Introduction
As demographics of college and university students in the United States evolve, so too must the policies and procedures used to assist students in their pursuit of post-secondary education (Radford, 2009). By the passage of educational acts such as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (Public Law 78-346), the 1985 Montgomery GI Bill (Public Law 110-252), and now the Post 9/11 GI Bill (Public Law 100-48), institutions of higher education have committed themselves not only to educate the recently discharged and deactivated, but to address a student population with unique needs. Student development practitioners must adapt strategies to assist the transition experience of their military students.
Unlike any other student population, developmental progression and academic acclimation following military enlistment is compounded by a host of obstacles such as mental health needs and psychosocial disruption (Sachs, 2008). As growing numbers of post-9/11 veterans return from their deployments and the numbers of enrolled active service members continue to rise, leaders in higher education must determine how to support the mental, physical, and social needs for this student base.
While considerable research addresses veteran and military service members’ civilian re-entry challenges (Ackerman, DiRamio, and Mitchell, 2009; Radford, 2009) there is a lack of theoretical models for which practitioners can look to for information regarding the specific population of community college student soldiers and veterans. Existing student development theories can be adapted to support this population; what is lost in the adaptation is an holistic approach focused on the unique life experiences attributed only to this specific popu...
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...pringer Publishing Company.
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In the year 1944, US Legislation passed the Servicemen’s Readjustment act, commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights. It is one of the most significant pieces of legislation ever produced by the federal government; one that impacted the United States socially, economically and politically. The GI Bill offers a comprehensive package of benefits, including financial assistance for higher education for veterans of U.S. military service. The benefits of the GI Bill are intended to help veterans readjust to civilian life following service to their country and to encourage bright, motivated men and women to volunteer for military duty. Many factors and contributions have gone into the development of the GI Bill, and it has changed over the years. This research paper will introduce the reader to a brief history of the formation and evolution of the GI Bill, discuss the current benefits that it offers to student populations in response to their specific needs, and introduce current implications that the GI Bill has placed on student veterans and institutions across the nation.
That is to say that both post traumatic stress disorder and physical disabilities are issues that many soldiers have to deal with once they return home from war. Mental affects on veterans can vary person to person. Events l...
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A look back at the institution of education over the past 20 years will reveal that once upon a time a bachelor’s degree was long since considered the marker of ultimate success, the highest level of achievement that one could make in their lives. In those days, if for some reason you failed to march across the stage on graduation day after an epic, four-year stretch of high tuition, long nights studying, and unrelenting professors that found great joy in riding your back, then you had indeed failed at life.
Despite the initiatives used by universities to resolve the issue with retention amongst this group of students, there is a relatively high rate of first generation students not returning to college. The “combined portrait” facing first year students is one of students at academic risk, where a disproportionally low number succeed in college. They are more likely to leave at the end of the first year and less likely to stay enrolled or attain a bachelor’s degree after five years (Stuber, 2008). Dr. McKay ,a professor at the University of Oklahoma in a study found that approximately 43% of FGS leave college before finishing a degree where the drop-out rate of non-first generation student is 20% (McKay & Estrella, 2008)
There is an every growing need for college graduates that need government benefits. There are a surplus of able body men and woman looking for a career or a chance to better their life’s using the benefits provide by the Mandatory Military Services Act as a catalyst to improve the standard of living for each citizen. By having experience that will transience to the job market, with the job market being flooded with highly train workers with military background the overall productivity will greatly improve. (Ruschmann
The Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the G.I. Bill, was created to “provide a short-term measure by which the federal government could mitigate the pressure of hundreds of thousands of returning war veterans becoming job seekers in a saturated national market” (Schuh, J. H., Jones, S. R., Harper, S. R., & Associates, 2011, p. 13). Post-secondary education had become the stepping stone for veterans to assimilate back into civilian life. The unexpected success of the program brought about the needs for academic integrity. Schools had to meet certain expectations to be included in the G.I. Bill scholarship program. Post-secondary institutions hungry for the influx of federal money began to construct their programming to meet the needs of the veteran students. They continue to adjust their programs to maintain alignment with the evolvement of the G....
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My decision to enroll in college has been one that I have been pondering for the last three decades. During my last year of high school, I met a friend who was surprised that was not planning on enrolling at the local community college. As I've matured and joined the United States Marine Corps, I had an opportunity to start my college journey. Surprisingly, that was in 1978. From 1978 to 2009 my journey took me to my midpoint and I received my Associates Degree. The thrill of receiving that Associates degree motivated me to start on my undergraduate journey. There were several reasons why I decided to start this journey in addition to the thrill and it ranges from making new friends, preparing for new career, learn new skills, and most importantly to increase my knowledge. That is why I decided to enroll at American Military University in pursuit of my undergraduate degree in Emergency Management (EM) and Preparedness.
Attending the brick-and-mortar traditional university, my traditional learning environment fostered any and everything but a setting for the mature. I had just completed a hitch with the military, and I was unstable already from such, and college campus life was no encouragement to change at the time. Knowles as to his six assumptions stating “[a]s a person matures, his or her self-concept moves from that of a dependent personality toward one of a self-directing human being (Mirriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner 2007, p...
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High impact practices are important to the development and engagement of students (Kilgo et al, 2014). Two high impact practices that have a positive impact on students are collaborative learning and undergraduate research (Kilgo et al, 2014). I think the high impact practices will give student affairs professional different methods and opportunities to help develop and support students through their college career. Student affairs professionals are going to have to learn how to participate to high impact practices and find ways to motivate students to do them (Schuh et al, 2011). By doing this I believe that student affairs professionals and faculty can bridge the gap to help success of
As a woman on active duty in the United States Coast Guard I have benefited from numerous experiences that have molded and prepared me for my academic career. As a Health Services Technician, I have had the unique opportunity to treat patients and truly help my fellow shipmates. Seven years of experience has shown me how much listening to someone’s story is treatment alone. I have selected Sociology as my major because I have learned that understanding how we operate in society is an essential tool when making an effort to really understand someone and more importantly understanding what tools are necessary to succeed in a particular environment. Sociology is a specialty that will aid in a future career in medicine because treating the person is as crucial as treating a disease. A focus in Sociology expands our imaginations, broadening our capacity to feel compassion for our fellow man.