A Veteran s Report of His or Her School s Friendliness to Veterans (School represents a college or university in this survey) Copyright 2013 Douglas Hermann & Bert Allen All rights reserved. Instructions to Veterans For whatever reason, professors and college administrators sometimes follow bureaucratic procedures and educational practices that inadvertently create problems and barriers for veterans. This survey enables you, as a veteran, to report any problem that you have encountered in your college or university. The survey lists 9 categories of student- veterans problems. Each category lists twp or more kind of problems. As you read through the survey, indicate with a check mark in the space preceding - - - a problem you have encountered at your school. We, the authors of this survey, recommend that you do not put your name on your completed survey. Simply make sure that the President, Chancellor, or Provost gets your completed survey and learns about how your school treats veterans. Specific Problems of A Veteran per Category I. Selection of a College or University to Attend Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to provide correct information pertinent to the selection of a college to attend. --- 1. My school appeared to be friendly before I enrolled but has not turned out to be friendly. --- 2. I could not find a book or web site that explains whether the school I am attending would be good for veterans such as me. --- 3. My school told me that as a veteran I would get lots of financial aid and scholarships after enrolling but I have not. --- 4. My school told me that as a veteran I would get all of the transfer credits approved by military or other colleges but that has not turned out to be true. --- 5. My school told me that as a veteran I would be able to major in the topic of my military occupational specialty but I have not been able to do so. --- 6. My school did not make allowances for the lack of a college preparatory program in my background when deciding whether to admit me as a veteran. --- 7. I have been able to enroll in the college of my choice. --- 8. I have been able to study for a college degree in the major I wanted. --- 9. I am not doing as well as possible in my courses. -- 10. I have considered dropping out of college.
2 II. Transition Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to provide veterans with information that may help them with their adjustment problems in college. --- 1. My school has failed to tell me, a student-veteran, how to make an adjustment to my new surroundings prevalent in this college. --- 2. My school has not informed me about the culture at this school and how a veteran can fit into that culture. --- 3. My school has not informed me, a veteran, about the administrative problems that they may encounter at their school. --- 4. My school has not informed me, as a student-veteran, how to make an adjustment to my lifestyle in this college. III. Campus Culture Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to educate veterans about their campus culture, leading me as a veteran to sometimes be upset by events on campus. --- 1. A professor at my school has made false and negative statements about military service in a class that I attend. --- 2. An administrator at my school has made anti-veteran comments to me knowing that I am a veteran. (For example, veterans are stupid or Veterans are killers ) --- 3. An administrators at my school has given me, knowing I am a veteran, the brush off. --- 4. When I, a veteran, have filed a grievance at my school, it has failed whereas the grievances of non-veteran students are usually accepted. --- 5. Non-veteran students at my school have said disrespectful and slanderous things to me about veterans and military service. --- 6. Non-veteran students at my school ask me disrespectful questions about my hazardous duty or combat experiences of mine. (Such as, what does it feel like to kill someone? ). IV. Acquiring Academic Skills Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to provide veterans with help to acquire academic skills. --- 1. My school has not provided me, as a veteran, before entering college with preparatory instruction in academic skills (skills such as how to take notes, to learn in class, to participate in laboratories for courses that require them, to learn outside of class, to make use of study groups outside of class, to learn from a tutor when necessary, to take exams, quizzes, multiple choice, essay, write term papers, and academic standards regarding cheating and plagiarism). --- 2. My school has not provided me, as a veteran, with appropriate tutoring in academic skills or in course material, after entering college. --- 3. My school has not provided me training in study skills that have been designed specifically for veterans. --- 4. My school has not taken into account my military occupational specialty when providing me with advice about what courses to take or about how to succeed in a particular course. --- 5. A professor at my school refused to give me, a veteran, help during class whereas this professor has helped non-veterans in class. --- 6. A professor at my school has refused to answered a questions raised by me in class whereas this professor has answered the questions of non-veterans in class. --- 7. A professor at my school has given me, a veteran, lower grades than I deserved whereas this professor has given acceptable grades to non-veterans in the course. V. Educational-Program Problems Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to provide veterans with information that they need to participate in standard educational programs. --- 1. My college s orientation program as provided to me did not present any specific information to help veterans. --- 2. The explanation of a student s curriculum provided by my school does not address how veterans might design of a plan of study
3 --- 3. My academic advisor at my school was not able to advise me as a veteran on how to major or minor (MOS related) in the specialty that they acquired while in the service. --- 3. My academic advisor at my school was not able to advise me as a veteran about course selection while taking account of prior military training and experience --- 4. The administrators, professors and staff at my school assume that all veterans are in the Upward Bound program. --- 5. Some professors at my school have penalized me, as a Guard member, for missing class in order to attend drills. VI. Financial Problems Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to provide veterans with appropriate financialaid procedures and information. --- 1. My school required me to use my GI Bill to pay for all of tuition and fees as soon as possible after enrolling, or lose enrollment. --- 2. My school subtract GI Bill from the financial aid that I could receive. --- 3. My school did not include a veteran s costs of living (lodging and meals) in the total costs of an education. --- 4. The financial aid offices of my school provided little or no financial aid to me, a recently discharged veterans, because I received pay in my last year of military service. --- 5. My school did not have me apply for scholarships tailored to the background of veterans. --- 6. My school did not provide me assistance in finding financial support for veterans such as myself who has a family. VII. Academic-credit problems - Some schools fail to provide appropriate procedures for veterans to transfer their credits to their school s academic credits. --- 1. My school did not give me little or no transfer credit for my military training and experience. --- 2. My school has not given me academic credit for the physical education I received in the military. --- 3. My school has not given me a grade and academic credit for work in a course that I completed, a member of the Reserve or the National Guard, prior to being deployed before a semester ends. --- 4. My school will not re-admit me, a Guard or Reserve member, after deployment, requiring me to reapply to continue enrollment at this school. --- 5. My school will assign me a withdrawal for the courses I took at the time of deployment but have not given me a refund for these courses. --- 6. My school assigned me an incomplete for one or more courses I was enrolled in but did not take at the time of deployment without asking me whether I wanted an incomplete in these courses. --- 7. My school assigned me a low grade for each course I took at the time of deployment without allowing me to take an incomplete in these courses. --- 8. My school assigned me a low grade for an incomplete in a course started before deployment without allowing me enough time to finish the incomplete. VIII. Health Problems Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to provide sufficient health care for military service-connected or possibly service-connected disabilities. --- 1. My school has done nothing to help me, a veteran, get treatment for physiological and emotional disabilities that have been determined to be service connected by the VA. --- 2. My school has done nothing to help me, a veteran, get treatment (routine or emergency) for physiological and emotional disabilities that arose in college but may have been due to military service. --- 3. My school s health service has not treated me for my symptoms of PTSD. --- 4. My school s health service has not treated my symptoms of a concussive head injury. --- 5. My school s health services has not treated my symptoms of stress and possible service connected illnesses of my family. IX. Employment Problems for Veterans at Graduation Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to give veterans the help they need for finding a job after graduation. --- 1. Staff members at my school s career center have not given me advice on a career because they are not familiar with the skills that I, a veteran, offer employers.
4 --- 2. Staff members at my school s career center have not investigated my ability to solve problems in my military occupational specialty, ability that might interest employers. --- 3. Staff members at my school s career center have not investigated my interpersonal and communication skills, skills that might interest employers. --- 4. Staff members at my school s career center have not investigated my leadership experience, experience that might interest employers. --- 5. The staff at my school s career center has not helped me plan for a career while taking account of my military background. --- 6. My school s career center has not searched for jobs for me when the job required military training and military experience. --- 7. My school s career center counselors do not use resources to help veterans find jobs (such as employers who are veterans, and military-relate web sites - such as Veteran Employment.com, Military Connection, Military Exits and Military Job Zone). --- 8. My school have not had alumni help me as a veteran graduate find jobs. --- 9. The career center at my school has offered less help to me as a veteran than to nonveterans on how to find a job. - - - 10. A staff member at my school s career center told me that I should rely primarily on the VA to find me a job. Total Number of Problems Per Category If you are interested in your answers overall, count the number of problems in a category and record that number in the list below. The student-veteran is advised to make copies of the completed survey, save a copy and provide copies of it to others. Keep records about what you dowith the copies. I. Total --- Selection of a College or University to Attend Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to provide correct information pertinent to the selection of a college to attend. II. Total --- Transition Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to provide veterans with information that may help them with adjustment problems in college. III. Total --- Campus Culture Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to educate veterans about their campus culture, leading me as a veteran to sometimes be upset by events on campus. IV. Total --- Acquiring Academic Skills Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to provide veterans with help with acquiring academic skills. V. Total --- Educational-Program Problems Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to provide veterans with information that they need to participate in standard educational programs. VI. Total --- Financial Problems Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to provide veterans with appropriate financial-aid procedures and information. VII. Total --- Academic-credit problems - Some schools fail to provide me with appropriate procedures to transfer their credits to their school s academic credits. VIII. Total --- Health Problems Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to provide needed health care for military service-connected or possibly service-connected disabilities. IX. Total --- Employment Problems for Veterans at Graduation Some schools fail, or seem to fail, to give veterans all of the help they need for finding a job after graduation.
5 - Record whom you give a copy of the completed survey. - Record any action taken by your institution because of your responses on this survey. - Record which Veterans Service Organizations American Legion, VFW, DAV, etc. - you give a copy of your completed survey.