“MILITARY FRIENDLY” OR IS IT?
Allen Grundy, M. Ed, Consultant
Veterans Educational Resource Centers
in Higher Education (CVERCHE)
Educonsult09@ymail.com
“WHAT IS MILITARY FRIENDLY”
The 2012 Military Friendly Schools list honors the top 20
percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are
doing the most to embrace America’s military service
members and veterans as students.
The 2012 list of Military Friendly Schools was compiled
through extensive research and a data driven survey of
more than 8,000 schools nationwide. Methodology, criteria
and weighting for the list were developed with the
assistance of an Academic Advisory Board (AAB)
consisting of educators from schools across the country.
QUESTION
Is this a valid way in determining “Military Friendly”
colleges/universities?
TEXAS EDUCATION CODE AND TEXAS
ADMINISTRATIVE CODE REQUIREMENTS
How do we adhere to state legislation on campuses to
stay in compliance?
CIRCULAR SYSTEM THAT CORRECTS
AND STABILIZES CHANGE
Specialize
programs
for Vets
Vet sense of
Community
Veteran
Administration
Fed.
Financial
Resources
Increase Vet Pop
CRITERIA USED
 Texas Education Code, Chapter 51,54 and 56
 Texas Administrative Code, Tile 19 Chapters 4 and 13
SAO REPORT NO. 11-004 SEPTEMBER 2011
Veterans’ Services at Selected Institutions of Higher
Education and Survey Results Related to Veteran’
Services at all Texas Public Higher Education
Institutions
SAO OVERALL CONCLUSION
Auditors identified several areas that include:
 Sending targeted communications about financial
assistance and resources available to student veterans
prior to their arrival on campus.
 Enhancing their Web sites to ensure that they provide
easily located and comprehensive information about
veterans, including a link to those resources on the
Web site’s home page.
SAO OVERALL CONCLUSION
 Offering student veterans one central location on
campus where they can obtain information about both
the federal and state education-related financial
assistance available to student veterans.
 Establishing a veterans advisory committee that
includes representation from all stakeholders.
 Offering early class registration to student veterans.
 Additionally, auditors reviewed the Web sites of 20
Texas public institutions while most of the Web sites
contained information about the benefits and services
KEY CHALLENGES FOR VETERANS ON CAMPUSES
 How are veterans’ services organized administratively
(e.g. staffing, reporting structure)?
 What services do support offices provide for student
veterans?
 What campus offices and community organizations do
offices collaborate with?
 What are the advantages & disadvantages of the
different models for providing veterans services?
QUESTION
Could there be other challenges, and what may they be?
VETERANS EDUCATIONAL
RESOURCE CENTERS
 Insure veterans receive targeted support in navigating
campus
 Develop a sense of community among veterans on
campus
 Educate the campus community about the needs and
interest of veterans
QUESTION
Is this a functional definition of what a Veterans
Resource Center is?
MODEL 1
Student Affairs Leadership Council
MODEL 2
MODEL 3
MODEL 4
VETERANS TASK FORCE
 Meet more than once per semester
 Have members representing key offices, such as
veterans office, admissions and registration, financial
aid, academic affairs, counseling, and disability
services
 Include a faculty and a student veteran representative
STUDENT FOCUS GROUP
A random sampling of approximately 10-12 student
veterans, spouses, and dependents should be chosen for
candid responses to policies, procedures and services on
your campus.
QUESTION
How does academic affairs and enrollment management fit into
these administrative models for Veterans Resource Centers?
INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS PLAN
 Veterans Resource Center
 Delivery of veterans services
 Support of veterans services
 External support for Veterans services, resource center.
 College/university support of programs
INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
PLAN
Do we need to have an institutional effectiveness plan
from a Enrollment Services point of view as well as a
Student Affairs? Why?
COMPARING SB 1538 and H.R. 4137
HIGHLIGHTS
The purpose of the SB 1538 is to initiate Veteran
Resource Centers which would be provide centralized
focal points of assistance and resources resembling a
one-stop-shop for veterans, spouses and dependents on
higher education institutions throughout the state of
Texas.
H.R. 4137
QUESTIONS
 How do we support graduate students?
 How do we support veteran families?
 How do we support women veterans?
 What avenues can financial support be obtained for
veterans on campuses?
 How can we solicit the support of administration to
support the role of the returning student to their
campuses?
UH VETERANS SERVICES WEBSITE
http://www.uh.edu/veterans
QUESTIONS
 What community support do you think could assist the




returning veteran to colleges/universities?
How can we get the student more involved in the
culture of the college/university?
What is the most effective way in utilizing the veteran
reporting fees on campuses?
What division do you think veterans affairs should be
housed under?
Should there be special housing on campuses for the
returning veterans, spouses, and dependents?
REFERENCES
 Military Service Members and Veterans in Higher
Education: What the New GI Bill May Mean for
Postsecondary Institutions; American Council on
Education, July 2009
 Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Principles and
Criteria, 2009-2011
 Student Veterans of America Center Handbook,
January 1, 2009
REFERENCES
 Structuring Veterans’ Support Programs on Campus,
Education Advisory Board, March 6, 2009
 Serving Those Who Served: Higher Education and
Americans, American Council on Education,
November 2008
 Student Affairs Leadership Council; The Advisory
Board, 2009