Student Veterans At-a-Glance

• National Trends
• Students with military experience make up about 4% of undergraduate students.¹
• Compared to traditional undergraduate students, veterans tend to be older and are more likely to be non-white. Although only seven percent of the armed forced were women in 2006, 27% of all student veterans in 2007-08 were women.¹
• Around half of undergraduate with military experience received veterans educational benefits at public four-year universities. In 2007-2008, 12 percent of military undergraduates attended for-profit institutions, which is a rate three times higher than traditional undergraduates.¹
• As of September 2009, the number of American troops who have been injured is 35,390, 46% of whom could return to duty within 72 hours.²
• The rate for mental health and cognitive issues following return from deployment was 14% for major depression, 14% from PTSD, and 19% for a probable Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). RAND estimates that the cost from PTSD-related and depression costs could range from $4.0 to $6.2 billion over two years.

Sources: Radford, A. W. (2009). Military service members and veterans in higher education: What the new GI bill may mean for postsecondary institutions. Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education. 2. US Department of Defense.

National Research

• American Council on Education (ACE)

• American Council on Education. (2008). Serving Those Who Serve: Higher Education and America's Veteran

• Radford, A. W. (2009). Military Service Members and Veterans in Higher Education: What the New GI Bill May Mean for Postsecondary Institutions

• Cook, B., & Kim, Y. (2009). From Soldier to Student: Easing the Transition of Service Members on Campus
  Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

• American Council on Education. (2010). Ensuring Success for Returning Veterans

• Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)
  Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability Special Issue: Veterans with Disabilities - Volume 22, Number 1, 2009
• Higher Education Research Institute (HERI)
• The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2009
  See section entitled "Veterans entering four-year colleges and universities"
• The Rand Corporation
  Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery
• US Department of Defense
  U.S. Casualty Status (OIF & OEF)

Additional Higher Ed-Related Books, Articles & Papers

• New Directions for Student Services
  Special Issue: Creating a Veteran-Friendly Campus: Strategies for Transition Success (full text available online)
• Case Study: A Hispanic Combat Veteran Returns to College

  Brito, Callahan, & Marks, 2008
  Conference on Issues Related to Higher Education and Returning Veterans, SAVAHCS

• Maximizing Financial Aid for Veterans. What administrators can do to help veterans take advantage of education benefits

  Haley Chitty, 2008
  University Business

• Collaboration for Military Transition Students from Combat to College: It Takes a Community

  Sandra E. Burnett, MA, OTR/L, MFT/L & John Segoria, MS, 2009
  Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability

• Deserving Design: The New Generation of Student Veterans

  Cheryl Branker, 2009
  Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability

• Does the GI Bill Support Educational Attainment for Veterans with Disabilities? Implications for Current Veterans in Resuming Civilian Life

  Alexa Smith-Osborne, 2009
  Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

• Helping Veterans with Disabilities Transition to Employment

  Debra Ruh, Paul Spicer & Kathleen Vaughan, 2009
  Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability

• Returning Veterans on Campus with War Related Injuries and the Long Road Back Home

  Thomas E. Church, 2009
  Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability

• A Roadmap for Rehabilitation Counseling to Serve Military Veterans with Disabilities

  Michael P. Frain, Malachy Bishop, and Mary Bethel, 2010
  Journal of Rehabilitation

Recent Doctoral Dissertations

• Bauman, M. C. (2009). Called to serve: The military mobilization of undergraduates (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

• Livingston, W. Discovering the academic and social transitions of re-enrolling student veterans at one institution: A grounded theory. Ph.D. dissertation, Clemson University, United States -- South Carolina. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text.(Publication No. AAT 3355150).

• Persky, K. Veterans education: Coming home to the community college classroom. Ed.D. dissertation, National-Louis University, United States -- Illinois. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text.(Publication No. AAT 3403862).

• Rumann, C. B. (2010). Student veterans returning to a community college: Understanding their transitions. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Iowa State University, Ames, IA.

Government

• Department of Veterans Affairs
  38 CFR Part 21
  Post-9/11 GI Bill; Final Rule

General Literature on VET-Specific Issues

• Female Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Seeking Care from VA Specialized PTSD Programs: Comparison with Male Veterans and Female War Zone Veterans of Previous Eras
  Alan Fontana, Robert Rosenheck, and Rani Desai, 2010
  Journal of Women's Health

• A Qualitative Study of Determinants of PTSD Treatment Initiation in Veterans
  Nina A. Sayer, Greta Friedemann-Sanchez, Michele Spoont, Maureen Murdoch, Louise E. Parker, Christine Chiros, and Robert Rosenheck, 2009
  Psychiatry

• Trends and Risk Factors for Mental Health Diagnoses Among Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Using Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care, 2002-2008
  Karen H, Seal, Thomas J. Metzler, Kristian S. Gima, Daniel Bertenthal, Shira Maguen, and Charles R. Marmar, 2009
  American Journal of Public Health

Professional Development

• "Did You Shoot Anyone?" A Practioner's Guide to Combat Veteran Workplace and Classroom Reintegration
  Christina L. Lafferty, Kenneth L. Alford, Mark K. Davis, and Richard O'Connor
  SAM Advanced Management Journal

• Veterans Returning From War Into The Classroom: How Can Colleges Be Better Prepared To Meet Their Needs
  Lana Zinger and Andrea Cohen, 2010
  Contemporary Issues In Education Research

Popular & Higher Ed Press

From NPR

• Military Still Failing to Diagnose, Treat Brain Injuries
  June 8, 2008
• College Rolls Out Red Carpet For Veterans
  May 24, 2009
• New GI Bill Offers Massive Benefits
  August 3, 2009
• New GI Bill Helps Veterans Pursue College Debt-Free
  August 5, 2009
• Veterans Struggle To Fit Into College Campuses
  October 10, 2009
• Veterans Explore New Careers After Military Service
  November 11, 2009
• Veterans Face New Enemy: Unemployment
  November 25, 2009
• One Hundred Faces Of War Gives Soldiers A Voice
  May 29, 2010
• Boot Camp Teaches Vets To Work For Themselves
  June 6, 2010
• Female Veterans Struggle To Stay Off Streets
  July 11, 2010
• Obama: More Post-Traumatic Stress Help For Vets
  July 11, 2010
• New Regulations May Ease Vets With PTSD
  July 11, 2010
• VA Eases Claims Process For PTSD Treatment
  July 12, 2010

Popular & Higher Ed Press

From Inside Higher Education

• Are Vets' Checks Backlogged?
  August 18, 2009
• Anticipating Impact of New GI Bill
  August 28, 2009
• Hot Seat
  October 16, 2009
• Take Two for GI Bill
  January 27, 2010
• Tillman's Legacy
  March 17, 2010
• Soldiers in the Classroom
  March 19, 2010
• A 'Veteran Friendly' Employer
  June 11, 2010
• Veterans, Less Engaged but Satisfied
  November 4, 2010

Popular & Higher Ed Press

From Chronicle of Higher Education

• Majority of Colleges Offer Services for Veterans, Report Says
  July 22, 2009
• GI Benefits Checks Could Arrive After Tuition Payments Are Due
  August 18, 2009
• Post-9/11 GI Bill Applicants Wait for Colleges to Certify Enrollment
  August 23, 2009
• More Veterans May Attend 4-Year Colleges Full Time, Study Finds
  August 27, 2009
• Veterans Waiting for GI Bill Benefits Will Get Emergency Funds
  September 28, 2009
• Agency Tries to Explain How It's Handling Backlog of Claims Under New GI Bill
  October 15, 2009
• A Community College Makes a Home for Veterans
  October 18, 2009
• Colleges Help Veterans Advance From Combat to Classroom
  October 18, 2009
• New Web Site Seeks to Help Veterans Pick College and Use GI Bill Benefits
  November 9, 2009
• Many Student Veterans Are Still Waiting for GI Bill Benefits, Colleges Tell Congress
  December 3, 2009
• Veterans' Benefits for Spring Semester Face Fewer Delays
  March 4, 2010
• Veterans Use New GI Bill Largely at For-Profit and 2-Year Colleges
  June 13, 2010
• Who Enrolls the Most Students With Post-9/11 GI Benefits
  June 13, 2010
• Teaching Military History in a Time of War
  June 27, 2010