1. JOINING FORCES: THE
FORMATION OF A
COMMUNITY COALITION OF
STUDENT VETERAN GROUPS
Matthew Thompson, BSW & Jennifer Crowell, PhD, MSSW

2. Learning Objectives:
 To provide information regarding ways in which social
work educators might encourage institutions with smaller
student veteran populations to collaborate in better
supporting veteran students, active duty military
personnel and their families.
 To encourage the development of programs that
support retention and reintegration of veteran students.
 To demonstrate the importance of community
involvement in reintegration of recent veterans through
information and resource sharing.

3. Framing the Issue:
 Interfacing with student veterans is becoming an increasing priority
in higher education
 300k veterans are produced each year
 Less than 33% access military benefits
 Most commonly used benefit is Post 9/11 GI Bill (500k since 2008)
 Student veterans are at an elevated risk of dropping out in their first year
(54.3%)
 ACE report of 690 universities:
 77% increasing staff and services for service members and veterans
 56% have increased recruitment of service members and veterans
 53% have added or expanded training for faculty and staff
 Universities with high veteran enrollment report lower levels of mental health
services than many low/moderate veteran enrollment universities yet they
participate in aggressive recruitment
 Recruitment over services

4. Purpose of Forming an Intercollegiate
Student Veteran Organization:
 To identify potential deficits in knowledge
regarding benefits and resources.
 To foster community between institutions and student
veterans.
 To participate in information sharing between
universities regarding student veteran resources and
needs.
 To build on the institutions’ ability to address
growing concerns of student veterans.

5. Forming a Coalition:
 Individual Student Veteran Organizations:
 Student leadership offices:
 Conducted outreach among student veterans
 Collected opinions and concerns
 Identified key faculty
 Conducted outreach with other schools and universities
 Institutional Collaboration:
 Intercollegiate student veteran representatives:
 Conducted outreach to other universities and schools
 Established key leadership and faculty connections
 Set up meetings to collect information, identify concerns and
interest, establish follow up meetings

6. Universities Involved
 Belmont University
 Lipscomb University
 Middle Tennessee State University
 Tennessee State University
 Lincoln Tech Automotive College
 School of Audio Engineering

7. Objective:
 Combining Resources:
 Student Veteran Organizations
 Providing opportunities for engagement
 Meetings with political offices
 Veteran events
 Fundraisers
 Opportunities for peer-support
 Student Veterans of America Chapter affiliations
 VA certifying officials
 Student Veteran campus centers
 Student Veteran counseling personnel
 Benefits, resources, and mental health

8. Coalition Accomplishments:
 Facilitated communication of faculty advisors in order to establish standards
of service
 Exchanged resources regarding information to better equip student
veterans and faculty
 Instituted veteran specific education/engagement courses
 Informed student veterans of community resources
 Facilitated higher rates of benefits usage
 Raised campus awareness of student veterans
 *Initiated the construction of veteran specific campus space
 Uncovered the need for veteran specific counseling needs
 Facilitated student veteran engagement in the community
 Provided peer support and information sharing between universities
 * Construction of veteran specific campus site was a collaborative effort
between veteran representative faculty and SVO

9. Lessons Learned:
 University faculty may be unequipped to provide guidance to
student veterans.
 Benefits
 Resources
 Counseling
 Student veterans have voiced concerns regarding knowledge
of VA benefits and community resources.
 VocRehab
 VR&E
 Grants
 FAFSA
 VA

10. Lessons Learned:
 Faculty and administration voiced concerns regarding
cultural awareness regarding veterans.
 PTSD myths
 Non-traditional student needs (veteran specific)
 Degrees of experience
 Sensitivity of classroom experiences
 Many universities are unequipped to allocate
resources necessary to student veteran engagement.
 Space
 Funding
 Qualified/certified/knowledgeable staff

11. Getting Involved:
 Know your community resources and what agencies
foster/facilitate engagement
 WWP
 TMC
 Operation Stand Down
 Student Veterans of America
 Communicate
 Develop intercollegiate relationships with other
administration and faculty who work with veterans

12. Getting Involved:
 Know where student veterans are
 Non-traditional students spend less time on campus
 Meet them where they are
 Know what fields they are concentrated in
 Predominately professional degree fields
 Assess available resources and identify needs through
communication
 Know what SVO’s are concerned with
 classes
 facilities
 benefits
 resources

13. Getting Involved:
 Reach out and collaborate
 Collaborate and regularly engage with other
professionals
 Faculty and administration from other universities
 Teaching faculty where student vets are concentrated
 Community agencies focused on veterans issues
 DVA
 WWP
 TMC
 AMVETS
 VFW

14. References:
American Council on Education. (2013). Toolkit for veteran friendly institutions. Retrieved from
http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Toolkit-for-Veteran-Friendly-Institutions.aspx
American Council on Education. (2012). From soldier to student II: Assessing campus programs
for veterans and service members. Retrieved from http://www.acenet.edu/news-
room/Documents/From-Soldier-to-Student-II-Assessing-Campus-Programs.pdf
Matthieu, M., Scheinberg, A.J., Morrow-Howell, N., & McBride, A.M. (2013). Reexamining
impacts of The Mission Continues Fellowship Program on post-9/11 veterans, their families, and
their communities (CSD Research Brief 13-23). St. Louis, MO: Washington University. Retrieved
from http://csd.wustl.edu/Publications/Documents/RB13-23.pdf
Westat. (2010). National survey of veterans, active duty service members, demobilized national
guard and reserve members, family members, and surviving spouses. Final Report, Deliverable
27. Retrieved from
http://http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedReport
.pdf