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…

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,…

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…

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.

Many U.S. service members who repatriate following military service in Iraq and Afghanistan seek educational benefits proffered by the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008. Student-veterans are a diverse and unique population within university settings, and there is much to be learned about factors that may influence their rates of…

This chapter discusses how understanding differences between National Guard members, reservists, active duty personnel, and veterans in higher education can better inform institutional evidence-based decision-making to support military-connected individuals' college access and success.

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the essence of the experiences of combat veterans with significant combat exposure who successfully completed their bachelor's degree through a private online program despite the presence of challenges related and unrelated to their combat exposure. For the purpose of this…

In the current U.S. military operational environment, it has been estimated that up to 700,000 troop years (cumulative years of service including multiple tours of duty) have been logged over the past decade since offensive campaigns began, following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (Smith, Benight, & Cieslak, 2013). With this influx…

Colleges and universities are devoting resources to support students who have military experience. However, evidence suggests veterans may not be using services. Since resources are available this begs the questions "why not?" and "what are the help-seeking attitudes of veterans for psychological and academic assistance?" It's…