epply fo dmission upon etun fom deployment? Regding e-ppliction, 38.2% of stff membes epoted tht student sevice membe would hve to e-enoll nd 7.9% esponded mybe. Among senio dministtos, the coesponding pecentges wee 23.7% nd 7.9%. Gph 2.1 key: Gph 2.2 Stff (n=89) you wive the tuition dedline if the sevice membe is using the GI bill o voctionl ehbilittion? Administtos (n=77) YES mybe no don t know GI benefits continue between semestes t you institution? key: Stff (n=89) Administtos (n=77) YES mybe no don t know Ntionl Gud, Resevists nd ctive duty sevice membes e deploying t levels not seen fo decdes. Students cn be clled to deploy with eltively little notice, nd though no fult of thei own, my be wy fom cmpus fo extended peiods. Cmpuses cn smooth e-enty to college fte deployment by not equiing student vetens to e-pply fo dmission upon etun. In ddition, Public Lw mndtes tht sevice membes who e clled to ctive duty fo peiod of 30 dys o moe be ble to etun to cmpus in the sme student sttus s when they wee ctivted. Gph 2.3 deployed mid-semeste do you wd cedit o eimbuse tuition ledy pid? key: Stff (n=89) Administtos (n=77) Finncil Aid These questions focus on tuition nd finncil ssistnce policies s they elte to student sevice membes nd vetens. Gphs summize the esponses to these questions. YES mybe no don t know Mility FmilyResech Institute t Pudue Univesity 12

13 you wive the tuition dedline if the sevice membe is using the GI bill o voctionl ehbilittion? Accoding to stff membes esponses, 29.2% epoted tht tuition would be wived nd n dditionl 21.3% epoted tht tuition might be wived. Senio dministtos epots wee moe ffimtive: 48.1% epoted tht tuition would be wived nd 9.1% epoted tht tuition might be wived. Of those cmpuses tht do wive tuition, lmost 10% volunteeed the infomtion tht they wive tuition only fo voctionl ehbilittion, which is pid diectly to the institution, unlike G.I. Bill benefits tht e pid to the student. The new G.I. Bill will py benefits diectly to the institution. GI benefits continue between semestes t you institution? Both stff membes nd senio dministtos (86.5% nd 83.1% espectively) epoted tht G.I. Bill benefits would continue between semestes. Given tht fedel lw mndtes tht G.I. Bill benefits cn continue fo up to 56 dys between semestes, howeve, it is somewht supising tht thee wee not even moe yes esponses. Less thn 5% of stff membes o dministtos epoted tht benefits my continue. deployed mid-semeste do you wd cedit o eimbuse tuition ledy pid? Among stff membes, 41.6% epoted tht students would be eimbused if deployed mid-semeste, nd 27.0% epoted tht students might be eimbused. Among senio dministtos, 64.9% epoted they would cedit o eimbuse tuition if sevice membe ws deployed duing the semeste, nd 23.4% epoted tht they might be eimbused. Acdemic Affis This goup of questions focused on cedit nd pogm equiements tht ffect the degee to which student sevice membes nd vet ens cn minimize disuptions in thei eduction. Gphs 3.1 nd 3.2 summize these esponses. the sevice membe is deployed mid-semeste, will he/ she be given n incomplete nd mke up the cousewok upon etun? Stff membes epoted tht student veten would be given n incomplete o be llowed to mke up cousewok upon etun fom thei deployment 34.8% of the time, nd n dditionl 41.6% esponded tht this could occu. Almost twice s mny senio dministtos stted tht student veten would be llowed to eceive n incomplete o mke up cousewok upon etun fom deployment, nd n dditionl 29.9% esponded tht the student could be llowed. Aound 5% of senio dministtos nd stff membes esponded tht student veten could not mke up cousewok o be given n incomplete in the cse of deployment. Mility membes e being clled t unpecedented numbes to deploy to Iq, Afghnistn nd othe loctions, sometimes epetedly. Deployments cn hppen t ny time duing the semeste, nd sevice membes e ely given dequte time to ttend to ll of thei pesonl, cdemic, nd finncil ffis pio to deploying; the bility to en incompletes o mke up cousewok could be vey helpful. the student is gdute student, is he/she given n extension to complete the couse equiements bsed on how long they wee deployed? This question ws coded s not pplicble fo cmpuses without gdute pogms. As with the pevious question, moe thn twice s mny senio dministtos s stff membes epoted tht gdute students could be given n extension to complete gdute school if deployed while in the gdute pogm (58.5% vs. 26.3%). Almost twice s mny stff membes s dministtos, howeve, esponded tht this mybe could occu (50% vs. 29.3%). Gph 3.1 the sevice membe is deployed mid-semeste, will he/she be given n incomplete nd mke up the cousewok upon etun? key: Stff (n=89) Administtos (n=77) Gph 3.2 the student is gdute student, is he/she given n extension to complete the couse equiements bsed on how long they wee deployed? key: Stff (n=89); (: 51) Administtos (n=77); (n/: 36) YES mybe no don t know YES mybe no don t know Highe Eduction Lndscpe 13

14 Student Sevices This set of questions dels with suppotive sevices to ssist student sevice membes nd vetens nd thei fmilies. Gphs summizes the esponses to the questions in this goup. you hve designted peson to wok with mility membes? Among stff membes, 66.3% epoted tht thee ws designted peson to wok with vetens, nd 81.8% of senio dministtos gve the sme esponse. The discepncy suggests tht substntil minoity of stff membes did not know thee ws peson on thei cmpus who ws designted to wok with student vetens. one epoted mybe esponse to this question. Cn you contct peson diect wounded wios to disbility suppot sevices? When sked if thee ws someone who could efe student vetens to disbility suppot sevices, 52.8% of stff membes nd 76.6% of senio dministtos nsweed yes. dministtos, but 16.9% of stff membes esponded mybe to this question. you hve student veten ogniztion? Almost ll stff membes (94.4%) nd dministtos (85.7%) epoted thee ws no student veten ogniztion on thei cmpus. one nsweed mybe to this question. you hve specil ssistnce fo mility spouses/fmilies? Almost ll stff membes (98.9%) nd most dministtos Gph 4.1 you hve designted peson to wok with mility membes? key: Stff (n=89) Administtos (n=77) Gph 4.2 Cn you contct peson diect wounded wios to disbility suppot sevices? key: Stff (n=89) Administtos (n=77) YES mybe no don t know YES mybe no don t know Gph 4.3 you hve student veten ogniztion? Gph 4.4 Ae you membe of the VA Roundtble? key: Stff (n=89) Administtos (n=77) key: Stff (n=89) Administtos (n=77) YES mybe no don t know YES mybe no don t know Mility FmilyResech Institute t Pudue Univesity 14

15 (83.1%) epoted tht no sevices tgeting mility fmily membes wee vilble on thei cmpuses. one esponded mybe. Netwoks This goup of questions dels with cmpus pticiption in netwoks of eductionl institutions inteested in suppoting student sevice membes nd vetens. Tble 2.1 summizes dt elted to the questions in this goup. These questions wee not sked duing ou inteviews; the infomtion ws gtheed fom extenl souces. Tble 2.1 Yes Ae you membe of SOC? (n=91) 41.8% 58.2% Ae you membe of the VA Roundtble? (n=91) Ae you membe of SOC? Appoximtely 40% of cmpuses in Indin e membes of the Sevicemembes Oppotunity Colleges (SOC), consotium ceted in 1972 of ove 1,800 cmpuses committed to helping sevice membes, vetens, nd fmily membes ttin highe eduction. SOC is collbotion of the Ameicn Assocition of Stte Colleges nd Univesities (AASCU), the Ameicn Assocition of Community Colleges nd 13 othe eductionl ssocitions, the Deptment of Defense, the Ntionl Gud, nd the Cost Gud. Moe infomtion bout SOC is vilble t WhtIs.html. Ae you membe of the VA Roundtble? The Indinpolis VA Medicl Cente ceted oundtble of community ptnes inteested in undestnding gps in sevices fo vetens in Indin; bout 7% of the cmpuses in Indin wee involved in the Roundtble. The oundtble subsequently ceted tsk foce to conside specific sevices tht might be needed by student vetens. Rtings of Helpfulness Following completion of ech inteview, MFRI stff ted the difficulty of obtining the needed infomtion fom stff membes t tht cmpus. The tings ssigned wee, helpful, vege, o difficult to get nswes. This ws impotnt to do becuse pospective students who my ecently hve etuned fom the bttlefield hve complex tnsition bck to civilin life nd my esily become discouged when it is difficult to obtin nswes. Answes wee difficult to obtin t bout one in five institutions (22.5%), nd just slightly fewe institutions wee especilly helpful (16.9%). Sometimes we found it difficult to obtin nswes becuse mny telephone clls wee equied; sometimes it ws difficult becuse stff membe seemed unwilling o unble to povide nswes. Summy of Item Responses We exmined the esponses coss ll of the questions we sked. Acoss ll items, n vege of 37% of stff membes nd 50% of dministtos esponded tht the student sevice membe o veten WOULD eceive the sevice o benefit being sked bout. Aveging coss stff membes nd dministtos, the five items most likely to be nsweed yes o mybe included: One of the two items in the Admissions goup: you wd cedit fo mility cousewok nd/o expeience? Two of the thee items in the Finncil Aid goup: GI benefits continue between semestes t you institution? deployed mid-semeste do you wd cedit o eimbuse tuition ledy pid? Two of the fou items in the Student Sevices goup: you hve designted peson to wok with mility membes? Cn you contct peson diect wounded wios to disbility suppot sevices? items in the Acdemic Affis o the Netwok goups wee mong the most-endosed items. The questions lest likely to be nsweed with positive esponse wee: Two of the fou items in the Student Sevices goup: you hve student veten ogniztion? you hve specil ssistnce fo mility spouses/ fmilies? One of the two items in the Netwok goup: Ae you membe of the VA oundtble? Ovell, bout one thid of the institutions offe the sevices nd benefits we sked bout, suggesting tht thee is consideble oom fo n expnsion of oppotunities fo student sevice membes nd vetens in Indin. Diffeences between Stff Membe nd Administto Responses The esponses of stff membes nd dministtos wee often quite diffeent, with dministtos moe likely to give positive esponses. In ode to detemine whethe these diffeences wee sttisticlly significnt, we ssigned scoe of 0 fo no o don t know nswe,.5 fo mybe o cse by cse nswe, nd 1 fo yes nswe (except fo the item sking whethe student vetens would need to e-pply fo Highe Eduction Lndscpe 15

16 dmission whee scoe of 1 ws ssigned fo no nswe). We then used pied t-test sttistics to detemine whethe the diffeences between stff membes nd dministtos on ech item wee sttisticlly significnt. Ou nlyses eveled dministtos wee significntly moe likely to give positive nswes thn stff membes on 9 of the 13 questions we sked: deployed, will the sevice membe hve to epply fo dmission upon etun fom deployment? deployed mid-semeste do you wd cedit o eimbuse tuition ledy pid? the sevice membe is deployed mid-semeste, will he/ she be given n incomplete nd mke up the cousewok upon etun? the student is gdute student, is he/she given n extension to complete the couse equiements bsed on how long they wee deployed? you hve designted peson to wok with mility membes? Cn you contct peson diect wounded wios to disbility suppot sevices? you hve student veten ogniztion? you hve specil ssistnce fo fmily membes of vetens? Of couse it is not possible to know whose nswes bette eflect the elity on thei cmpus, especilly on lge nd complex cmpuses. But if dministtos esponses e moe ccute, it ppes tht stff membes my be unwe of esouces they could ecommend to student sevice membes nd vetens. stff membes esponses e moe ccute, dministtos my be oveestimting the esouces vilble to student sevice membes nd vetens nd thus undeestimting thei unmet needs. Wht Kinds of Institutions Offe Moe? We conducted nlyses to detemine wht kinds of institutions wee moe o less likely to offe cetin ctegoies of suppots to student sevice membes nd vetens. Fo these nlyses we focused on the five goups of items Admissions, Finncil Aid, Acdemic Affis, Student Sevices, nd Netwok. We ceted summy scoes fo ech of the five goups by summing the point scoe fo ech question; highe scoes indicte tht moe benefits o sevices wee offeed to students. Institutions fo which no Cnegie infomtion ws vilble wee excluded fom these nlyses. We clssified institutions ccoding to sevel chcteistics: Whethe the institution is public, pivte fo-pofit, o pivte not-fo-pofit; Whethe the institution is smlle o lge thn 10,000 students; The types of degees they offe (e.g., ts nd sciences vs. pofessions); Whethe o not the institution offes gdute degees; The distibution of Indin s highe eduction institutions ccoding to ech of these ctegoies ws summized in tbles elie in this epot. t supisingly, some of these ctegoies ovelp. Fo exmple, institutions offeing pofessionl degees e lso vey likely to offe gdute degees nd to be lge. Most of Indin s institutions of highe eduction (87.4%) e smlle thn 10,000 students. Type of Institution Both stff membes nd dministtos epoted gete vilbility of Student Sevices nd Netwok pticiption t public s opposed to pivte institutions. Fo dministtos only, scoes fo the Admissions ctegoy wee highe t public nd pivte not-fo-pofit thn t pivte fo-pivte institutions. Institution Size Both stff membes nd dministtos epoted gete vilbility of Student Sevices nd Netwok pticiption t lge institutions. Type of Degee Thee wee no significnt diffeences mong dministtos epots s function of the type of degee offeed by thei institution. Fo stff membes, scoes fo Student Sevices nd Netwok pticiption wee lowe in Ats & Sciences dominnt institutions thn Pofessions dominnt Institutions. Student Sevices scoes wee lso highe in Blnced Ats & Sciences nd Assocites dominnt institutions thn in Ats & Sciences dominnt institutions. Pesence of Gdute Pogms Fo stff membes only, scoes fo Student Sevices wee highe t institutions offeing gdute degees. Summy Most of the diffeences mong cmpuses cente on Student Sevices nd Netwok Pticiption. In genel, lge, public institutions nd those offeing gdute degees offe moe sevices thn smll o pivte institutions o those not offeing gdute degees nd e lso moe likely to pticipte in netwoks of cmpuses. Wht the Dt Tell Us? Reviewing the esults of ll of ou nlyses leds to sevel key obsevtions: Ovell, bout one thid of the institutions in Indin offe ech of the individul benefits o suppots we sked bout, leving consideble oom fo expnsion. Mility FmilyResech Institute t Pudue Univesity 16

17 At bout one in five cmpuses, it ws difficult to secue nswes to ou questions. The most common benefits o suppots included wding cedit fo mility tining nd expeience, efunding tuition when student sevice membes must withdw due to deployment, nd hving designted individuls to wok with o efe student sevice membes nd vetens (usully the cetifying officil). Aweness of GI Bill policies ws good, but updted tining will be impotnt s the new GI Bill is implemented. Thee e vey few student veten ogniztions coss Indin. Although not ll student vetens e seeking such goups, necdotl infomtion nd the cetion of ntionl ssocition of student vetens suggests tht thee my be unmet needs in this e. In ddition, lmost no cmpuses offe ny suppot fo mility fmily membes, nd little is known bout the needs nd pioities of this goup. Cmpuses ppe to be unevenly peped to del with disbility issues in the popultion of student sevice membes nd vetens. Student vetens my hve visible nd invisible injuies tht equie pope ttention fom Disbility Suppot Sevices. In multi-cmpus systems, policies nd pogms often diffeed by cmpus. One of the commitments cmpuses mke when they join the Sevicemembes Oppotunity Colleges is tht they will wd cedit fo mility expeience. In Indin, not ll of the SOC cmpuses epoted tht they would wd such cedit. Thus, thee my be oppotunities fo eduction egding the obligtions of SOC membeship. Thee wee significnt discepncies in the esponses eceived fom stff membes nd dministtos. Comped to dministtos, stff membes pinted pictue of cmpuses s less we, less peped nd offeing fewe oppotunities fo vetens. Most of the diffeences mong cmpuses cente on Student Sevices nd Netwok Pticiption. In genel, lge nd public institutions nd institutions offeing gdute degees offe moe sevices thn smll o pivte institutions o institutions not offeing gdute degees, nd e lso moe likely to pticipte in netwoks of cmpuses. Neve in the field of humn conflict ws so much owed by so mny to so few. Winston Chuchill Oppotunities nd Chllenges in Indin Indin is both simil to nd diffeent fom othe sttes in tems of the chllenges fcing student sevice membes nd vetens. Indin hs one of the lgest Ntionl Gud popultions in the county, but lso one of the smllest Active Duty popultions. As such, some mility membes nd vetens in Indin e locted f fom mility instlltions, which my incese feelings of isoltion nd educe the vilbility of suppot nd sevices fom the mility community. Pogms nd sevices tht help student sevice membes nd vetens to connect with ech othe nd incese thei integtion into the cmpus community my help to pomote thei cdemic pesistence nd success (Tinto, 1990). With the lck of esy ccess to mility instlltions, it is especilly impotnt but lso cn be chllenging to mke student sevice membes nd vetens we of the suppots nd sevices vilble to them. Student sevice membes nd vetens my not epot thei mility sttus if they e not using GI Bill o voctionl ehbilittion funds to ttend college. Spouses nd childen of vetens my epot thei sttus only if the veten is disbled nd the fmily membe is using fee emission. Cmpuses tht encouge ll students to epot thei mility sttus incese the likelihood tht they will be ble to ensue tht student sevice membes nd vetens e well-suppoted. Ou findings suggest tht the stff membes student sevice membes nd vetens tun to when they need ssistnce my not be fully we of ll elevnt cmpus policies nd sevices. The multi-cmpus systems in Indin povided diffeent esponses to ou questions fo ech cmpus. Anything tht mkes it esie fo students to get nswes to thei questions esily nd quickly educes fusttion nd cn impove thei peceptions of thei institution. Following ou clls, Ivy Tech developed systemwide set of esponses. In Indin smll pecentge of cmpuses belong to oundtble ceted specificlly to undestnd student veten needs, identify gps nd seek esouces. Joining consotium, oundtble o othe ogniztion tht is ttuned to student veten popultions nd thei unique needs cn help to genete cetive ides fo bidging gps in sevices nd esouces. Highe Eduction Lndscpe 17

18 Only smll popotion of cmpuses hve student vetens ogniztion. These ogniztions my help to connect student sevice membes nd vetens to thei cmpus community. Only smll popotion of Indin cmpuses hve student vetens ogniztion. Student veten ogniztions my help to connect student sevice membes nd vetens not only to ech othe but lso to thei cmpus community. The Ntionl Student Vetens Ogniztion ws ceted in Jnuy 2008 s esult of student vetens coss the county ecognizing need. An dded bonus of offeing student veten sevices cn be incesed enollment of student vetens. Bill Hulling, senio diecto of copote pogms nd dviso to the vetens club t Conell Univesity, epoted (Stinge, 2007) tht fte they implemented sevices to mke thei cmpus welcoming fo vetens students, the numbe of veten pplictions nely tipled. In tight economic times, the significnt inceses in tuition benefits tht the new GI Bill will bing my mke student vetens desible ecuits. Mching Fowd One Step t Time Some cmpuses in Indin hve ledy begun to find the gps in student veten sevices nd tke steps to eliminte them. Fo instnce, Bll Stte Univesity hs tken steps to cete student vetens goup fo both vetens nd fmily membes nd joined the VA oundtble. Pudue Univesity cuently fcilittes student vetens suppot goup nd ceted tsk foce to eview cuent student sevices nd identify gps in suppot fo student sevice membes nd vetens. Pudue went on to ptne with the Entepeneuship Assistnce Clinic to offe student veten specific sevices. IUPUI ecently ppoved n Office fo Vetens nd Mility Pesonnel fo student vetens to find impotnt infomtion. The Ameicn Council on Eduction hs identified sevel wys fo cmpuses to become moe veten fiendly. Fist nd foemost is listening to the student sevice membes nd vetens discuss thei needs. Mny cmpuses could stengthen thei bility to meet these by poviding weness tining fo fculty nd stff. Anothe option some cmpuses e pusuing is to cete student vetens goup nd plce fo student vetens to gthe. Othe cmpuses hve found it useful to cete specil office o eception desk, o section of the college web site tgeting student sevice membes nd vetens. Ceting pogmming tht is tiloed to the cmpus nd to the needs of student sevice membes nd vetens cn lso be helpful; options include couse to help vetens tnsition to civilin life, oienttion sessions fo student sevice membes nd vetens, mility cultue clss tht ddesses PTSD nd othe combt-elted chllenges, o dding mility fmily topics to child nd fmily couses cn help to meet the needs of student vetens. Ptneing with othe ogniztions nd the community to povide finncil ssistnce, esouces nd suppot to student vetens my be vible option, s mny ogniztions nd community membes e ege to suppot sevice membes nd vetens (ACE Cente fo Lifelong Lening, v 2008). Innovtive Pctices Aound the County MFRI stff seched fo pogms coss Indin nd the ntion tht might hold pomise fo binging helpful innovtions to ou stte. Of couse, thee is no single solution, nd thee e not sufficient dt yet to know which sttegies wok best unde pticul conditions. Evey cmpus is unique. Ech cmpus does, howeve, hve simil deptments tht student membes nd vetens intect with on outine bsis. In the following sections, we descibe some pomising pctices tht hve been implemented coss the ntion in ech of these functionl es of the univesity. Admissions The college dmissions pocess cn be chllenging fo ny student nd my be pticully so fo students who e tnsitioning fom mility cultue o deployment. Mility students ttempting to pply fo college while seving in combt thetes my be disdvntged in thei effots to meet dedlines fo pefeed finncil id, couse selection, nd clss schedules becuse ccess to the intenet o telephone sevice my be spodic. Sevice membes who hve to wit fo edmission following deployment my hve to dely egisttion fo semeste o moe. Sn Diego Stte Univesity (SDSU) hs implemented olling dmissions if sevice pohibits ttendnce due to deployment, llowing the student to immeditely enoll in clsses without penlty o wit time. Mility FmilyResech Institute t Pudue Univesity 18

19 Students who hve to withdw fom clsses mid-semeste due to deployment encounte the chllenge of eceiving filing gdes fo couses not completed nd expeience dop in thei gde point vege. Bll Stte Univesity nd othes llow fo withdwl fom clsses without penlty, expunging the ecod s though the student hd not enolled, nd povides fo tuition eimbusement fo those clsses. Bll Stte, Butle, Clumet College of Sint Joseph, Indin Stte Univesity, nd Indin Univesity Bloomington llow fo vetens to e-ente college without hving to e-pply fo dmission. Institutions tht povide couse cedit fo mility expeience nd couses vlidte the tining ledy completed by mility pesonnel. While some colleges wd blnket numbe of cedits fo physicl eduction tining, the Ameicn Council on Eduction hs ceted system fo evluting cedits fo mility cousewok nd/o mility expeience. Ivy Tech wds cedit fo mility cousewok nd/o expeience though the PLA (Pio Lening Assessment). This llows vetens to en college cedit thee wys: The Cetifiction Cosswlk, Cedit by Exmintion, o thei PLA potfolio. Sint My-of-the-Woods wds cedit when officil tnscipts e povided fom ny bnch of the mility s well s though Assessment of Pio Lening (APL). APL is documenttion pocess tht is evluted fo cdemic cedit bsed on on-job tining, wokshops, voluntee wok, nd life expeience, with educed tuition cost pe cedit hou vilble fo cedits ened though this pocess. Clevelnd Stte Univesity (CSU) hs designed the Suppoting Eduction fo the Retuning Veten (SERV) pogm. Ech student veten enteing CSU is geeted pesonlly nd escoted though the vious dmissions nd enollment deptments. Initilly, fculty membe took it upon himself nd pid the ppliction fees fo student vetens. As moe nd moe students egisteed, the fculty membe sked fo ssistnce fom the lumni pogms to py ppliction fees fo student vetens. Specific clsses to ssist the oienttion nd etention of veten students e lso offeed by CSU, the Univesity of Michign, nd Minnesot Stte College. Finncil Aid Although the new GI Bill will incese funding in some cses, student vetens cuently fce difficulties in pying fo college. The GI Bill tkes up to 8 weeks to pocess, nd mny cmpuses sk fo tuition nd fees befoe the GI Bill pys out to the student. Student vetens who e clled to deploy in the middle of the semeste my lose cedits fo the couses they wee egisteed fo s well s the tuition they pid. Sevel cmpuses in Indin hve tken steps to ddess these chllenges. Indin Stte Univesity offes fee tuition fo the fist semeste, which llows time fo GI Bill pyments to be pocessed nd educes stess fo the student. Tinity Univesity offes 40% tuition gnt fo mility sevice membes, vetens, nd spouses. Othe colleges coss the county tht offe tuition ssistnce o wives include: Lynchbug College, Libety Univesity, Queens College, nd South Centl College. Some colleges such s Hunte College offe instte esident tuition fo sevice membes, llow student vetens to egiste fte noml egisttion with no lte fees, llow edmission fte deployment with no fees, nd offe tuition defel until the GI Bill begins pyment. Mny times thee is only single counselo in Finncil Aid who cn ssist student sevice membes nd vetens, which cn be fustting fo both the counselo nd the students. Goshen College is dding two counselos in Finncil Aid to ssist student vetens. Some sttes hve ceted stte-funded pogms fo tuition ssistnce fo student vetens: Indin gnts tuition emission fo childen of disbled vetens; New Yok offes incesed tuition benefits fo vetens; Ohio offes in-stte tuition tes fo vetens to ttend stte colleges (Lewin, 2008); Illinois offes veten gnt pogm which pys tuition nd fees fo Illinois esidents; Texs offes the Hzelwood exemption ct tht offes fee tuition fo vetens who ttend college; South Dkot offes tuition gnts o wives; Mylnd offes Vetens of the Afghnistn nd Iq Conflicts scholship pogm, which povides finncil ssistnce to student vetens who seved in the Afghnistn o Iq Conflicts s well s to thei sons, dughtes o spouses. Housing Cmpus housing systems tht ely on esidence hll housing fo undegdute students my not fit the needs nd expeiences of student sevice membes nd vetens, even though they my be the sme ge s othe undegdutes. The expeiences of mility students my be quite diffeent fom those of students who e living wy fom the fmily home fo the fist time. Some student sevice membes nd vetens my not find significnt benefits in living in esidence hlls duing thei feshmn ye (Boye, 1990). Some student vetens feel stong need to hve contct with othe mility students, who she simil mility expeience nd cn ssist with the tnsition fom mility to civilin life. In some cses, it my be helpful to offe student sevice membes nd vetens the option of being housed with gdute students o othe nontditionl students who, like mility students, hve moe life expeience thn mny college students of tditionl ge. Student Suppot Sevices Student suppot sevices cn enhnce the qulity of student sevice membes nd vetens expeiences in mny wys. Highe Eduction Lndscpe 19

20 Mny options e vilble. Minnesot Stte College offes n online 24/7 suppot cente tht povides individulized suppot to vets, ctive duty sevice membes nd fmily membes. Othe colleges with student veten websites o cll centes include: Indin Stte Univesity, Indin Univesity, Poteville College, Univesity of Michign, nd South Centl College. t ll suppots need to be diected t student sevice membes nd vetens themselves; it my be wise to diect some effots towd ising weness of student sevice membes nd vetens issues thoughout the cmpus community with weness-ising ctivities tht might include wokshops, debtes, movies, speke seies, nd expnded liby collections. Pogmming tht tkes into ccount the unique life expeiences of student vetens could be offeed though oienttion events, fist ye expeience couses, nd mentoing pogms tht mtch student vetens with students o fculty who hve pio mility sevice. Exmples of pogms like this include Upwd Bound fo Vets in Texs, Tennessee nd Aknss; Combt to College t Montgomey College; Poject Vetens t Foothill College, Soldie to Student t Rocklnd College; Suppoting Eduction fo the Retuning Veten (SERV) t Clevelnd Stte Univesity; nd the Student Veten Pogm (SVAP) t Univesity of Michign. Student vetens my need efeshe couses o college success couses to help them with study hbits (Chickeing & Reisse, 1993; Chickeing & Gmson, 1987). Montgomey College s Combt to College [C2C] pogm povides compehensive cdemic nd suppot sevices fo student vetens. Socil integtion (Tinto, 1990) is citicl to student etention nd mjo fcto in student success. Student veten ogniztions cn help student sevice membes nd vetens feel moe included nd educe thei mginliztion; poviding funds nd mentoing fo such ogniztions cn be useful sttegy fo colleges. Mny cmpuses coss the ntion hve student veten ogniztions, including South Centl College, Potlnd Stte Univesity, Butte College, Sn Diego Stte Univesity, Univesity of Nevd Ls Vegs, Penn Stte, UCLA nd Dtmouth. The Univesity of Wisconsin - Mdison hs hd Vets Fo Vets ogniztion fo ove 37 yes. Indin hs consideble oppotunity fo gowth in this e, in tht vey few cmpuses in Indin hve student vetens ogniztion. Pudue Univesity nd IUPUI e exceptions. The pesident of the IUPUI ogniztion is the tesue fo Student Vetens of Ameic, which hs constucted kit to help colleges nd univesities stt student veten ogniztions ( liby/). Counseling nd Disbility Sevices Some student vetens will etun to Indin colleges with invisible injuies including Post-Tumtic Stess Disode (PTSD) nd tumtic bin injuies (TBI), s well s visible physicl wounds nd injuies. Some student vetens e concened tht colleges lck sufficient disbility sevices, including hndicpped pking (DiRmio et l., 2008). Counseling stff who e tined to ecognize, efe o tet TBI, PTSD, nd othe deployment-elted concens povide nothe lye of suppot fo student veten success. Suppot goups my help student vetens bidge gps between needed nd offeed sevices. In Indin, Pudue Univesity offes veten suppot pogm though the Den of Students Office, nd Bll Stte Univesity s counseling cente offes suppot goups fo vetens nd fmily membes. Seveely Wounded Student Vetens Thee e cuently sevel inititives undewy on cmpuses to ssist seveely wounded vetens in thei etuns to college. A veten fom Dtmouth stted pogm clled Seveely Injued Mility Vetens: Fulfilling thei Dems in Febuy 2007 to povide diect suppot to seveely injued vetens nd thei fmilies s they begin to lign cee gols nd eductionl ttinment. The pogm povides the tools necessy to ssist seveely injued vetens nd thei fmilies is ssessing long-tem gols nd ligning these gols with postsecondy pogms of study. Vetens nd fmily membes e mtched with dvisos nd counselos specific to the individul s eductionl spitions nd cee gols. The Univesity of Idho offes Opetion Eduction Scholship fo seveely wounded vets nd spouses. Neve in the histoy of the wold hs ny soldie scificed moe fo the feedom nd libety of totl stnges thn the Ameicn solide. Zell Mille (D) Geogi 2004 (Muphy, 2004) Acdemic Affis Helping fculty nd stff undestnd mility cultue nd the needs of student sevice membes nd vetens is especilly impotnt in stte like Indin whee citizens ely encounte mility membes in the couse of dily life. Fculty nd stff often hve discetion ove decisions tht cn complicte o simplify the lives of student sevice membes nd vetens. Helping fculty nd stff to undestnd the needs of those students fce my help to expnd options fo them. Sevel institutions in Indin, including Ancill College, Associted Mennonite Biblicl Seminy, Bll Stte Univesity, Clumet College of St. Joseph, Cossods Bible College, DePuw Univesity, DeVy Univesity, nd Huntington Mility FmilyResech Institute t Pudue Univesity 20