Military experience alone is no longer enough to replace a college degree for many civilian jobs, leaving nearly 15% of transitioning veterans at a disadvantage without higher education credentials. This study explored how active-duty Marines decide whether to pursue postsecondary education and assessed the role of the voluntary education (VolED)…

Objective: To examine the role of grit as a mediator of the relationship between student-veteran status and not seeking mental health help. Participants: A diverse and nationally representative sample of students (8,203 women, 4,934 men) from 18 U.S. colleges and universities included in the Understanding Student Distress and Academic Success…

Objective: To explore barriers and facilitators to mental health care among the student service member and veteran (SSM/V) population, develop an integrative model of mental health service use, and identify health communication opportunities. Participants: Participants were 21 current and former SSM/Vs recruited online and via snowball sampling.…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how the military and veteran services offices in public institutions are supporting student veterans in their higher education journey. This study was aimed to allow Chief Military and Veteran Services Officers (CMVSO) in 4-year public institutions to identify challenges and opportunities in…

Higher learning institutions have encountered increasing student-veteran enrollment rates due to the surge of servicemembers discharged from the military in recent years. Community colleges have also experienced increased rates of student veterans choosing two-year institutions either to pursue a technical degree or to enroll in courses…

Veterans and service members enter higher education institutions with a unique set of challenges and opportunities. After World War II, institutions struggled to find a way to help these students, and as classrooms swelled, policies and services had to be created to assist in their transition. Over time, best practices immerged to help aid this…

This chapter provides an overview of common challenges faced by military-connected students on university campuses. The characteristics, culture, and experiences of service members and veterans are described through vignettes based on military-connected students.

Military members endure a variety of stressors (e.g., transitioning from military culture to college culture), which may be associated with mental health distress. College counselors must be aware of the unique clinical needs of student Veterans. College counselors can increase military cultural competence and adopt effective clinical approaches…

The aim of this hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is to foster a productive conversation about how schools are meeting the needs of veterans and service members, what more can be done to ensure veterans are not putting themselves into financial trouble in order to get an education and, ultimately identify what the…

This review explores the expanding role of federal aid policy considered from a contemporary and social justice perspective. It highlights recent trends in aid policy as well as difficulties that arise from the current system. Next, the review takes up an analysis of current aid policy that carefully considers equity and efficiency as primary…

The white paper synthesizes existing literature around higher education for formerly incarcerated individuals and describes the need for more work in this area. More than 650,000 individuals are released from state and federal prisons and return to the community each year. However, most programming and research have been concentrated on…

This testimony was presented before the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity on March 17, 2015. To inform the Subcommittee hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs' administration of its education programs, and the educational and training needs of post-9/11 veterans, the presenters offered the statement in…

Objective: To compare mental health symptoms and service utilization among returning student and nonstudent service members/veterans (SM/Vs). Participants: SM/Vs (N = 1,439) were predominately white (83%) men (92%), half were over age 30 (48%), and 24% were students. Methods: SM/Vs completed surveys 6 months post deployment (October 2011-July…

Federal education benefits for veterans represent a substantial investment--$18 billion since 2009 under the Post-9/11 GI Bill--in the development of a skilled American workforce. Unfortunately, this investment does not always pay off because many veterans encounter serious obstacles as they attempt to navigate the higher education system and the…

Over the years, some military veterans have been influenced by barriers, preventing them from using their educational benefits. Any active duty member or military veteran could have been exposed to and influenced by these barriers and become unmotivated and not use or discontinue using these benefits. If veterans do not use their educational…