Abstract
College campuses across the nation are recruiting and admitting veteran students more than ever. Through their service, veteran students have earned a military benefit through their military service that will cover most of the cost of their college education. With these military benefits in hand, veterans are stepping onto campuses to navigate through bureaucratic red tape and enroll in college courses while adhering to the strict guidelines of their educational benefits. In many cases, there is an incredible backlog of benefit payments that have yet to be distributed due to this paperwork.
As the GI Bill has been updated and tweaked over the last almost 80 years, there has been input from politicians, veterans, veteran groups, and stakeholders. Campus administrators and staff who work with veteran students daily have little say in what policymakers put into these bills, acts, and laws which directly affect veteran students. Micro-level problems veteran students, campus staff, and administrators encounter daily can only add to the challenges that veteran students must contend with when enrolling in higher education. These challenges often cause veteran students to drop out of college altogether or to lose their housing because their bills cannot be paid due to delayed payments.
Since the inception of the original GI Bill in 1944, many studies have been conducted; however, most of the research solely focuses on the physical and mental aspects of transition issues veteran students face. Little research tried to fully understand the recruitment efforts and the first-year transition and how experiences conforming to benefit restrictions affect veteran students in higher education. With the Post 9/11 GI Bill being replaced by the Forever GI Bill, further research is needed to identify recruitment efforts, resources, key individuals, and institutional policy updates that will contribute to furthering and increasing veteran student retention in higher education.
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the recruitment and transition experiences of today’s veterans as they are utilizing their Post 9/11 and recently unveiled Forever GI Bill benefits at Public University. For this purpose, this study adopted Schlossberg’s (1984) 4S (situation, self, support, and strategies) theory of adult transition as a theoretical framework. Based on the procedure of the case study, interview data was collected from six veteran students who have recently been recruited and have transitioned to Public University. Five staff members who assist veteran students through the recruitment and transition process while using their Post 9/11 educational benefits were also interviewed. The major findings of this study suggest that veteran students with strong family ties have the support to make informed decisions on where to attend higher education. With strategies in place to assist the veteran student in their transition to higher education supported by family and with the assistance of the Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to fund their educational journey, a strong sense of self must be nurtured once separated from the military. The identity of the veteran as they transition must be supported in their new role as student, civilian and veteran as they navigate the college campus. Findings suggest that transition, either leaving the military or entering higher education must be supported by the veteran, veteran’s support network, and by the staff at the institution. The findings reveal that educational benefits while financially advantageous for paying for higher education costs must be accompanied with strong support of staff members to guide the veteran student through their educational journey to ensure success. By viewing the veteran student, the context and the processes needed to support the veteran student through their transitions from beginning to end contribute to the success of the veteran student throughout their educational career. The study contributes to understanding as to what makes a difference in successfully guiding veteran students through their transition to higher education. An analysis of documents, government reports, policies and articles were reviewed to support interview findings. This research contribution not only expanded the knowledge base in this area but also informed revised institutional policies
