Noteboom The Law Firm

Veteran-Students Asking For More Support

November 9, 2010 - The Post-9/11 GI Bill is the most comprehensive education benefits package the military has provided since the original Montgomery GI Bill. Because of this, more veterans than ever are enrolling in college using their earned Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits.

Despite the increased benefits after surveying almost 11,000 1st year or 4th year veteran-students enrolled in 4 year institutions, National Survey of Student Engagement researchers found those veteran-students felt:

• Unsupported; and
• Misunderstood.

Veterans were also less likely to become involved in intern- or externships, and the veterans were not as likely to engage their professors as their peers who had never been in the military. The yearly study is used to look at the interaction between the faculty and students in an educational environment. This year's study found that colleges must focus on supporting veteran-students to supply them with more compassionate and encouraging environments.

For many veterans, going to college provides nothing more than a new environment to which they must adapt. Many veterans find this to be too much, especially if they have not fully integrated into their civilian roles yet. Veteran-students also demonstrate other problems once enrolled, which include transferring between schools, suffering learning disabilities, and working while attending college. Nevertheless, researchers found veteran-students studied about the same amount of time as traditional students.

Veterans do differ from traditional students and do require different types of support. Many times it takes a veteran to understand what other veterans are going through. Hopefully new programs may be developed on the college level to help these veteran students reach their full potential.