The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how post 9/11 military veterans described their transitions from military service to postsecondary education in the southwestern United States. The problem statement was: It is not known how post 9/11 military veterans describe their transitions from military service to postsecondary…

Critical events in Leonard Matlovich's life depict a reluctant activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/gender diverse, and queer+ (LGBTQ+) equality. He served in the US military and subsequently came to personify the broad social challenges to the military's homophobic culture and recruitment practices. Matlovich's experience of a series…

Unfortunately, not all civilian volunteers fulfill their military contracts due to failing to meet basic combat training graduation requirements or medical issues. As the primary trainers, drill sergeants (DSs) affect the completion of basic combat training and serve as gatekeepers for civilian volunteer's completion paths. Although the DSs…

Colleges may not be prepared to support veteran students transitioning from the military to higher education, resulting in more significant attrition levels for veteran students struggling to adapt to their new surroundings. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the experiences of post-9/11 veteran students as they transitioned from the…

Women are the fastest growing population of veterans in the United States. When asked why they joined the military, women have overwhelming indicated they were seeking educational benefits; as such, the number of women veterans attending higher education has risen. While women veterans face many challenges, including physical and mental health…

Objective: To examine how veterans resource centers (VRCs) and corresponding services influence student veteran transitions by applying the Schlossberg Transition Model. Participants: 12 student support staff and 6 junior/senior undergraduate student veterans at a four-year public university in California. Methods: In-depth semi-structured,…

Military service members belong to a unique culture identified, in part, by their clothing, language, job requirements, and relationships. Their experiences within the military set them apart in ways that are unlikely to be understood by most in the civilian employment community. When transitioning into civilian employment, veterans navigate…

This study employs descriptive qualitative analysis to explore the experiences of eight Mexican American veterans utilizing Veterans Affairs education benefits to pursue baccalaureate degrees. Participants were recruited in Southern California at two California Community Colleges and three California State Universities. The findings suggest that…

While existing research recognizes the importance of transitions in military members' lives, there are few, and to my knowledge no micro-level discourse analytic, studies illuminating how military veterans talk about their transitions into and out of the military. Taking an interactional sociolinguistic approach (Gumperz, 1977, 2015), I examine…

Objective: This study examined the relationships among meaning making, military stressor severity, and adjustment to college among student service members/veterans (SSM/Vs). Participants: Participants were 128 SSM/Vs enrolled in postsecondary education from April to June 2016. Methods: Participants completed online self-report rating scales of…

In 2020, the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) began working with the Urban Institute to develop a picture of adult learners in Chicago. We developed a comprehensive definition of adult learners that guided specific data inquiries from publicly available American Community Survey data. In this data profile, we define an adult learner as: anyone who…

This chapter provides a historical overview of the relationship between the military and higher education.

This chapter provides a taxonomy of student veterans in the form of a codebook to assist in institutional data collection and analysis.

This chapter focuses on conceptual models that may enable institutional researchers and scholars to better study the student veteran experience.

Parental deployment and frequent relocations exert significant stress on children from military families. This stress can be extremely disruptive to young children's social, cognitive and behavioural development. It can result in negative social, emotional, and physical responses. There are a broad range of programs, resources, and services…