Private Colleges Aim to Recruit More Veterans
by Alan M. Berks
Link to Original Article
From 1944 to 1956, 7.8 million World War II veterans took advantage of education and training programs as a result of the first “GI Bill of Rights.” In 1947, military veterans accounted for 49 percent of college admissions.
Will the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 also create an explosion of vets on campuses? Will most institutions be ready for it?
The 2008 legislation is the most significant increase in education funding for veterans since the original 1944 bill, and it includes a Yellow Ribbon provision that aims to increase veteran’s educational choices by bringing the world of private colleges and universities within financial reach.
By participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program, colleges and universities partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to bridge the gap between their own tuition prices and the in-state tuition rate of the most expensive public university in their states. The VA matches the schools’ pledged contribution to the student.
More than 750 private institutions have signed on to the program. Their contributions vary widely; for example, The Art Institute of Colorado (Denver, Colorado) provides $1,272 per student while the University of Denver (Denver, Colorado) provides $13,000 per student, and Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, Illinois) limits its Yellow Ribbon slots to 15 students while Benedictine University (Lisle Illinois) imposes no limit on the number of students who can receive Yellow Ribbon benefits.
Be warned, however, that money is not all veterans may need to succeed on campus.
“Beyond a financial piece, institutions need to be paying attention to appropriate programming, counseling and housing for this sometimes older and more mature group,” said Bridget Krage O’Connor, vice president for enrollment management and communications at St. Norbert College (De Pere, Wisconsin).
Kevin Miller, St. Norbert’s lead clinical psychologist and clinical supervisor, noted that the VA has determined that one in three Iraq veterans will need some kind of counseling service (compared to the 10-15 percent average for the traditional student population). While large universities often have resource centers that make it easy for a veteran to drop by, find information and connect with other veterans, smaller colleges may not have a population of veterans of sufficient size to support that kind of program.
The University of Central Florida (Orlando, Florida), for example, has a Veterans Services Office within its Registrar’s Office to help answer questions about veteran education benefits. UCF also has a freestanding Office of Veterans Affairs that helps answer questions, file claims with the VA, or provide counseling and tutoring to the veteran population.
“We’re among the top 25 schools that veterans choose,” said UCF’s associate vice president of admissions, Gordon Chavis. “Sometimes it’s very difficult to transition when you’re coming from combat. One of the advantages of a larger university is that we can provide a myriad of opportunities [for support].”
As it happens, the smaller-sized St. Norbert has a long tradition of working with military families. “Our strong ROTC program has even produced many generals,” noted O’Connor. Miller, a veteran himself from a family full of veterans, emphasized that the biggest adjustments for veterans are often cultural. Because many colleges are known for having professors and students with more “liberal mindsets,” for example, members of these campus communities “sometimes have some difficulty understanding the values of a lot of military people. The difference between more liberal and conservative values can be a real problem,” he said.
Another major difference between students who are veterans and the more traditional student body is the veterans’ increased focus. Miller said they often have “more sense of personal responsibility for their education— veterans really seem to treat it more seriously.” And, he noted, they may be “more appreciative of things in general. Some combat folks come back changed and really appreciate when people go out of their way to help them out.”
The article “Saluting a New Cadre of Students” in the June-July 2009 issue of Business Officer cites numerous case studies where colleges have welcomed veterans to campus successfully. Even the infamously anti-war campus of University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, California) has developed a strong, proud group of veteran students by listening carefully to their needs and developing programs that help them access benefits and support.
Some smaller institutions, such as Concordia University Chicago (River Forest, Illinois), may already have programs that can be retrofitted to suit the specific needs of veterans. “We’re looking at promoting our accelerated degree completion, because veterans may be interested in a quick way to earn a degree,” said Evelyn Burdick, Concordia’s vice president for enrollment and marketing. “Because they’ve had experiences that our students out of high school would never have, veterans may be more focused.”
No matter how a college attempts to cater to veterans’ priorities, though, Miller advised that it’s most important to take time to get to know veterans as individuals. “Just as with race, gender and ethnicity, there are a lot more differences within the groups than there are between the groups,” he explained. “People hear that you were a veteran and that’s all they want to talk about—but that [identity] may not be relevant to the current situation. Take the time to get to know the individual, besides just as a vet.”
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