Veteran-Students in Transition at a Midwestern University

Abstract

One of the fastest-growing subpopulations of nontraditional college students is military veterans who enroll in institutions of higher education following their returns from deployment. Although much research has been conducted on veteran-students, much of that work has focused on issues such as veterans’ finances or academic achievement, rather than the individuals’ transitions from deployment to student life. Prior to the 2008 passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, only 22% of institutions offered transition assistance to veteran-students; four years later, that figure has dramatically grown to 37%. Due to the rapidly increasing interest in transition assistance among student-veteran service providers, it is clear that more research is needed on these transitions. Six veteran-students at a large research university in the Midwest were interviewed using a qualitative case study approach. Subjects’ responses were then analyzed within the framework provided by Schlossberg's Transition Theory. The influences that most strongly impacted the participants’ transitions were assets and deficits that were financial, physical, emotional, psychological, and, most significantly, social in nature.