Assessing Student Success Efforts for Military Students in a California Community College PDF Download

Author: Bob Kratochvil
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Veterans
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
Two million U.S. military veterans live in California, a number that is expected to increase as military personnel in the Afghanistan (OEF) and Iraq (OIF) conflicts complete their service. Statewide statistics indicate that scores of returning veterans will be attending California community colleges. Many colleges have attempted to address the influx of returning veterans by developing appropriate support services for them. The college participating in this research established such services and is considered a model program. This exploratory mixed methods study evaluated those services and programs and assessed their effect on student success. This study was guided by Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, and Whitt's theoretical framework on student engagement and two research questions: (a) How do OEF/OIF student veterans at the participating college define "student success" and (b) To what extent and how do the OEF/OIF student veterans at the college attribute their success to the specialized veterans' programs and services provided by the college? The study consisted of a review of the college's veterans program, interviews of OEF/OIF military veterans at the school, and a survey of over 300 student veterans. The objective was to gain the veterans' perspectives of and satisfaction with the services provided. The findings indicated that the veterans' definition of success was based on grades, transfer opportunities, goal completion, and job obtainment. Additionally, most participants viewed the programs and services as contributing to their success. The findings will help college administrators to gain a more comprehensive understanding of student veterans' classroom needs and to model these programs and services as they attempt to meet student veterans' educational goals.

Author: Patrick C. O'Rourke
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781303765551
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Abstract: Increasingly more service members are separating from the military as the United States draws down the force and moves towards a post-war era. Tens of thousands of these veterans will leverage their GI Bill tuition and housing benefits in an attempt to access Southern California community colleges and bolster their transition into mainstream society. Some of these men and women have served multiple tours in combat zones and carry with them the burden of physical and mental injuries. After 4 years of GI Bill benefits costing over $20 billion and supporting 750,000 veterans or their dependents, it is unclear whether these veterans have been successful in higher education. This study starts the dialogue for further quantitative research on this diverse population. Using quantitative methodologies based on a nontraditional student attrition model, 261 student veterans at three Southern California community colleges were surveyed to determine how military service affects their persistence. Background variables, academic and social integration, psychological outcomes, and military service perspective as related to student veterans' intent to persist, college GPA, and rate of attendance formed the framework for research. Findings show that student veterans' intent to continue their educational goals is affected by their military service perspective. Military service is a significant intervening variable that distinguishes veterans from other nontraditional students at community colleges. Military GPA was found to have a stronger association with college GPA than high school GPA. Although academic integration was the strongest predictor of college GPA, the most successful student veterans balance their work, family, and academic lives. Although some findings relate closely to existing higher education literature, the experience and perspective of military service produces both advantages and disadvantages for veterans in college. Accounting for veterans' persistence and acknowledging their diversity are measures which will strengthen their chances for academic success. Recommendations for policy, practice, and future research are addressed in this study.

Author: Carlos Antonio Garanzuay
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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The purpose of this study is to identify non-cognitive attributes learned from enlisted military service that can guide student-veterans to success in higher education. Community colleges are showing poor completion rates for all the efforts toward student success and completion. Non-traditional students persist to completion and student success using a predominant set of non-cognitive attributes to overcome academic and cultural deficiencies typical of their demographic. As a niche subset of the non-traditional population, student-veterans are equipped with various non-cognitive attributes gained during their enlisted military service which they use to face unique challenges related to transitioning out of the military culture and into the culture of higher education. This study sought to capture and ascertain the lived experiences of successfully completed student-veterans that managed to effectively transition out of the military culture and into the culture of higher education utilizing a primarily grounded theory approach. The researcher performed a qualitative study to identify and understand the types of non-cognitive attributes student-veterans obtained during enlisted military service which were later used to earn academic success and program completion in a community college, or postsecondary education. Eighteen successfully completed student-veterans were gathered through snowball-sampling, which represented a diverse, intersected crosscutting of demographics. The researcher conducted interviews implementing a semi-structured, open-ended interview protocol. This flexible interview decorum supported the process of data gathering as veterans shared their personal experiences transitioning from the military culture into the culture of higher education, earning a completion credential and academic success. The guiding research questions of this study included: 1) What attributes learned through enlisted military experience translate to student success in higher education?; 2) What attributes learned through enlisted military experience correlate with the non-cognitive skills exhibited by non-traditional students that lead to success in higher education?; 3) How can student-veterans effectively apply their enlisted military experience as it relates to their student experience in higher education? This study identified eleven themes which surfaced from interviews with research participants: Commitment/Discipline, Communication/Self-Advocacy, Leadership/Team-building/Military Core values, Goal-setting and Planning, Adaptability, Responsibility/Accountability, Self-awareness, Confidence in self/ability, Time Management, Perspective of risk/consequence, and Caution. The three predominant non-cognitive attributes characteristic of the larger non-traditional student population were present among student-veterans, although only two were identified as among the predominant attributes in this study. The following themes emerged from interviews as opportunities student-veterans can best apply their non-cognitive attributes: Identify scenarios which military attributes are appropriate and applicable, Network/Seek guidance, Establish personal habits/routines, Plan/prepare for transition before separation, Adapt rather than impose, Exercise cultural awareness/understanding, and Identify parallel structures that exist in both military and higher education worlds. The emergent themes led to recommendations for community college and higher education leaders to develop cultural competencies on campus which validate the experiences and identities of student-veterans, build cultural acclimation bridges that allow student-veterans to wholly transfer their identity and attributes to their postsecondary experience, and manufacture an integration process that elevates student-veteran completion rates that may also positively impact other non-traditional student demographics for greater overall completion rates and student success.

Author: David DiRamio
Publisher: The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience
ISBN: 1942072163
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
With the passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill in 2008, more than 1.4 million service members and their families became eligible for higher education benefits, and veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan enrolled in colleges and universities in record numbers. The first wave of research about these new student veterans focused primarily on describing their characteristics and the transition from military service to civilian life and the college campus. This new edited collection presents findings from the second wave of research about student veterans, with a focus on data-driven evidence of academic success factors, including persistence, retention, degree completion, and employment after college. An invaluable resource for educators poised to enter the next phase of supporting military-connected college students.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
With the Post-9/11 GI Bill available to them, thousands of women-veterans are enrolling in community colleges to obtain an education and fine-tune job skills needed for success after their active duty military service. This qualitative study investigated the transition experiences of 19 women student-veterans who enrolled in the community college after completing their military active duty service. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants attending two suburban Southern California community colleges. Using a constructivist, grounded theory methodology, a model was created consisting of four related themes showing how women veterans are managing their transition to community college students. The themes include: (a) finding her way; (b) a gendered military experience; (c) preparing for change; and (d) relying on support. The data showed that women student-veterans are focused and more mature because of their gendered military experience. They have difficulty fitting in with the student population, including with their male student-veteran peers, preferring to selectively and discriminately identify as veterans. Very self-sufficient and staunchly independent, women student-veterans sought academic and program help exclusively from college faculty and staff. The findings of this study can inform the support efforts of community college faculty, staff, and administrators. Recommendations are offered including: establishing a college orientation for new faculty and staff; providing sensitivity training for faculty, staff, administrators, and students; developing women student-veteran workshops; and implementing a community partners engagement program in support of women veterans. Additionally, recommendations for future research on women student-veterans are proposed.

Author: Phil McNair
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780132886956
Category : College student orientation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
For Student Success and ANY course with active duty military and veterans enrolled. Active duty military and veterans face special challenges in dealing with Higher Education. Written by those who have both served and taught, this text provides invaluable information, Web pointers, and insights. It is designed to help those serving and veterans-but also professors, advisors, and administrations. Treatment provides unique considerations for both campus-based and online education. Infuse student success into any program with our "IDentity" Series booklets. Written by national subject matter experts, the material contains strategies and activities for immediate application. If you like this IDentity Series: Finding Success as a Returning Veteran or Military Student, you will love the other options available: Financial Responsibility (Clearpoint Financial), Now You're Thinking about College (Judy Chartrand et.al.), Now You're Thinking about Your Career (Judy Chartrand et.al.), Ownership (Megan Stone), and Financial Literacy (Farnoosh Torabi). AVAILABILITY: It is available via our Pearson Custom Library program as a standalone product or as part of a custom text. Go to http: //www.pearsonlearningsolutions.com/custom-library/pearson-custom-student-success-and-career-development to view the content and build your book! You can view samples by flipping through this catalog http: //www.pageturnpro.com/Pearson-Education/42339-Pearson-IDentity-Series/index.html#1

Author: Rebecca A. Collette
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Veterans
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
The survey used in this study was designed to better understand challenges student veterans face when transferring from community college to CSUS. Researchers focus specifically on three factors: administrative processes, behavioral health access, and student veteran organizations. Participants were student veterans enrolled at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS), and were primarily undergraduates aged 25-34 who had transferred from community college to CSUS. Among participants, 63% were male and 59% had deployed to a combat zone. Study results from 70 veteran student surveys identified key challenges affecting student veterans in the following areas: transferring credits, faculty and peer interaction, orientation, accessing financial aid and G.I. Bill benefits, and class registration. Researchers found the most useful services identified by participants at both community college and CSUS were priority registration, full-time veteran representative on campus, and access to counseling services. Findings indicated a positive correlation between student veterans' satisfaction levels during community college and ratings of helpfulness of community college veteran representatives, suggesting that these representatives play an important role in the academic experience of the veteran. Researchers found that participants valued many skills developed during military service, such as flexibility, reacting productively under stress, and working well with others. Further, results indicated that student veteran dropouts could be largely attributed to mental health challenges such as poor coping skills, mental health reasons, alcohol and drug use, and cultural adaptation problems. Researchers make recommendations that challenge community colleges and universities to be 'veteran-friendly' campuses.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
The roles and responsibilities of colleges and universities in the education of student veterans are important to ensure students' retention, success, and engagement on school campuses. There are a few existing studies on the skills and abilities soldiers gain while in the military, and even fewer studies on how student veterans can translate their acquired military skills into the academic realm. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to advance the research on student veterans in the community college and the perceptions of their college faculty and staff. Because the existing literature primarily focuses on student veterans' needs, this study aims to challenge the existing deficit models and employ a strengths-based model to provide a new framework for veteran serving institutions. This study provides a new lens, for a deeper understanding of the skills veterans, possess and the ways in which those skills can be capitalized upon and transferred to the academic realm to ensure student veteran success. A closed voluntary and anonymous 55-item survey was distributed to student veterans who volunteered to participate in the study, using Qualtrics, to ensure confidentiality and anonymity. Also, student veterans, English faculty members, and Veteran Resource Center directors were given the opportunity to participate in a one-on-one approximate 30-minute interview with the researcher. The goal was to elicit candid responses about the skills and abilities these students possess, how they transfer them into the academic realm and their perceptions of faculty members' and Veteran Resource Center Directors' attitudes towards student veterans. Results of this study indicate that English faculty and Veteran Resource Center directors' perceptions about student veterans and their acquired skills and abilities are positive, yet, preconceived notions and stereotypes continue to cloud their understanding of student veterans. Findings also indicate that student veterans gained multiple skills in the military and currently use those skills and abilities to succeed academically. An examination of the quantitative and qualitative data suggests there is a great need for the implementation and use of a new model which employs a strengths-based perspective. The researcher proposes the Boots to Books Strengths Model, which uses a strength based lens that informs and impacts the incorporation of military experience and socialization of veterans and their military-acquired skills and abilities in the academic setting; resulting in student veterans' overall academic success, self-efficacy, and sense of belonging.

Author: Laura W. Perna
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000978753
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
How appropriate for today and for the future are the policies and practices of higher education that largely assume a norm of traditional-age students with minimal on-campus, or no, work commitments?Despite the fact that work is a fundamental part of life for nearly half of all undergraduate students – with a substantial number of “traditional” dependent undergraduates in employment, and working independent undergraduates averaging 34.5 hours per week – little attention has been given to how working influences the integration and engagement experiences of students who work, especially those who work full-time, or how the benefits and costs of working differ between traditional age-students and adult students.The high, and increasing, prevalence and intensity of working among both dependent and independent students raises a number of important questions for public policymakers, college administrators, faculty, academic advisors, student services and financial aid staff, and institutional and educational researchers, including: Why do so many college students work so many hours? What are the characteristics of undergraduates who work? What are the implications of working for students’ educational experiences and outcomes? And, how can public and institutional policymakers promote the educational success of undergraduate students who work? This book offers the most complete and comprehensive conceptualization of the “working college student” available. It provides a multi-faceted picture of the characteristics, experiences, and challenges of working college students and a more complete understanding of the heterogeneity underlying the label “undergraduates who work” and the implications of working for undergraduate students’ educational experiences and outcomes. The volume stresses the importance of recognizing the value and contribution of adult learners to higher education, and takes issue with the appropriateness of the term “non-traditional” itself, both because of the prevalence of this group, and because it allows higher education institutions to avoid considering changes that will meet the needs of this population, including changes in course offerings, course scheduling, financial aid, and pedagogy.