Henry B. Villareal, Ed.D.
Dean, Enrollment Services
College of San Mateo
Jasmine Ruys
Director of Admissions and Records and Online Services
College of the Canyons
Overview
 White House Summit on Community Colleges CA
Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Veterans’ Video
 Veterans by the Numbers
 Veterans and Community Colleges
 Veterans Unique Needs/Transitional Issues
 mTBI/PTSD
 Some Best Practices for Serving Those Who Served
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White House Summit on
Community Colleges
California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office
Veterans Video
October 5, 2010
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Veterans by the Numbers
Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans
 Of the 697,000 Gulf War veterans, 53% are receiving compensation for
service-connected disabilities
 Over 2 million men and women deployed between 9/11/01 and 6/30/09 with
793,000 deployed more than once
 20% of Iraqi and Afghanistan war veterans will experience mental health
issues such as PTSD and TBI
 June 2010 unemployment rate among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is
12.5% compared to 9.5% national unemployment rate
 National unemployment rate for veterans in the age range 18 - 24 is 21.1% 4
and in California the rate is 25.6% 5
 More than 100,000 veterans are homeless and up to half a million have
characteristics that put them in danger of homelessness6
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Source:
1 US News and World Report
2 Federal Times, December 20, 2009
3 Bloomsberg Businessweek, June 1, 2010
4 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (iava.org) and Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nro.htm)
5 San Gabriel Valley Tribune, November 13, 2010
6 National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (nchv.org/background.cfm)
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Veterans by the Numbers
California Community College Enrollment
 2008-2009:
22,000 veterans enrolled in community
colleges
 2009-2010: over 26,600 veterans utilized education
benefits
 Also in 2009, more than 8,000 active military were
enrolled
 2010-2011 it is expected that 34,000 veterans will be
enrolled in California’s higher education institutions
with approximately 80 percent enrolling in
community colleges
Source: California Community College Chancellor’s Office Veterans Video and Website
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Veterans by the Numbers
College of San Mateo
 From
2008- 2010 veteran certification increased by
163% largely due to the Post 9/11 GI Bill
 Fall 2010: 300 veterans, reservists and dependents
enrolled
 Fall 2010: 189 veterans receiving GI Bill benefits
 Fall 2011, 2012, …???
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Veterans by the Numbers
College of the Canyons
 From
2008- 2010 veteran certification increased by
374% largely due to the Post 9/11 GI Bill (from 98
student to 465 students)
 Fall 2010: 465 veterans, reservists and dependents
receive benefits
 Fall 2010: over $220k in fees were paid using the 9/11 GI
Bill veterans.
 Fall 2011, 2012, …???
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Military Veterans and Community Colleges
Why Community Colleges?
 Open
access
 Affordable
 Personalized services
 Small class size
 Remediation
 First generation college student
 Ineligible to four-year colleges and universities
 GI Bill benefits
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Post 9/11 GI BILL
Eligibility

Served at least 90 days of active duty
 36 months of benefits
 Eligible for 15 years after discharge date
Benefits Include:

Tuition and fees
 Book allowance
 Monthly housing allowance
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Veterans and Their Unique Needs
At College…
 Process/paperwork perceived as complex
 Too many time conflicts/demands on time
 Lack of funds; Benefits slow to arrive
 Motivating beyond collecting on GI Bill
 Difficult relating to and connecting with
traditional college students
 Trivialized view of campus life
 Relearning study skills
 First Generation college student
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Veterans and Their Unique Needs
…and within the classroom
 Sitting next to door
 Loud noises can be disturbing
 Items on the floor
 Frustration/alienation from peers
 Frustration with faculty
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mTBI and PTSD
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI)
 Injury to the brain caused by an external physical force
 Injury causes diminished or altered state of consciousness
 Results in problems with physical, cognitive, behavioral,
and/or emotional functioning.
 mTBI most prevalent type of TBI
 Invisible injury (Walking wounded)
 Strongly associated with PTSD and health problems
occurring 3 to 4 months after returning home
 Military Health System 2003-2007 diagnosed 43,779 with TBI
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mTBI and PTSD
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
 Person has been exposed to a traumatic life
threatening event
 Response to the threat involved intense fear,
helplessness, or horror
 Military Health System 2003-2007 diagnosed
39,365 with PTSD
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Comparison of Symptoms:
Mild TBI and PTSD
Post Concussion Syndrome
(PCS/mTBI)










Depression
Irritability
Fatigue
Headaches
Visual disturbances
Memory loss
Poor attention/concentration
Sleep disturbances
Dizziness/loss of balance
Getting lost or confused








Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder
Depression
Irritability
Anxiety
Alienation
Hyper vigilance
Easily aroused, difficult to
calm down
Difficult
sleeping/concentrating
Interpret ambiguous
situations as threatening
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Best Practices
Creating a Welcoming Environment
Identifying and Removing Institutional Barriers
 Lack of integrated services
 Institutional policies
 Military course credit not accepted
 Insensitive faculty and staff regarding veterans’ issues
 Disciplinary Sanctions
 Counselors not available for individual appointments
 Physical barriers
 Other barriers….
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Best Practices
Creating a Welcoming Environment
Network of Support
 Institutional Partnerships
 Financial aid liaison
 Dedicated counselor for veterans
 Psychological counseling
 Disabled Student Programs and Services Liaison
 Admissions and Records/Veterans Services
 Two certifying officials
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Best Practices
Creating a Welcoming Environment
Network of Support
 Institutional Services
 Waive physical education requirement
 Grant six units of academic credit for military service
 Priority registration
 Office of Public Safety (campus security)
 Group orientation sessions
 Information packet for veterans seeking GI Bill
certification
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Best Practices
Creating a Welcoming Environment
Network of Support
 Institutional/Personalized Services
 On-going support: certifying officials, Veterans Alliance
Advisor, faculty and staff
 Veterans emergency loan program
 Welcome Home Scholarship
 Veterans email distribution list
 Veterans website
 Veterans Student Alliance
 Welcoming message on college website
 Flying of the POW-MIA Flag on campus
 Veterans Day Flag Raising Ceremony
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Best Practices
Creating a Welcoming Environment
 Institutional/Personalized Services
College of San Mateo Welcoming Message
Welcome home and thank you for your service! College of San Mateo
staff are available to assist you with achieving your educational goals,
securing your GI Bill benefits and providing you referrals to
organizations dedicated to assisting veterans.
To reach a certifying official for veterans’ benefits, please call
(650) 358-6856. For more information about CSM Veteran Services,
visit our website at http://collegeofsanmateo.edu/veterans/.
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Veterans Information
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POW Flag
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Veterans Day Flag Raising Ceremony
College of San Mateo, November 11, 2010
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Best Practices
Creating a Welcoming Environment
Community Partnerships
 Veterans Hospital – Menlo Park
 Veterans Resource Center – Redwood City
 County Veterans Services Officer – San Carlos
 VA Health Clinic – San Bruno
 Stanford Vets Connect Program
 The Honorable Jackie Speier’s Office
 Employment Development Department – San Mateo
 East Bay Collaborative – Alameda
 Local Reserve Units – Moffett Field
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Best Practices
Creating a Welcoming Environment
 Assessment
 Veterans Student Satisfaction Survey
 Student Learning Outcomes for veterans
 Number of veterans applying for financial aid
 Effectiveness of PTSD/TBI training for faculty and staff
 Student Success
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Best Practices
Evolving Programs and Services - College of San Mateo
 Psychological Counseling for veterans families - Spring 2011
 Transition to College Course – Fall 2011
 PTSD/TBI Awareness training for faculty and staff:
Zellerbach Family Grant, “Welcome Home: Creating a
Campus Community of Wellness for Returning Veterans”
 Veteran’s Resource Center – Fall 2011
 High Tech Center Training Unit Affiliate Participant
 Program Services Coordinator
 VA Work Study Students

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Best Practices
Evolving Programs and Services - College of the Canyons
 Opened a new Veteran/Reentry Center
 Collaboration with Student Business Office
 Military Club
 Presentations for VA students, staff, and faculty
 Hire VA Works Study Students
 Collaboration with CWEE, Career Center, Job Developer,
and Work Source
 Presence at all VA Events within the community
 Liaison with the Van Nuys VA Office
 VA Mental health Professional visits to campus.
 Work closely with our Congressman, Buck McKeon.
 Grants
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Other Best Practices
 Veterans Education Team Support (VETS)
UC Santa Cruz peer mentor program
http://stars.ucsc.edu/veteran.php
 Boots to Books
Citrus College, College success class addressing transitional issues
http://www.bootstobooks.org
 “Peaceful Warrior”
Physical fitness and wellness program
Andre Sims, Sierra College asims@sierracollege.edu
 Veteran Resource Center Project
Grant Program funded by Chancellor’s Office of the California Community
College System
Gaeir Dietrich, gdietrich@htctu.net
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Q&A
Contact Information:
 Henry.Villareal@smccd.edu
 Jasmine.Ruys@canyons.edu
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