Predicting Problems on Campus: An Analysis of College Student Veterans

Social Integration of Student Veterans: The Influence of Interactions with Faculty on Peer-Group Interactions

“…There is a great amount of research that identifies the challenges of veterans connecting to peers due to age, maturity, and life experience (Griffin & Gilbert, 2015;Olsen et al, 2014;Pellegrino & Hoggan, 2015). After-effects of deployment like physical health concerns (Elliott, 2014), feelings of isolation, and trouble acclimating to a campus (Griffin & Gilbert, 2015) can affect relationships on campus. Serious or unpleasant events during active duty may result in hardened personalities that do not mesh with the attitudes and values of peers (Jones, 2013;Vacchi et al, 2017).…”

“…Like most nontraditional students, this demographic is typically older with financial responsibilities (Elliot, 2014), has a family (Olsen et al, 2014), and has higher expectations in and out of the classroom. Veterans may have additional mental or physical health concerns (Elliott, 2014), experience trouble with connections to peers (Griffin & Gilbert, 2015;Olsen et al, 2014) due to maturity levels of their classmates (DiRamio & Jarvis, 2011), suffer feelings of isolation and not fitting in (Griffin & Gilbert, 2015), and have trouble acclimating to a campus setting from a structured military environment (Griffin & Gilbert, 2015). Many attribute their success in the classroom to the rigidity and accountability the military held them to (Pellegrino & Hoggan, 2015).…”

“…Not only do veterans feel isolated from their peers, but also struggle with not being supported by faculty and staff who do not understand military culture (Osborne, 2014). Research noted veterans wanting faculty members to acknowledge their veteran status (DiRamio et al, 2008;Olsen et al, 2014), yet not use them as representatives of the military (Elliott, 2014). At the institutional level, some student veterans may not feel supported due to lack of infrastructure, personnel, or resources to assist them (Griffin & Gilbert, 2015).…”

Collaborative Research Between Student Veterans and Faculty in Higher Education

“…A growing body of scholarship has explored the experiences of student veterans transitioning to campuses of higher education, considering issues of identity, disability and injury, and academic and social support, among others (e.g., DiRamio & Jarvis, 2011;Jackson & Sheehan, 2005;Jenner, 2017;Livingston, 2009). Although less attention has been given to perceptions between faculty and student veterans, existing studies have shown that student veterans perceive faculty as judging them unfairly on the basis of assumptions about mental health issues (Elliott, 2015;Elliott et al, 2011), and have demonstrated how faculty perceptions about current military conflicts and the military may impact their work with student veterans in the classroom (Barnard-Brak et al, 2011). Student veterans have reported feeling uncomfortable when singled out by faculty as representatives of the military (DiRamio et al, 2008), and when their professors' teaching of military history conflicts with their first-hand experience (Gonzalez, 2012).…”

I Never Played the 'Girl Card': Experiences and Identity Intersections of Women Student Veterans in Engineering

“…Many veterans face the challenge of readjusting to civilian life, and many may also be suffering from physical wounds, mental health issues, and/or post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [5]. College-related transition challenges include adjusting to post-secondary education and campus life [24], [25], [26]; adjusting back to a civilian identity from their military identity [27]; and dealing with financial hardships, even though tuition, fees, and books are mostly covered through GI Bill benefits [5].…”