Working with V eteran P - PowerPoint Presentation

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Working with Veteran Populations: Research, Results and Applications for Teaching Geoscience

Kim M. FrashureAssistant Professor of Energy & Sustainability Bunker Hill Community CollegeSupporting Student Success in Geoscience at Two-year CollegesCollege of William and MaryJuly 18, 2013

Ph.D. Candidate University of Massachusetts Boston

Military Veteran

United States Air Force

Photograph source

: http://www.psi-online.com/veterans.html

Goals Learn more about veterans (demographics)Learn about opportunities and challenges of veterans entering higher educationShare strategies that work well and examples of good practices and implications for geoscienceIdentify additional support needs working with veterans

Leave with some specific strategies that we can use as we work with veterans in and beyond the classroom 

Who are Veterans?Have engaged in active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard), or are a National Guard or Reserve enlistee who was called to active duty for other than state or training purposes, or were a cadet or midshipman at one of the service academies, and

Were released under a condition other than dishonorableChoose to enlistChosen by the military based on specific criteria, both mental and physical

U.S. Military Veteran Population Statistics21.5 million total living veterans Source: 2011 American Community

Survey < http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/S2101>1.6 million Female Source: 2011 American Community Survey < http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21001>Expected 6.2 million Gulf War Veterans (source: U.S. Department of VA)Five states have more than

1 million veterans: California (2.1 million), Florida (1.7 million), Texas (1.7 million), New York (1 million), and Pennsylvania (1 million) Source: Table 508, Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010Twenty percent are minority veterans: 2.3 million black

veterans in 2011, 1.2 million Hispanic; 264,695 were Asian; 153,223 were American Indian or Alaska Native; 27,469 were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific IslanderSource: 2011 American Community Survey <

http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21001B>9.1 million

veterans 18 to 64 in the labor force in 2011.Source: 2011 American Community Survey<

http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/C21005>555,000 veterans or their dependents in 2011 received education and training, Source: National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, Department

of Veterans Affairs Education Program Beneficiaries: FY2000 to FY2010 (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2010), available at http://www.va.gov/vetdata/Utilization.asp.

92.3% percent

of veterans 25 and older with a high school diploma or higher in 2011, compared with 86 percent of the population as a whole.

Source: 2011 American Community Survey

<

http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/S2101

>

November 11

th

is Veteran’s Day

Living Veterans by Age Group (Millions)Source: Department of VA, 2012

Veteran BenefitsDisability compensation, registry exam, health care, home loans, hiring preferences for government jobs/private sector, education & trainingGI BillThe Post-9/11 G.I. Bill has been the largest increase

in educational benefits for veterans since the 1940s. Provides veterans with tuition and fees of up to $17,500, a stipend for books and supplies, and a monthly housing allowance.This latest G.I. Bill has the potential to have as significant an impact on higher education, the U.S. workforce, and national competitivenessInvested more than $7.7 billion in education benefits in FY2011 Source: Volume III: Benefits and Burial Programs and Departmental Administration, Congressional Submission,

FY 2013,” available at http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/Fy2013_Volume_III-Benefits_Burial_Dept_Admin.pdf.Geoscience Significance: Servicemen's Readjustment Act

of 1944 (P.L. 78-346, 58 Stat. 284m) resulted in 150,000 scientists and 450,000 engineers

What are some opportunities and strengths among military veterans entering higher education institutions?Source: Personal interview among military veterans students at BHCC, 2013funding (GI Bill and housing $$)world view

adaptivewaiver for government jobsestablished support and network (sharing info about navigation through benefits and campus red-tape)

r

espect

i

nstilled confidence t

eam workpublic speakingdiversity trainingstrong work ethicself-motivateds

tructuredgoal-oriented “School is job need to finish it in timely manner!”

Difficult to reacquainting themselves with academic workHard to navigating complex campus administrative systemsNot knowing how to find support services to meet

their needsMath and English deficienciesLack of research skills (computer, data bases, library)Lack of critical thinking skillsNeed credits to transfer Need flexible programming (online, hybrid, in-class)Need to use benefits in a timely manner (example: 3 years for 75% benefits yet need 1.5 years of remedial work)

Social adjustment issues with main stream cultureEncountering negative reactions from the campus community based on their participation in military conflictsDifficulty connecting with classmates and facultyFeel void from loss of highly structured environment (you are used to being told what to do (not knowing)

Feel universities are unstructured and lack accountability

What are the major needs/challenges/issues of military veterans entering higher education?Source: Personal interview among military veterans students at BHCC, 2013

Source

: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/19/iraq-war-mental-health_n_2908903.html

Other challenges Source: Literature and Department of Veteran AffairsThere are 1,286 service members who are now amputees as a result of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Source: Department of Veterans Affairs.Gulf Troops' PTSD Rate As High As 35 Percent Source: Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. Symptoms of PTSD: anxiety, fearfulness, depression, withdrawal, feelings of guilt, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, irritability, outbursts of anger, and behavior changes; Can lead to alcohol abuse, marital problems, unemployment, violence, and

suicide. Source: Iraq Troops' PTSD Rate As High As 35 Percent, Analysis Finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 18, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/09/090914151629.htm

Gulf war syndrome About 1/3 of Gulf War veterans — possibly as many as 250,000 Americans — returned with similar symptoms. Source: Georgetown University Medical Center

.Unemployment rate for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars had risen to 10.2 percent

and in 2010 it stood at 11.5 percent. It is now 3 percentage points higher than the national average

Source: www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG.../html/CHRG-111hhrg57015.htm‎In 2012, there were approximately 62,619 homeless veterans

. Source: Congressional Research Service http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34024.pdf3.5 million veterans with

a service-connected disability rating.

Of this number, 810,245 have a rating of 70 percent or higher. Severity of one's disability is scaled from 0 to 100 percent and eligibility for compensation depends on one's rating.

Source: 2011 American Community Survey

<

http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21100

>

Brain Scans Depict Gulf War Syndrome Damage

Differences in brain scans. Exposure to sarin gas from chemical munitions, and a drug called pyridostig mine bromide, which soldiers were given to protect them from sarin. The Gulf War syndromes are each associated with a roughly 10 percent lower than normal NAA-to-creatine ratio in the left and right basal ganglia. (Briggs, 2012)

Issues:Higher education institutions are ill-prepared and ill-equipped for dealing with the large number of veterans enrolling Faculty needs additional resources and strategiesProgramming does not meet the needs of veteransThere is still a vital need for coordination among services

Small Group Discussion:How do we best to serve veteran population in the geosciences?  a) What support systems does your college provide to veterans (veteran friendly)?

b) What else does your college need?

2. How can we support veterans in geosciences?Difficult to reacquainting themselves with academic workHard to navigating complex campus administrative systems

Not knowing how to find support services to meet their needsMath and English deficienciesLack of research skills (computer, data bases, library)Lack of critical thinking skillsNeed credits to transfer Need flexible programming (online, hybrid, in-class)Need to use benefits in a timely manner (example: 3 years for 75% benefits yet need 1.5

years of remedial work)Social adjustment issuesEncountering negative reactions from the campus community based on their participation in military conflictsDifficulty connecting with classmates and facultyFeel void from loss of highly structured environment (you are used to being told what to do (not knowing

)Feel universities are unstructured and lack accountability

3. a) What support do you need from your institution to meet the needs of veterans entering geosciences?b) What resources can SageY2C provide you with to support your efforts with veterans?

Literature: Source: Easing the Transition from Combat to Classroom Preserving America’s Investment in Higher Education for Military Veterans Through Institutional Assessmentby Kimberly Griffin and Claire Gilbert April 2012

Institutional collaboration is one way to improve campuses for student veterans through initiatives such as institution-wide committees, student groupsMentoring programs and technical standards for course work that recognize and take into account the needs of veteransImportant for institutions to improve faculty, staff, and overall campus to have knowledge of student veterans and their offering trainings focused on this group.

Having offices on campus dedicated to serving and supporting studentVeterans are also important contributors to student veterans’ positive experiences.Research suggests the importance of having diverse types of course options, including on-base education, weekend courses, online courses, veteran-only courses and evening classes

Resources for Higher Education

Source: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/07/05/veterans-disability-protection-act-of-2010-vdpa/Environmental Evaluation for Veterans Index, or EEVI,assessment tool which will provide higher education institutions and policymakers with the tools needed to assess campus environments for veterans.http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/higher-education/report/2012/04/25/11473/easing-the-transition-from-combat-to-classroom/2. Toolkit for Veteran Friendly Institutions American Council of Education, or ACE,

Used to identify the steps a college must take tobegin serving veterans efficiently and begin to make changes where needed.http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Toolkit-for-Veteran-Friendly-Institutions.aspx3. Veteran’s History Project at the at the Library of Congress' American Folklife Center

http://www.loc.gov/vets/kit.html

Acknowledgements:

Sage Y2C Funding Mechanism: NSF Division of Undergraduate Education, National Sciences Foundation Geosciences Directorate, and National Association of Geoscience TeachersSage Y2C organizers with special thanks to : Heather MacDonald and Jan HodderVeteran Students at BHCCSage Y2C workshop participants for contributionsSource: http://www.empowernetwork.com/gogogo/blog/a-rant-flying-the-american-flag/american-flag/