Faculty Support for Student Veterans

Faculty members are the most consistent point of contact for Student Veterans and can help in many different ways. Recognize that a Veteran is a non-traditional student who may hold multiple roles (parent, spouse, employee, Reservist/Guardsman). Encourage communication and exhibit flexibility related to these many demands. The relationship with a faculty member or advisor could be the single item that helps the Veteran remain in school. Veterans may be eligible for disability services even if they are not eligible for state or federal disability.

Support in the Course

• Honor a student veteran’s service and respect the student’s privacy.
• Faculty should not be involved with the handling of the student’s medical documentation or diagnosis.
• Consider the additional resources you use in the course Direct students to Disability Services when appropriate.
• Avoid religious or political discussions and sharing personal views on military, political, or religious issues.
• Do not ask about military service unless the Student Veteran self-discloses their service.

Student Veterans who may have Disabilities

• Veterans may be new to their disabilities, without prior history or knowledge of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)/Section 504 eligibility.
• Veterans with newly acquired injuries (both seen and unseen) are just developing an understanding of how their disability may affect their learning.
• Attending school is a huge adjustment in itself; realizing that learning has become a challenge in ways it never was before will be an even bigger adjustment.
• The psychological process for accepting disability status will take time, especially for those with a military background. At first, veterans may view their disability— and asking for help—as a sign of weakness.

What to Say

• Thank you for serving!
• Thank you for your service to our country!
• What branch of the service were you in?
• Never pry or ask if they have been deployed and avoid unnecessary curiosity; remain polite, professional, and open to listening.

CSU-Global Support for Student Veterans and Service Members

• Career Navigation Resources: career.center@csuglobal.edu Speak with a career coach specialized in speaking with transitioning service members. Translating military experience to the civilian workplace can be difficult. Submit a resume and/or cover letter to be reviewed for free.
• CSU-Global Student Veterans Organization: svo@csuglobal.edu
• Student Veterans Center Group in CSU-Global Connect: The mission of the CSU-Global Student Veterans Center is to provide service members and veterans with online resources, support and student advocacy needed to successfully transition from military service into higher education and beyond. Student Veterans can join the group by clicking on this link or by navigating to CSU-Global Connect in the left navigation in their Student Portal, search for ‘Student Veterans Center’ in Connect and click ‘Join’.
• What’s New About the Forever GI Bill: video link
• Student Help Center Military Resources

Student Veterans Organization

CSU Global strives to be the best online school for student veterans. As many of you may have seen lately, our current student president Rose Smith has been featured by CSU Global in The Happenings and in the 2019 CSU Global Data Book. She is really proving to be a star veteran advocate for our veterans at CSU Global. And we are very proud.

Please consider reaching out to your veteran students in your classes. We need committed active and veteran students to help us develop our school as the best place for military-affiliated and veteran students and their dependents to get an education. If you would like to reach out to your veteran students, just cut and paste the following paragraph into your announcement.

"Dear Military-affiliated and veteran students and dependents,
CSU Global is striving to be the best online school for veteran students and their dependents. We are trying to build a community that works to help you get the best education possible and that your educational experience is as trouble-free. We appreciate your service to our country and try to demonstrate that appreciation by supporting you as you work to get your education to move up in the ranks or to improve your station when you return to civilian life."

To join our Student Veteran Organization, email Jim Meredith at James.Meredith@csuglobal.edu or call or text him at 706-506-5099.

Student Veterans

CSU-Global was selected as a "Military Friendly University" by Military Advanced Education Magazine and GI Jobs Magazine. CSU-Global is also VA approved, a proud member of SOC, and a VA Principles of Excellence Program Participant.

As a military-friendly university, CSU-Global has a dedicated internal task force assigned to addressing military and veteran issues, an early alert system to help struggling students, and robust career resources, resume review, career coaching, and resources for finding a job. Our military-focused academic and financial services advisors receive specialized training so that they’re able to best serve a population of over 2,800 actively enrolled U.S Service Members and their dependents at CSU-Global.

If a student brings military transition or benefits related questions to you, please feel free to provide them the following contact information. For questions about Military Benefits at CSU-Global, please visit https://csuglobal.edu/student-life/military.

Department of Veterans Affairs: Contact the Department of Veterans Affairs with general questions about VA educational benefits, including how to complete forms: www.gibill.va.gov or 888-GIBILL-1 (888-442-4551).

Student Advising: Continuing students should contact Student Advising with general questions relating to benefits and military/veteran resources: Email: Advising@CSUGlobal.edu Phone: 720-249-0840

Forms: Submit TA Authorization Form and for assistance with VA forms: Email: MilitaryTA@CSUGlobal.edu Fax: 720-249-0840

National Information re: Student Veterans using GI education benefits

• In 2009 = approximately 500,000 Student Veterans
• In 2013 = over 1,000,000 Student Veterans
• Future = estimated to be over 1.4 million by 2019

Characteristics of Student Veterans

• 73% of Student Veterans are male; 27% are female With only 16% of military personnel being women, this suggests that female service members might be more likely to enroll in college after their military service than their male counterparts.
• Only 5% of Student Veterans are traditionally aged college students
• 80% of Student Veterans are between the ages of 25 - 35 and older
• 46% of Student Veterans have children
• 45% of Student Veterans are married
• 62% of Student Veterans are first-generation students

Student Veterans using GI education benefits pursuing degrees

• 83% are enrolled in public institutions
• Popular degrees include: business, management, marketing; health professions; liberal arts and sciences; homeland security, law enforcement, fire-fighting
• 54% of Student Veterans successfully complete their degree/certificate within 4 to 5 years, a rate similar to other students
• Active military, student veterans, and their dependents make up approximately 15% of the overall CSU-Global Population.

Of CSU-Global Student Veterans

• Approximately 25% are female
• Approximately 22% are ethnic/racial minorities
• 46% are first-generation college students
• The average age for Graduate Students is 40 years old and for Undergraduate Students 37 years old
• The average cumulative GPA for all undergraduate and graduate level active military and veterans is 3.3.
• The course pass rate for military and student veterans is 86%.

Resources & References

American Council on Education. (2010). Accommodating student veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Tips for campus faculty and staff. Retrieved from http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Documents/Accommodating-Student-Veterans-with-Traumatic-Brain-Injury-and-Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder.pdf

National Center for PTSD. (n.d.). VA campus toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/studentveteran/studentvets.asp#sthash.lmvs1fxv.g3eEfk1r.dpbs

National Veteran Education Success Tracker. (2017). Retrieved from http://nvest.studentveterans.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/NVEST_Factsheets.pdf

Student Veterans of America. (2016). SVO Spotlight 2016 Brief 1. Retrieved from https://studentveterans.org/images/SVASpotlightBrief-1.pdf