Supporting Veteran Students
Understanding the Veteran-Student’s Academic Life – (Center for Teaching Excellence, University of New Haven) – A presentation by Center for Teaching Excellence Advisory Board Member Michael Urban, this workshop offers a general introduction to the wounds of war and their impact on a Veteran student’s daily life and academic performance.
The Hard Path From Afghanistan to the Classroom – (by Ryan Blum, The New York Times) – Blum was an Army squad leader who deployed to both Iraq and Afiganistan. In this article he details his own relationship with education from opting to complete a G.E.D to pursuing a four-year degree after seven years in the military.
Soldiers in the Classroom – (by Mike Rose, Mike Rose’s Blog) – Education scholar Mike Rose describes the need for instructors to recognize and address the complex educational needs of returning veterans. He provides an overview of the Veterans Special Education Program he taught, which was designed to meet the various needs of returning vets including tutoring, community-building, and assistance beyond the classroom.
Enhancing Veteran Success in Higher Education – (by Elizabeth O’Herrin, Peer Review, Winter 2011, Vol. 13, no.1 (A publication of the Association of American Colleges and Universities)) – This article describes the impact of the Post-9/11 GI on higher education. It provides insight into the characteristics and specific needs of returning veterans, and discusses how colleges and universities can address these needs with veteran-specific resources.
Transitions: Combat Veterans as College Students – (by Robert Ackerman, David DiRamio, and Regina L. Garza Mitchell, New Directions for Student Services, Summer 2009, no. 126, published by Wiley Periodicals) – This report offers the findings from interviews with 25 combat veterans, male and female. Their experiences support the notion that veterans are a special population on campus, and require specific support from faculty and administration.
Coming Home to School: Challenges and Strategies for Effective Teaching with Military Veterans – (by Michel A. Sportsman, Lisa Thomas, InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, Volume 10, 2015) – Sportsman and Thomas explore the needs of service members returning to campus, and how instructors can understand and support them through the use of SoTL strategies.
Ten Things You Should Know About Today’s Student Veteran – (by Allison Lighthall, The NEA Higher Education Journal, Fall 2012) – Military behavior health consultant Allison Lighthall provides insight into the perspectives of student veterans including how they feeling about being on a college campus and the hurdles they overcome as they reacclimate to civilian life.
Helping Student Veterans Succeed in the Classroom – (by Mary Bart, Faculty Focus) – This article provides a general overview of the veteran experience and offers actionable suggestions for how instructors can prepare course materials to set veterans on the path to success.
Teaching student veterans: Resources for instructors – (Center for Teaching Excellence, University of Washington) – The UW Center for Teaching offers a series of resources for understanding and supporting the experience of student veterans.
