Collaborative Partnerships: A Path to a Veteran-Friendly Campus

A recent study released by the National Center for Veterans' Studies at the University of Utah and by Student Veterans of America entitled "Student Veterans: A National Survey Exploring Psychological Symptoms and Suicide Risk," found that almost half of military veterans enrolled in college have contemplated suicide at some point, and that 20 percent have actually planned to kill themselves.  The National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics (NCVEAS) indicates that about 22.7 million U.S. veterans are living in the United States as of September 30, 2010, with approximately 1.8 million, or 8 percent, being female.  NCVEAS is projecting an increase in both female and minority veterans through 2035.  As the U.S. military engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan winds down, a high number of returning military personnel are expected to re-enter our colleges and universities, taking advantage of the new GI Bill to obtain a college education and transition back to civilian life.  These numbers highlight the need for a more proactive approach by colleges and universities in creating a “veterans-friendly” campus environment, a safe place for student veterans to thrive and succeed. 

Challenges

When military personnel come home from active combat duty, they often bring back issues that make it difficult to transition back in their community.  Student veterans may show symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can hinder their ability to handle their academic workload.  PTSD is a debilitating condition that can occur after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.  Symptoms of PTSD include social impairment, detachment and loss of interest, memory deficits, hyper‐vigilance, avoidance behavior, numbing, anger outbursts, sleep disorders, and concentration difficulty.  The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress noted that while PTSD does not necessarily lead to alcohol abuse, a combination of PTSD and alcohol can make the condition much worse for sufferers. 

Another common difficulty affecting veterans is traumatic brain injury (TBI), which is caused by a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain. This condition is very common among veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Symptoms of TBI include insomnia, impaired memory, poor concentration, depression, anxiety, irritability, headache, dizziness, excessive fatigue, noise and light intolerance, ringing in the ears, and vision change.  Student veterans who suffer from TBI will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve academic success.
Military Sexual Trauma (MST) can afflict both women and men, but is more common among women in the military, according to the National Center for PTSD.  About 1 in 5 women and 1 in 100 men screened by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) respond affirmatively when asked about MST.  Victims experience unwanted sexual attention or uninvited sexual advances during their time of military service.  Among the symptoms of MST are disturbing memories or nightmares, difficulty feeling safe, feelings of depression or numbness, problems with alcohol or other drugs, feeling isolated from other people, problems with anger or irritability, problems with sleep, and physical health problems.  Since MST is an experience and not a diagnosis or a mental health condition, sufferers have a wide range of emotional responses which can negatively impact learning.  

Homelessness is another issue faced by many veterans, a problem not only common among single male veterans who suffer from mental illness, but also growing among female veterans.  The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimates that about one-third of the adult homeless are veterans.  More than half of homeless veterans are African-American or Hispanic, despite only accounting for 12.8 percent and 15.4 percent of the U.S. population respectively.
The dwindling resources faced by many colleges and universities, due to federal and state budget cuts, have made it difficult for many campuses to accommodate the special needs of student veterans.  At minimum, colleges and universities will have a Veterans Affairs representative on campus that acts as the VA certifying official, whose purpose is to process applications for the GI Bill.  When the new GI Bill was first introduced in 2009, many colleges and universities were faced with the challenge of implementing this new program with minimal resources.  These challenges call for new strategies that can be achieved through collaborative partnerships.

Collaborative Partnerships

The formation of collaborative partnerships with campus departments and off-campus partner organizations has been a key factor in leveraging the limited resources available for expanding campus services that specifically target veterans.  The writer/consultant expert Alan Weiss wrote in his book “Getting Started in Consulting”, that for collaboration to be most effective, the sum of each partner’s contribution must yield far more than the investments made by each partner.  Simply put, if two partners invest a value of $100 each on a project, a successful collaboration must yield far more than the $200 investment made by both partners.  The rationale is that both parties soak up valuable time and energy on a project, in addition to the investment.

To foster a collaborative spirit at Los Angeles City College, the campus initiated the formation of the LACC Council for Veterans Program.  The council is composed of faculty, classified staff, administrators, and a student representative who meets on a monthly basis with a defined purpose of removing campus obstacles and expanding support services for veterans and their families.  Since council members represent various campus departments, natural partnerships had emerged between the Veterans’ Affairs and the various campus departments and outside organizations.
One such example is the collaboration between the Office of Special Services (OSS) (also known as Disabled Students Programs and Services in other campuses) and Veterans’ Affairs.  The close partnership has resulted in an increased awareness by student veterans of the specialized counseling, accommodations, tutoring, high tech center, and learning disabilities services available through OSS.  Student veterans have gained access to OSS counselors, who work closely with them in developing educational plans and identifying resources on campus.  In return, OSS has benefitted from the increase in the number of TBI and PTSD referrals from Veterans’ Affairs.

Collaborative partnerships have also been extended to outside organizations.  US Vets, the nation’s largest non-profit provider of services to veterans facing challenges in their transition to civilian life, is a new college partner.  Beginning in fall 2011, US Vets will provide LACC student veterans and families access to psychological services at no additional cost to the college.  LACC student veterans with PTSD, TBI, MST and other issues will have additional resources at their disposal.  In exchange, the partnership had created a direct access for US Vets to identify student veterans who may need personal assistance and support in addressing their issues.

The Soldiers Project, a group of licensed mental health professionals who offer free psychological treatment to military service members, has been a notable partner and an active member of the council since its inception in 2008.  The partnership with The Soldiers Project has resulted in campus activities, such as a film screening, symposia, and campus department visits, all for the purpose of raising campus awareness on issues affecting veterans.  

ACE/Wal-Mart

The steady progress being made to eliminate campus barriers on behalf of student veterans has been very difficult without financial support.  As a result the collaborative partnerships that emerged on campus in the summer of 2008, LACC received a two-year grant from the American Council on Education and Wal-Mart Foundation to be used as seed money to expand existing campus services for veterans and develop innovative approaches for recruitment and support through its Veterans Success Institute (VSI) project.  The project aims to facilitate the successful transition from soldier to student for military personnel coming home from active duty.  The first task was to promote an attitude of collaboration within the campus and surrounding community to increase awareness and sensitivity to issues concerning veterans.  The goal is to create an encouraging environment by acknowledging, honoring, and addressing veterans’ unique needs while in the process of attaining their educational goals.  VSI has adopted a theme of “veterans helping veterans,” which facilitated the Veterans Club spearheading a project in fall 2010 to assemble care packages.  The Veterans Club members collected useful items such as snack bars and soaps from the campus community and assembled them into care packages for delivery to troops stationed in Afghanistan.  By working closely with the non-profit organization Operation Gratitude (www.opgratitude.com), the care packages were delivered to military troops stationed in Afghanistan without delivery cost.  The project activity gave veterans an opportunity to be actively engaged in the campus community.  

The funding allowed the campus to designate a counselor for student veterans, pilot a “Boots to Books” personal development class for returning veterans, sponsor campus awareness events, host regional meetings with nearby community colleges to share best practices, host a Veterans Resources Day around Veterans Day, and a Veterans Achievement Ceremony to honor graduating and transferring veterans towards the end of the academic year.

Student Success Outcomes

With support from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, the VSI project has been able to develop a program profile documenting the demographics, participation rate, course completion, and persistence rates of student veterans.  After a two year implementation, the return of investment in the Veterans Success Institute (VSI) appears to be very promising in terms of student success outcomes.  From fall 2009 to spring 2011, the program participation rate by veterans has increased by 53 percent.  The retention rates of veterans in the VSI program had averaged 92.5 during the last four semesters, which is much higher than the college wide average of 85.4 percent. 

The successful course completion rates averaged 65.6 percent among program participants during the last four semesters, which is slightly higher than the college wide average of 64.8 percent.  The two-year persistence rate (fall 2009 to spring 2011) among VSI program participants of 42 percent is significantly higher than the college-wide persistence rate of 34 percent during the same period.  The next step would be to track the certificate and associate degree completion and transfer rates of program participants.

Conclusion

Student veterans face numerous challenges as they re-enter the college environment and transition back to civilian life.  The conditions of PTSD, TBI, MST, and homelessness can make it difficult for student veterans to achieve student success.  Through collaborative partnerships, it is indeed possible at Los Angeles City College and other higher education institutions to create a veteran-friendly campus environment.  The partnerships with the Office of Special Services (OSS), US Vets, and The Soldiers Project have resulted in increased student intervention and campus awareness of barriers that prevents veterans from reaching their academic goals.     

The grant funding from ACE/Wal-Mart has made it possible for LACC to explore a variety of strategies to help student veterans succeed in higher education.  Among the interventions include piloting a “Boots to Books” personal development course, sponsorship of campus awareness events, host regional meetings with nearby community colleges to share best practices, host a Veterans Resources Day around Veterans Day, and a Veterans Achievement Ceremony to honor graduating and transferring veterans towards the end of the academic year. The Veterans Club provides its membership with an opportunity for fellowships among veterans and guidance from a committed faculty.

A full commitment and support by the campus community and the LACC senior administration has made it possible to open a new Student Veterans Center in the brand new Student Union building in the summer of 2012.  The center will give student veterans a space on campus and allow them to be fully integrated with campus student life.  Given the sacrifices that veterans have made for our country, a veteran-friendly campus is a positive gesture that can truly make a big difference.