Education Programs Help Vets Transition
article by Public Service Degrees | February 22, 2012
Coming home from war can be one of the most trying experiences a person can ever face. There are some veterans that come home and begin developing feelings of depression or anger. They are also forced to deal with unemployment and sometimes even homelessness. Many times, these veterans would like to go to college to earn a degree, but do not know how or where to start. Luckily, there are a number of programs across the country that helps veterans start their educational journey.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has recently begun creating new innovative ways to help veterans make the transition from the military to beginning college. The new program that VA has developed is called the VetSuccess on Campus program. The VetSuccess program first teamed up with the University of South Florida in 2009 and has now expanded to eight other higher education institutions across the country including Cleveland State University, San Diego State University, Texas A&M University-Central Texas, Arizona State University, Salt Lake Community College, Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College.
The goal of the program is to strengthen partnerships with colleges and universities in order to produce a number of opportunities to help veterans achieve academic success by providing outreach and transition services to vets. Each of the VetSuccess campuses has at least two assigned VA staff, a vocational rehabilitation counselor and a vet center outreach coordinator that are located on campus during the week. These staff members assist veterans with services such as occupational testing, career counseling, readjustment counseling, etc., to support each vet's successful completion of educational and employment goals.
Arizona State University has recently joined the VetSuccess program by opening the Pat Tillman Veterans Center in the fall of 2011. The center is a 3,340 square foot facility that houses the VetSuccess program, as well as various support services that the university also offers. The center provides veterans with assistance on certifying students for their VA educational benefits; helping the transition from deployment to attending school; and providing them with information and referrals on items like housing, health and counseling services, career services, disability resources, tutoring resources, and veteran's rights regarding residency status.
Arizona State University has had a continuously increasing number of veterans and their dependents enrolling to the university. The school currently has more than 1,800 undergraduate and graduate students this academic school year, an 82 percent increase since fall 2008. The new center is also a great way for the school to celebrate the life of alum Pat Tillman who was killed in 2004 while fighting in Afghanistan.
"The center will honor Pat's legacy by creating a space where veterans can come to receive support during their educational experience at the university," ASU President Michael Crow said.
Hopefully, as more soldiers begin to come home, the VetSuccess program will expand to more college campuses across the country. The number of jobs for veterans is very limited right now, so it is important that we help our veterans go back to school and earn their degree.
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