2011 NASPA Annual Conference s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania s March 12–16, 2011

Returning Student Veterans: A Faculty Fellows Research Question

March 15, 2011, 1:45 p.m.

Maribeth Ehasz, University of Central Florida Cathleen Morreale, University of Buffalo

Corey Rumann, University of West GeorgiaFlorence Hamrick, Rutgers University

Mark Allen Poisel, Pace UniversityPaul Viau, University of Central Florida

The Q-List: A Faculty Fellows Research Agenda for the Profession

• Returning Student Veterans• Student mental health• Evolving student populations• Costs of higher education• Community colleges• Emerging technologies• Institutional sustainability and viability• Globalization and Internationalization• Social Justice• History

Presentation Goals and Outcomes

• Increase understanding of history and policy related to student veteran enrollments

• Become familiar with student veteran demographics, characteristics and transitions

• Learn ways to obtain resources

• Learn about strategies for providing one-stop services

• Recognize need for assessment

"Now, After“ PTSD From A Soldier's POV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkWwZ9ZtPEI

Cathleen MorrealeCoordinator for Public Services Internship

and Experiential Learning Program, Ph.D. Candidate

University of Buffalo

Background

• G.I. Bill History Progression Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008

• Policy Implications

• Context of OEF/OIF

Demographics and Characteristics• Institutions

500 institutions served 84% of students receiving G.I. Bill benefits in the 2007 fiscal yearo 38% (190) of these institutions were community collegeso 36% (180) were four-year public institutionso 19% (95) were for-profito 7% (35) were either private or undetermined (Field, 2008)

• Students 1.6 million military veterans have served combat deployments since

September 11, 2001 (ACE, 2008)

There were approximately 660,000 military veterans, and 215,000 military service members enrolled in undergraduate education during the 2007-2008 academic year (Radford & Wun, 2009)

Non-traditional characteristics

Demographics and CharacteristicsAverage Age of Claimants Percent

19 years old or younger 320 ‐ 24 years old 2425 - 29 years old 3030 ‐ 39 years old 2840 or older 15

GenderMale 68Female 32

Current Marital Status of ClaimantsUnmarried 64Married 37

Montgomery G.I. Bill by BOS Army 36Navy 25Air Force 19Marines 18Coast Guard 2NOAA/Public Health <1

(Wilson, 2008)

Current Study

• 176 undergraduate enlisted military veterans (85.2% 4-year/public)

• Survey: fall 2010 (PDF, Academic Motivation Scale, Academic Self-Concept Scale,

Combat Exposure Scale)

DemographicsAge N %

19-24 30 17.025-30 92 52.331-36 27 15.337-42 9 5.143-48 9 5.149-54 5 2.855 and older 3 1.7No response 1 .6

GenderFemale 42 23.9Male 134 76.1

Race/ethnicityAfrican American/Black (not of Hispanic origin) 7 4.0Asian/Pacific Islander 9 5.1Hispanic/Latino(a)/Latin American 19 10.8Native American Indian/Alaskan Native 1 .6White, not of Hispanic origin 127 72.2Biracial/Multiracial 6 3.4Other 6 3.4No response 1 .6

Demographics

Growing up – socio-economic classPoor 20 11.4Working class 76 43.2Middle class 62 35.2Upper middle class 17 9.7Wealthy 1 .6

Current – socio-economic classPoor 32 18.2Working class 73 41.5Middle class 61 34.7Upper middle class 7 4.0Wealthy 1 .6No response 2 1.1

EducationN % Cumulative %

Student statusFull-time

(registered for 12 or more credits)145 82.4

Part-time (registered for less than 12 credits)

31 17.6

Year in schoolUndergraduate 1st year 19 10.8 10.8Undergraduate 2nd year 30 17.0 27.8Undergraduate 3rd year 53 30.1 58.0Undergraduate 4th year 40 22.7 80.7Undergraduate 5th year or above 34 19.3 100.0

First-generation college studentYes 99 56.3No 77 43.8

Military ExperienceNumber of times deployed

1 60 34.12 45 25.63 16 9.14 8 4.55 or more 14 8.0No response/Never/Not applicable 33 18.7

How long since last deployment6 months or less 10 5.76 months to 1 year 11 6.3Between 1 and 2 years 33 18.8Between 2 and 3 years 25 14.2Between 3 and 4 years 19 10.8Between 4 and 5 years 15 8.55 years or more 25 14.2No response/Not applicable 38 21.6

Military Experience

Deployed to a combat theaterYes 127 72.2No 40 22.7Not applicable 7 4.0No response 3 1.7

Combat Theater (if applicable)OEF (Afghanistan) 16 9.1OIF (Iraq) 72 40.9OEF/OIF (both) 13 7.4Persian Gulf 14 8.0Other 9 5.1Not applicable 47 26.7No response 5 5.8

Academic Motivation and Self-Concept• Academic Motivation

Academic motivation is a domain of motivation that relates to educational factors, such as the decision to attend college, students’ reasons for persistence, and study skills

SDI Theory

• Academic Self-Concept Academic self-concept is a non-cognitive aspect of self that refers to a

domain of general self-concept.o The attitudes, feelings, and perceptions individuals have toward their

intellectual or academic skills (Lent, et al., 1997)

o Students’ academic self-concept relates to negative and positive reinforcement of internal standards determined and measured by the student (Reynolds, et al., 1980)

Findings

• Correlations and Predictors Academic Self-Concept Academic Motivation

Variable/Measure # of items

N Mean SD α

Combat ExposureCombat Exposure Scale – Total 7 151 13.07 11.53 .870

Academic Self-ConceptAcademic Self-Concept – Global 40 151 118.46 17.43 .942

Academic Motivation Self-Determination Index 28 153 120.68 28.78 .923Intrinsic motivation 12 164 52.87 17.55 .948Extrinsic motivation 12 166 61.11 15.57 .905Amotivation 4 173 6.90 5.49 .935

Dr. Corey RumannAssistant Professor and Director of the

College Student Affairs ProgramUniversity of West Georgia

The Transition Process

• Re-enrolling or enrolling in college is a process of moving in, moving out, and moving through (Gooman et al.,2006)

• Negotiating multiple transitions

• Different factors may ease or complicate the transition process

• Assets and liabilities

Situation

• Going from structured (i.e., military) to unstructured (i.e., college) environment

• May be asked inappropriate questions (e.g., Did you kill anyone over there?)

• “Minor” challenges and frustrations (e.g., loan repayment, insurance, curriculum issues, access to college facilities)

Support and Strategies

• Family members, military peers, and certifying officials tend to serve as primary sources of support

• Student veterans may actively seek out other veterans if opportunities to do so exist

• Try to stay busy and maintain a routine if possible

• May feel disconnected from civilian friends and non-military college student peers

Dr. Florence HamrickProfessor, Department of Education Psychology

Graduate School of EducationDirector, College Student Affairs Program

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Women Service Members

• Combat exclusion policies exclude women from 15-20% of all military positions.

• Women are excluded from 178 (5%) of enlisted occupational specialties and 17 (<1%) of all officer specialties.

• Most exclusions are in infantry, gun crews, seamanship, electronic and equipment repairers.

• Highest representations of women are in: Functional Support and Administration Health Care

• Consistent with traditional gender role “strengths” in organization maintenance and caregiving.

Stereotypes and Experiences

• Tanya “[People] don’t necessarily think that since I am a female that I was doing anything of importance overseas. [They think] like, kitchen detail. And that’s obviously not the reality of it, but we’re still [thought of as] definitely sub par, put up against males. That’s when I definitely get pissed off – when people think that I wasn’t out doing stuff and helping.”

• Tanya “Even for me, when I hear ‘veteran’ I see the pictures of the men and everything in uniform.”

Rumann & Hamrick, 2010; Rumann, 2010

Stereotypes and Experiences

Karen “[My commander] promised my mom that he’d get us home safe. Well, you can’t make that promise first of all, and second of all I’m a soldier, you know. Yeah, I’m a girl, but you know, I’m here with the rest of you guys for a frickin’ year, the least you could do is treat me like everybody else and let me go to Iraq on missions.”

Tanya “There are females in the turrets firing the weapons, female medics seeing the blood and guts. I mean, you might not be on the front lines per se, but we still see, you know, and we still do what the males do.”Rumann & Hamrick, 2010; Rumann, 2010

Abes, Jones, & McEwen (2007)

• Self Perceptions: multiple identity dimensions gender, race/ethnicity, social class, age, veteran/service member

• Contextual influences peers, family, stereotypes

• Meaning-making filter complexities, self-authorship

Abes, Jones, & McEwen (2007)

Dr. Mark Allen PoiselAssociate Provost for Student Success

Pace University

(previously Associate Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Services

University of Central Florida)

Designing a Veteran’s Resource Center for Enhancing Veteran Student Success

Top 10 Things to Make Student Veterans a Priority

• Establish a veteran friendly environment• Develop good policies and procedures• Build strong relationships• Create joint programs• Prepare veterans for the student experience• Involve faculty, staff, and students• Require orientation and make it applicable• Focus on student engagement• Assess your culture and programs• Exchange data and information

Vision for the Veterans’ Success Center

Transition

ProgressionPreparation

Where VSC fits in

• Help students before they arrive• Work with them during the transition and first semester• Help them graduate by providing a solid foundation

Six Critical Elements of Visioning a Veteran Student Center

• Dedicated leader and skillful team • Institutional support • Strong collaboration with internal and external partners• On-going campus educational component• Adequate funding• Effective evaluation and assessment

Veterans’ Success Center(selected list of services)

• Admissions• Pre-Admission Advising• Financial Aid• Benefits Certification• Academic Advising• Transfer Evaluations• Career Advising

• Counseling• Academic Support• Orientation• Transition Assistance• Student Disability Services• Student Organizations

University of Central FloridaVeterans Academic Resource Center

Before

After

University of Central FloridaRole of Veterans Academic Resource Center

• Provides pre-admission academic advising• Offers transition support services• Facilitates a peer mentoring program• Supports retention and graduation initiatives• Promotes engagement in the campus community• Advocates on behalf of student veterans• Supports student organizations

University of Central FloridaStudent Services

• Benefit certifications• Transition and entry assistance• Student lounge, computer lab, and study rooms• Career and academic advising• Transfer advising• Student disability assistance• Personal and mental health counseling• Student organizations• Outreach and educational programming

Five Key Elements of a Veterans’ Center for Student Success

• Develop a vision and plan for a veteran center – design with the end in mind

• Hire and train a veteran friendly staff• Remember that many will bring transfer credits to your

institution• Partner with faculty, staff, and veteran students to maintain

institutional support• Build a communication system that involves both internal and

external partners

Thank you for your attendance

Questions and Discussion