VTRNgroup, LLC

  • About VTRNgroup LLC
    • About James Schmeling
    • About Eugenia Hernandez
    • Higher Education Careers for Veterans
  • Contact Page
You are here: Home / Archives for Student Veterans

Higher Education as a Civilian Incubator for Transitioning Veterans

April 3, 2016 by James Leave a Comment

One of my colleagues, Jared Lyon, uses the term “Civilian Incubator” to describe college as a transition strategy for service members and veterans as they re-enter the civilian world from their military service. Civilian accelerator might be even more appropriate.

College experiences
College experiences

It’s interesting to think we need such re-acclimation, because for many veterans we never left the civilian world. We lived off base, shopped at regular malls, sent our kids to local schools, and other things that everyone around us did. At the same time, many of us worked in an environment that was sometimes much different than our civilian peers who never served, including being deployed, living with our units, and of course, combat. We also held security clearances, couldn’t talk about our work, and shared less about our jobs with our families and friends than our peers shared with their families and friends. Our education and career paths were largely determined for us, as were our benefits, where we moved, and so on.

College on the other hand is all about choice. Everything from choosing what schools to apply to, what majors to study, what class schedule to enroll in, what student activities to participate in, to where to live, what part time jobs to take, and more. Sometimes these are the first times we need to make informed decisions on our own, without guidance or people to advise us. We’re around civilians who have never served on a daily basis. Our faculty are not military members as were our instructors and faculty while we served. Things aredifferent. Not bad, not good necessarily, but different. (For me they were good!)

When I went to college and then later law school after service I had an interesting experience with rejoining the civilian world. Mere months after I left the military I enrolled in and began attending Iowa State University. I moved into the adult student/graduate student dorms, because I was an adult student aged 25. The first person I met was my roommate, also a veteran. Of course that too was different – he was a veteran of the Ukrainian military. Quite a change from the Cold War in which I had served, rather than an “adversary”, he was now my roommate. We had a lot in common in having served our countries in our respective militaries, though we never really got to know each other well. (I’ll never forget the first time my alarm went off and he came out of bed standing at attention!)

Over the next few weeks I met other veterans in the dormitory. My next roommate was a Navy veteran. Good friends were Army veterans, serving National Guard members, a spouse of a Navy service member who was at sea, a Royal Norwegian Air Force veteran. Outside of the dormitory, in the Adult Students on Campus and Adult Student Scholarship Fund groups I joined, there were Army and Air Force veterans, some from the then current era of service, some dating back to Vietnam.

I had a cadre of fellow veterans, of international students who were veterans also, and of serving Guard members. I felt at home. Unlike some stories I read now, I was not having difficulty transitioning into higher education – I was in love with higher education! I had the opportunity to learn, to interact with new ideas, to be exposed to rigorous academics. But I was also comforted by the familiar around me, and we gave each other advice, counsel, and, even, focus. We raised money for other veterans and adult students.

Then something interesting started to happen. My friends and colleagues introduced me to their friends. I met my own friends. People who weren’t veterans. People who were amazingly diverse, both in their backgrounds, but also in their experiences. As I noted, even as an undergrad, I was in a graduate student and adult student dormitory. One person I met was a 75-year-old woman pursuing her degree “because it’s a lot cheaper than a nursing home and it keeps me young!” I learned to relate my military experiences to their life experiences. I heard alternative perspectives from around the world. From people pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees after varied business and industry roles, not at all affiliated with military service. I met undergrad and graduate students pursuing research in subjects I knew nothing about. My intellectual curiosity was sparked and my appetite for learning fed!

I noticed something else – the veterans who had gotten to know each other spread out. They bridged the “civilian-military” divide by engaging and interacting with others with no experience of military service. We learned from each other, expanded our circles, opened our minds and those of our peers who had never served, rejected our pre-conceived notions of others and helped others do the same. We built on the characteristics and traits we had garnered from military service and went on to graduate. We pursued professional schools, graduate school, civilian careers, and even ongoing military service. We built families. Became leaders in our communities. Built businesses. Taught in local schools. We became civilians during our education and after our service. And even more important, we transitioned our brothers and sisters from service to civilian at the same time. We didn’t have SVA at that time. Now we do, and SVA does the same thing! That’s the power of Student Veterans of America. That’s the power of our chapters. That’s the power of peers. That’s why I and others at SVA do what we do.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Higher Education, Student Veterans, Veterans

Seven Tips for Student Veteran Success

March 12, 2016 by James Schmeling Leave a Comment

A recent Politico article considered several of the major decision-making roadblocks for college seeking veterans, such as the legal and regulatory scrutiny some colleges have faced for practices that have seriously hurt college students. The piece points out that the Veterans Administration (VA) doesn’t have a mechanism to inform prospective student veterans of the issues with colleges and universities that have been the subject of these actions.

The truth is, though the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill is the most generous, comprehensive federal education benefit in existence, most information provided by the Department of Education, Department of Defense and the service branches is focused on how to access the benefit and not how servicemembers, veterans, and their families can get the most “bang for their buck” when they use their educational benefits.

One issue that we hear come up repeatedly is the challenge of making an informed decision on where to use GI Bill and Military Tuition Assistance benefits.

This gap in information for veterans thinking about going to college leaves many veterans vulnerable to deceptive and misleading practices by some educational institutions.

Most people respond that student veterans must do their own due diligence. But how can they? And why should they have to rely on their own investigations when others have already been conducted? The Attorney Generals of eight states are urging that information about bad actors be more widely available in a recent letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs for instance.

Due to these deficits in information, and difficulty in navigating existing resources, the majority of transitioning service members are not in a position to make fully-informed decisions on their education paths, including which colleges and universities they will attend, for what degrees and programs of study, and to how to connect their education paths to the long-term career opportunities to which higher education contributes. Military veterans are not fully aware of the difference between not-for-profit public and private schools, and for-profit private schools. They don’t know how their existing education credits will transfer into the schools and colleges they are considering, nor are they aware of articulation agreements between community colleges and four year universities that may make college more affordable.

Like most traditional prospective college students, student veterans are not experts on accreditation and its importance or on the scorecards issued by the Department of Education. In many cases, they are not even aware of the College Net Cost Calculators required to be available from each college and university. And most importantly, they don’t know what sources are credible versus which are simplylead generators for colleges and universities that pay for placement on their lists or in their search results.

While SVA cannot make decisions for them, here is what we can do for prospective student veterans: we can provide guidance and a comprehensive source of information on the tools that are available and how to effectively use the tools, advice on the importance and weight to give to varying information sources, access to our chapters and our members, and provide a platform for our alumni to engage with prospective student veterans. We can build pointers to the databases of regulatory and legal actions, news of settlements, bad actions documented by others, and more. We can help individuals make connections to the resources and people who can help them make the best decisions for themselves and their families.

We can also help colleges and universities understand how to reach student veterans and provide them with the right information to attract them to their programs of study, help them make good decisions on how to best use their G.I. Bill benefits, or other financial resources and non-financial supports, leading to successful degree completion and meaningful careers.

The best informed students may become the best alumni and boosters for their alma maters, stay connected to their chapters, and be resources for prospective student veterans and transitioning service members and family members.

With these needs in mind, here are 7 things for prospective student veterans to consider in choosing their college or university.

  1. College fit matters: Consider size, programs of study, locations, financial aid, student support services, proximity to VA healthcare, cultural competency of the college or university, and more;Choose a college or university with high graduation rates; Check the track record: Choose a college or university with high placement rates for graduates in their field. A few resources include: US Department of Veteran Affair Know Before you Go, US Department of Education College Scorecard,US News and World Report Best Colleges, US News and World Report Best Graduate Schools, US News and World Report Best for Veterans, MBA Rankings – Poets and Quants. Consider the source: Consider which rankings sites are reliable and recommended, and how they can guide you to making the right decision. Each ranking tool notes its methodology for ranking, and each has different strengths. Consumer Reports provides an overview of ranking tools and guidance on how to make decisions.
  2. Do your research: Check into complaints, lawsuits, government actions and fines, watch lists, and more [Resources: FTC, US Department of Veterans Affairs, and US Department of Education. See others listed below].
  3. Consider the numbers in context: A one year or two-year blip in a data trend may not indicate a problem, but low rates of employment, high loan default rates, or long-term wages lower than you expect might suggest making a different choice. Institutions that are showing signs of trouble can be placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring by the U.S. Department of Education. To learn more about which institutions might be on this list visit the Federal Student Aid website.
  4. Location, Location, Location: Think about where you live now, where you can attend college due to proximity or cost, and where you want to live in the future. See the USAA Best for Veterans Guide. The most recent edition has best for careers, entrepreneurship, and education-focused lists.
  5. Distance Learning: If considering a distance education program, consider the college experiences and services that might not be available, such as an SVA chapter, student health services, career counseling services, and think about how interactions with other students will happen – the long-term connections to alumni can be important in career opportunities [Resources: Military Times, US News Best for Veterans]
  6. Consider on campus veteran friendly initiatives: Is there an SVA chapter? Do they have day care for veterans with families attending the university? Is there a militarily friendly culture?
  7. Look into the program accreditation: Even though the prospective school might be accredited, does the individual program have the proper accreditation for you to obtain employment after degree completion (I.e. Law schools that are not ABA accredited may not allow you to practice in other states.)
  8. SVA will continue to offer resources, building on the list above, in the coming weeks. We’ll provide resources for informed decision making even while we advocate for changes in law and policy that accelerate student veteran success. When we ensure that military education dollars are well-spent we give our veterans and family members the potential to become an important part of the engine that drives our economy forward.

Resource Links:

Rankings and Publications
o US News and World Report – http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges,http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools,http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/veterans
o Military Times: Best for Vets
o U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
o Consumer Reports
o USAA Best for Veterans Guide
o Poets & Quants
Government, Agencies and Associations
o White House – https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/veterans/investing-education,https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/04/27/executive-order-establishing-principles-excellence-educational-instituti, https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/08/13/8-keys-success-supporting-veterans-military-and-military-families-campus
o US Department of Veterans Affairs Education and Training
o Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – https://www.ftc.gov/scams/education,  http://www.enforcementwatch.com/2016/01/29/ftc-and-department-of-education-announce-actions-against-for-profit-college/, https://www.ftc.gov/scams/education, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2015/11/ftc-veterans-administration-sign-agreement-furthering-efforts,https://www.ftc.gov/policy/cooperation-agreements/memorandum-agreement-between-ftc-department-veterans-affairs, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2013/10/ftc-poses-eight-questions-ask-when-choosing-college-after, https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0395-choosing-college-questions-ask
o American Bar Association Approved Law Schools
o U.S. Department of Education – http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/open-letter-service-members-and-veterans-us-under-secretary-education-ted-mitchell-our-service-members-and-veterans, http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-protecting-students-abusive-career-colleges, http://www.ed.gov/accreditation,  https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/student-aid-enforcement-unit-formed-protect-students-borrowers-taxpayers
o Federal Student Aid
News, Articles and Reference Materials
o GI Bill Funds Still Flow to troubled for-profits
o NASFAA
o The College Board – https://www.collegeboard.org/, https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/find-colleges/how-find-your-college-fit
o Ashford University and Parent Company Bridgepoint Education Agree to $7.25 Million Payment and Major Changes after Miller Alleges Consumer Fraud 
o Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and 7 States Sign Letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Urging Greater Protections for Veterans Affected by Predatory School Practices

SVA Resources
o SVA Chapter Directory
o SVA Chapter Success Manual

SVA highered veterans education studentvets
This blog post originally appeared at http://studentveterans.tumblr.com/post/140641022526/seven-tips-for-student-veteran-success and at http://studentveterans.org/index.php/media-news/in-the-news/531-seven-tips-for-student-veteran-success.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Education, Higher Education, Student Veterans, Veteran

Strangers in Paradise – Veterans in Higher Education

December 12, 2015 by James Schmeling Leave a Comment

Strangers in Paradise: Academics from the Working Class was the title on a book spine I just noticed on my wife’s bookshelf. We have a lot of bookshelves, and a lot of books we both brought into our home when we married, and our book collections are pretty eclectic, so I haven’t really seen all of her books yet. But this one resonated a little with me. (OK, some will contend I’m not an academic. Frankly that’s probably part of what the book gets at, as well as the fact that I’ve always been an academic researcher and academic administrator, and an adjunct in a couple of places, but never a regular faculty member.) Anyway, when I did the quick search on the book before deciding whether to read it or not, I came across an article by Howard Waitzkin in the Chronicle of Higher Education. He focused on his feeling of alienation from colleges he attended and worked in, and how that book influenced him to work with students who were from similar, poor, rural backgrounds. His article, and its six points resonated with me as I thought about how I’ve worked with students and particularly, recently, with veteran students who may not quite feel like they fit in. His six points, paraphrased:

  • Offer safety
  • Connect students with their passions
  • Foster student voices and visions
  • Push expectation boundaries
  • Facilitate community experiences
  • Learn from the students

I understood his feelings of “alienation” from the universities where he studied and worked – I felt a bit apart from mine as well. I grew up technically poor (I didn’t know that at the time, really, I just knew we weren’t well-to-do). Unlike him, I did go into the military – not drafted into Vietnam as were his peers, but into an all-volunteer force. I went willingly, and desperately. Desperate to leave Iowa. The small, rural town that was the largest and most self-important for a 100 miles in any direction. I went to see the world, and to experience life, get an education, and find what was next.

For me, what was next after service was college. Back in Iowa, at a public university, Iowa State. Mostly because I wanted to go to law school at the University of Iowa and everyone had told me not to go to the same school for an undergraduate degree and law degree. But, I didn’t feel very connected to the regular student body. (I wrote about that at Importance of Peers to Veteran Student Success.) Similarly, in law school I sought out peers who were veterans and non-traditional students. Particularly those from similar backgrounds. I was fortunate that the Iowa College of Law had a small section program that included people from all walks of life and made friends with people outside of my comfort zone as well. Several of my peers were veterans or active military members. Some went back into service and are still serving now, 15 years later, or just recently retired.

All that said, I was grateful for these opportunities for education, to grow, and to connect to others. When I went to work for the Iowa College of Law, when I had the opportunity to be an adjunct there and in the rehabilitation counseling program, I took those experiences, and, like Waitzkin, adapted my approach to students. I’ve kept that adapted approach all along. What primarily was important to me was to communicate that they, like me, belonged, but perhaps didn’t fit. Belonging and fit are too often confused. Fit goes with experience and familiarity. Belonging goes with ability to benefit from, and to provide value to, an institution of higher education, earning it through willingness to take that benefit, and to do something with it, whether for the individuals own benefit or the benefit of the university or society as a whole. Too often veterans don’t feel like they fit with their traditional student peers. But fit is the wrong measure. Belonging is the right measure. Ability to use education to the fullest extent, to apply it. Interestingly both the comments in his article and Amazon’s recommendation engine both recommended Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams as a resource related to the same issues.

Hopefully more and more of the veteran students I work with will join academia, or aspired to move from their “camouflage collar” jobs to white collar careers including in academia. I know quite a few veterans who are faculty members, administrators, and staff. Most of us don’t and haven’t connected to veteran students regularly. But if we did, if we applied those six principles, and made sure veteran students knew who we are and that we’re available for them, we’d do better as a community, and as a society. As a leader at Student Veterans of America, this is an area I will focus on for our student veteran members and chapters, as well as the universities they attend. We’re good enough (or better than good enough) to be faculty members, to pursue academic research, to be administrators, and staff members, and we have an obligation to serve our veterans when we are in higher education.

An earlier version of this was originally published at http://www.jamesschmeling.com/strangers-in-paradise-veterans-in-higher-education/.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Academia, Higher Education, Imposter Syndrome, Peers, Student Veterans

Revisiting 10 Questions [Student] Veterans should Ask Themselves before Transition

November 4, 2013 by James Schmeling

These 10 questions were originally authored by a colleague at the Institute for Veterans and Military Families and me. I’ve repurposed them, but this time with answers focused on higher education!

1. Where do I go from here?

A community college, four-year college, a university or a specialized vocational training program are all options. Consider what you want to do and where you want to live, and then think about which education track will help you get to where you want to be, doing what you’d like to do to earn a living. Start by reaching out to peers who have started higher education, chapters of Student Veterans of America at colleges you are considering, or directly connect with Student Veterans of America.

2. Do I need training, vocational education or higher education?

Maybe. All things being equal, those with degrees earn more than those without degrees, but not all things are always equal. If you have the necessary training, and the skills commensurate with what you want to do, you may not need to pursue more education. But, pursuing additional education may provide access to more networks, additional knowledge and skills, access to resources like entrepreneurship programs, or skills you don’t have yet, and that would advance your career interests, or your broader life goals.

3. Will I work in a career similar to, or different from, my military career?

Making this decision can help you make decisions about which colleges to consider, or what vocational training programs to pursue, and give you a headstart before transitioning to decide where to apply, and if accepted, where to enroll and pursue training or education. Consider what education or training will complement what you’ve already learned, or what will take you in new directions.

4. For similar careers, are there different career paths depending on the geographic area?

Yes, there are! Doing your research about where you want to live for the long term will inform your decisions about career path, and about education and your need to pursue education in a particular area. Some colleges have strong regional and local reputations, but little national attention. These are often great if you want to stay close to the region that college is in. Other times a national reputation is important because you want career and geographic mobility, or because you want many different business and industry category options with national recruiters from many firms selecting to do interviews and hiring on your campus. If you live in a place with a huge majority of the population who have college degrees, a degree might be an entry point to the career market there. If you are going somewhere with many people in your career path there may be entry level through senior positions available, and you may be able to move from company to company to gain experience, salary increases, and build your networks, while if you are going somewhere with limited opportunities in your career then you may have only one employment option in a place, and could have to change job roles with a company for advancement, and that could be difficult to do if those senior to you aren’t also moving up or around.

5. Do licenses and certifications present barriers or opportunities?

Sometimes they present a barrier and other times an opportunity. You have to consider where you obtained the license or certification, and where you want to use it. It may cross borders of states or may be limited to one state. As you consider where you want to live, look into required career certifications or licenses in that state, opportunities to use existing certificates or licensing, or ability to shortcut a process to obtain the needed certification or license more quickly. Sometimes it’s a waiting game, other times you need to take pro-active steps, and still other times it might require either refresher training and updating your license or starting over. Do the research first! Often a place to start is a community college or another institution of higher education with training and certification programs.

6. What skills, characteristics or traits are transferable and important for my career?

Many people in the military don’t know how their skills, characteristics, or training are transferable into higher education and training, either as a student or as a leader in the local veteran or university community, which ultimately may promote career opportunities. Taking an inventory of what you’ve learned to do, how you’ve learned it, and what you might be able to do as a result can inform your educational opportunities, including volunteer, fraternal, academic, and other service goals may be helpful. And don’t forget to apply those skills to experiential learning opportunities. While many college students see internships as work experience and many student veterans already have work experience, internships IN YOUR FUTURE FIELD are necessary for many organizations to even consider hiring student veterans. It’s important to demonstrate an understanding of career education and paths, and for many fields, internships, externships, volunteer experiences, or even self-directed engagement in the field, are critical to show interest and as a key differentiator. While military work experience may be relevant, internships are likely to still be critical to many recruiters and hiring managers.

7. What new skills do I need?

For colleges and universities many times the most important skills are soft skills – how you relate to others and engage in new relationships and opportunities. In other cases, reading might need improvement (even such as attention span to long-form written material can matter). The ability to meet new people and be of service to them is often already present in veterans, but others need to develop the skill.

8. What about my spouse? Should he/she be asking similar questions?

Yes, and not only for themselves, but to help you in your decision-making and research. Additionally, there are often compromises in education choices where one will take priority over the other due to geographic constraints or opportunities. Sometimes making an informed choice based on available information will allow both spouses to pick a best school that meets both their needs. Again, SVA chapters and SVA can help with this decision making.

9. What about children?

Various colleges and universities have daycare options, are in more or less expensive cost of living areas, provide courses available to high school students, and more. If you have children, considering how your education choice may impact their K-12 education, or their living circumstance may be an issue.

10. What dreams do I have that initially motivated my service?

Did you, like many, choose military service in part for the education? Whether an ROTC, Academy, or enlisted service member, education is often inextricably tied to service either before or during service, and transition should leverage that goal and outcomes achieved through education. What were your educational goals prior to service? Have you achieved them? Can your available education benefits (whether Post-9/11 GI Bill, Yellow Ribbon, or state education benefits including grants, reduced tuition, or other benefits) help you reach your other aspirational goals?

Authors: 

A version of this article’s questions originally appeared at http://vets.syr.edu/10-questions-military-members-and-families-should-ask-themselves-before-transitioning, and the questions were originally authored by James Schmeling and Kelly McCray. James Schmeling was the managing director and co-founder at the IVMF. Kelly McCray studied public and international relations at Syracuse University’s Newhouse and Maxwell schools. All answers in this version are related to higher education and authored by James Schmeling.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Higher Education, Student Veterans, Transition, Veterans

Recent Posts

  • Higher Education as a Civilian Incubator for Transitioning Veterans
  • Seven Tips for Student Veteran Success
  • Faculty and Staff Intrapreneurship
  • Seth Godin and Gardening
  • Veterans and Academic Intrapreneurship? What?

Copyright © 2023 · Agency Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in