The Green Zone: A Program to Support Military Students on Campus

Abstract

Like many institutions of higher education, Virginia Commonwealth University has seen an increase in the number of military students. Ann Nichols-Casebolt describes one strategy the university has implemented to respond to the needs of this important group.Note: Throughout this column, the terms veterans and military students will be used interchangeably to refer to all those students who have served in the military. Some of these men and women have completed their military service, whereas others are in the National Guard or reserves and have been, and still could be, called into active-duty service.

Coping, family social support, and psychological symptoms among student veterans.

“…National programs, such as Student Veterans of America and Green Zone, provide safe and veteran-friendly environments, convey support and assistance with the special needs of veterans and active duty personnel, and provide resources for veterans to facilitate success in universities and colleges (Nichols-Casebolt, 2012;Rudd et al, 2011). However, these programs are insufficient to help student veterans with more serious mental health challenges, so college counseling centers may need to develop and implement outreach programs targeting student veterans who are in need of mental health services.…”

Participating in Change: Engaging Student Veteran Stakeholders in Advocacy Efforts in Clinical Higher Education

“…Herren et al’s (2013) recommendations included further study, better publicity for veteran-related services on campus, and the development of veteran-specific orientation courses, highlighting a need for dissemination of veteran-specific needs to faculty, administration, and staff in order for Radford University to better support its student veteran population. Additional efforts by the SVRT have included participation in the Helping Military Veterans through Higher Education collaborative grant in conjunction with the College of William & Mary Law School in order to allow doctoral students to gain clinical assessment experience with veterans, as well as offering the Green Zone Training in military culture (Nichols-Casebolt, 2012) to Radford University faculty and staff to better support student veterans at the university (Whiting & Leake, 2014).…”

Adapting to College Life After Military Service

“…Though there are a number of current motivation and transition theories within higher education literature, we look to self-determination theory to understand what elements of educational environments support the development of intrinsic motivation in student veterans (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000. While there has been much interest on the subject of student veterans and their college transitions (Nichols-Casebolt, 2012;Rumann & Hamrick, 2010), many claims made about these students' transitions do not address contemporary learning motivation theories on self-determination or motivation regulation. The notion of selfauthorship, a prevailing student development theory, also does not address contemporary learning motivation theories (Baxter Magolda, 1999).…”

“…Student veterans are a trending topic on today's university campuses, and the literature about their experiences is abundant (Bellafiore, 2012;DiRamio et al, 2008;Elliot et al, 2011;Moon & Schma, 2011;Nichols-Casebolt, 2012). However, virtually the entirety of the existing literature focuses on the challenges of student veterans and the difficulties they face transitioning (DiRamio & Jarvis, 2011;Lapierre et al, 2007;Milliken et al, 2007;Rumann & Hamrick, 2010).…”