Mission Status Curious: Evaluating Causes of Veteran Students Underperformance in College Classrooms. Presenter: Mark T. Vandre of Santiago Canyon College Faculty Mentors: Tiffany Gause & Rick Adams Image: vets.umich.edu
INTRODUCTION Veterans using GI Bill benefits increased by 566,393 between 2000 to 2013. Indicates a trend in increasing enrollment for vets. As a vet myself, I found both advantages and disadvantages to being a vet in school. I was curious to see how similar my experience is to other vets in school.
INITIAL INVESTIGATION Original Question: In general, how well do veterans transition from military to college as reflected by graduation rates and grades nation-wide? Complications Lack of national data of veteran performance in school. Some graduation rates exist, but can be misleading. GPA levels of vets not reported. No clear indicator of student veteran performance nationally. Solution Scope of research reduced to a single community college in a suburban area of Southern California. GPA data was obtained from the school s Registrar in order to compare GPA rates of veterans and non-veterans college.usatoday.com
Breakdown of GPA Veteran GPA Range < 2.00 4.00 3.51-3.99 GPA for each demographic broken down into 0.5 point ranges. Exception to range parameters is the pie piece of < 2.0 which is made up of all students in each demographic who earned a GPA of less than a 2.0 Non-Vets who earn below a 2.0 GPA are placed on academic probation and could lose of financial aid. 2.00-2.50 3.00-3.5 2.51-2.99 Non-Veteran GPA Range < 2.00 4.00 3.51-3.99 Vets earning below a 2.0 GPA are placed on academic probation by the VA and could lose of GI Bill benefits. 2.00-2.50 2.51-2.99 3.00-3.50
A Closer Look Categorical Comparison Vets Non-Vets 45.12% 45.12% Stats are clearer when we compare Honors Program eligibility and at risk status of GPA at or below 2.5 34.25% 30.49% The percent of non-vets eligible for the Honors program is the exact same as the percent of vets in the at risk category. At or Below 2.5 GPA HP Eligible
IMPLICATIONS There is an inversion of GPA between veterans and non-veterans. Close to half of the non-vets could be honors students while close to half of the vets could lose GI Bill benefits Further research was needed to try and determine why this gap exists.
RESEARCH OVERVIEW What is this research investigating? Primary questions: What factors are the GPA performance drivers? How different are these factors between vets and non-vets? How could this translate into help for either student type who might be struggling? Hypothesis: Tutorial and Health Services would be biggest drivers of GPA for vets Survey Method of Research Random participants Limited to a single campus Regression Model Comparison Compared relationship of single factors to GPA Relationship strength relative to other models. Single variable regressions
Branch of Service 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% Air Force Army Marine Corps Navy Coast Guard
Gender 100.00% 90.00% Veteran Non-Veteran Non-Veteran 21-40 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Male Female Neither
Learning Style 100.00% 90.00% 80.00% Veteran Non-Veteran Non-Veteran 21-40 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Auditory Visual Active
Challenge Subject 60.00% 50.00% Veteran Non-Veteran Non-Veteran 21-40 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% English-Reading English-Writing History Math Physical Sciences Social Sciences None
FACTORS EXAMINED Age Time between high school and college enrollment Time between military service and college enrollment Total time in military service Extent of disabilities if present College performance compared to expected performance Performance in high school Confidence in achieving academic goals Stress levels Perceived impact of military skills learned Perceived impact of military experiences Usage of campus facilities and services Social connection to other students on campus Social connection to other veterans on campus Level of connection to professors Perceived level of campus support
FACTORS EXAMINED Age Time between high school and college enrollment Time between military service and college enrollment Total time in military service Extent of disabilities if present College performance compared to expected performance Performance in high school Confidence in achieving academic goals Stress levels Perceived impact of military skills learned Perceived impact of military experiences Usage of campus facilities and services Social connection to other students on campus Social connection to other veterans on campus Level of connection to professors Perceived level of campus support
GPA GPA GPA VS CONFIDENCE IN ACADEMIC GOALS What is your level of confidence in your ability to achieve your academic goals? (Likert Scale: 1 = no confidence to 5 = utmost confidence) Veteran R Square: 0.33 Adjusted R Square: 0.29 Significance F: 0.01 Non-Veteran 21-40 R Square: 0.10 Adjusted R Square: 0.09 Significance F: 0.00 7 6 5 4 7 6 5 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE
GPA GPA GPA VS CONNECTION TO PROFESSORS In general, how connected do you feel to your professors? (Likert Scale: 1 = no confidence to 5 = utmost confidence) Veteran R Square: 0.06 Adjusted R Square: 0.00 Significance F: 0.34 Non-Veteran 21-40 R Square: 0.00 Adjusted R Square: -0.01 Significance F: 0.82 7 6 5 4 7 6 5 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 LEVEL OF CONNECTION TO PROFESSORS LEVEL OF CONNECTION TO PROFESSORS
GPA GPA GPA VS CONNECTION TO OTHER STUDENTS In general, how would you describe your level of social connection with other students on campus? (Likert Scale: 1 = no connection to 5 = very close connection) Veteran R Square: 0.29 Adjusted R Square: 0.25 Significance F: 0.02 Non-Veteran 21-40 R Square: 0.00 Adjusted R Square: 0.00 Significance F: 0.51 7 6 5 4 7 6 5 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 LEVEL OF CONNECTION TO OTHER STUDENTS LEVEL OF CONNECTION TO OTHER STUDENTS
GPA GPA VS CONNECTION TO OTHER VETERANS In general, how would you describe your level of social connection to other veterans on campus? (Likert Scale: 1 = no confidence to 5 = utmost confidence) R Square: 0.09 Adjusted R Square: 0.04 Significance F: 0.22 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 LEVEL OF CONNECTION TO OTHER VETERANS
Conclusion These results are by no means a final answer to the question. Results indicate which areas to focus on for further research and which areas to spend less time studying. Additional research needed on even more specific social connection factors to see how those specific factors influence both GPA and study habits for veterans.
Works Consulted BAH Calculator. Department of Defense. n.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2014 Cate, Chris A. Million Records Project: Research from Student Veterans of America. Rep. Student Veterans of America, 2014. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. <http://www.studentveterans.org>. ---. Exploring Student Veterans Post-Secondary Completion Rates with Two National Surveys. Student Veterans of America 1.1 (2013): 1-5. Adobe PDF. "Department of Veterans Affairs Education Program Beneficiaries: FY2000 to FY2013." Utilization. Department of Veterans Affairs, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2014. <http://www.va.gov/vetdata/utilization.asp>. Garcia, Andrea. RE: Academic Research. Message to the author. 18 Nov. 2014. E-mail. Jackson, Michael. Personal interview. 24 November 2014 Marriott, Dean. Personal interview. 24 November 2014. Nguyen, Tuyen. RE: Academic Research. Message to the author. 25 Nov. 2014. E-mail. ---. GPA. Orange, CA: Santiago Canyon College, 26 Nov. 2014. Xlsx. "Rate Tables." Education and Training. Department of Veterans Affairs, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2014. <http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/resources/benefits_resources/rate_ tables.asp>. "Satisfactory Academic Policy." Satisfactory Academic Policy. Santiago Canyon College, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2014. <http://sccollege.edu/studentservices/financialaid/pages/ Satisfactory- Academic-Policy.aspx>. Vandre, Mark. Academic Resource Assessment. Survey. 23 March 2015