Troops to College: Counseling Student-Veterans for T ransfer to the CSU

1. Troops to College: Counseling Student-Veterans for Transfer to the CSU

2. CSU Troops to College Program • The California State University offers many opportunities to help veterans, active-duty service members, and their families meet their personal and professional goals. With 23 campuses and more than 1,800 degree programs, the CSU is committed to providing: • Supportive institutional values and administration • Academic support programs and services, such as veteran-focused advising, mentoring and counseling • Financial support and advice specifically for veterans • Priority admission and registration, and academic credit granted for military courses and experience • Extensive opportunities in student leadership

3. Questions we’ll answer today • What is a veteran? • What does my local CSU campus do for veterans? • What should I be concerned about when advising veterans about transfer to a CSU campus? • What else should I know?

4. Who is a veteran? • Veteran • Service Member • Active Duty • Reserve/National Guard components

5. What percentage of people who enlisted in the U.S. military come from California?

6. 11 percent. That’s about 23,000 a year…and thousands more decide to make California their home after serving at the many military bases in our state

7. Many of them will attend community colleges with a goal of transferring to a CSU campus

8. Why is the CSU a great choice for veterans? • Large number of student veterans • Dedicated veteran staff at each campus • Many campuses have veteran specific admissions • Student veteran groups • Veteran support teams • Vet friendly atmosphere • Scholarship opportunities

9. CSU Campus Veterans Services

10. Many student veterans will be using one of the following benefits • Chapter 30 Montgomery GI-Bill -Active Duty • Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation • Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill • Chapter 35 Dependent Educational Assistance Program • Chapter 1606 Montgomery GI-Bill -Reservists • Chapter 1607 Reserve Educational Assistance Program • Cal Vet Fee Waiver

11. The Post 9/11 G.I. Bill • Benefits • 36 months of full-time study • Pays up to 100% of the student veteran’s in-state tuition and fees • Pays a book stipend of up to $500/semester • Pays a monthly housing allowance (based on zip code of school – many locations in southern California rate about $2200/month) • Monthly tutoring reimbursement up to $100 if recommended by instructor • Maintaining eligibility • Must be a full time student to receive 100% of housing allowance • ALL courses MUST be part of established educational plan

12. Transferring to a CSU Campus • Minimum CSU requirements • 60 transferrable units • “Golden Four” – Oral Communication, Written Communication, Critical Thinking, and Math • G.E. Certification is great, but it is NOT a transfer requirement! • All 23 campuses have unique admissions requirements • Most campuses have special admissions programs for veterans The Bottom Line • Determine which campus your student would like to attend, and connect with the Veterans Services Office at that campus.

13. Things you should know about veterans

14. What’s in a Name? • Army • Soldier • Marine Corps • Marine • Navy • Sailor • Air Force • Airman • Coast Guard • Guardian

15. Vets are used to bureaucracy, but sometimes it feels like this. CCCCSUUC VA

16. Chain of Command

17. 10 more things you should know about veterans Excerpts from “Ten Things You Should Know About Today’s Student Veteran” by Alison Lighthal http://www.nea.org/home/53407.htm

18. 10. Student veterans are a highly diverse group—as diverse as America itself “Returning military personnel come from all over, and are a rainbow of colors, shapes, religions, sexual orientation, and political views.”

19. 9. Veterans do not see themselves as victims. Ever. “Victims are people who feel no control over their lives and perceive themselves as being at the mercy of others..”

20. 8. They can feel very alone on campus. “Typically, student veterans are also older and more experienced than their freshman peers, which helps them keep things in perspective and not sweat the small stuff.”

21. 7. They are often unaware of their own mild traumatic brain injuries. “Almost every Marine I’ve ever known, and most of the frontline soldiers I’ve ever talked to, have experienced a significant explosion. But if it wasn’t their truck that blew up or their limb lost, they often don’t see it as their experience.” More information about PTSD, TBI from the VA: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/index.asp

22. 7. They are often unaware of their own mild traumatic brain injuries.

23. 6. There are three things you should never say to a student veteran (but they still hear them every day). “These wars are atrocities and a waste of human life”, “I don’t get why you’re having so much trouble – you volunteered right?”, “Did you kill anyone?”

24. 5. Female veterans suffer deeply, and almost always in silence. “The Veteran Administration estimates that at least 22 percent of females are sexually assaulted during their time in service.”

25. 4. They often want to go back to the war zone. “Facing death every day made them feel completely alive, but being bored makes them feel dead.”

26. 3. Combat trauma is an injury, not a mental illness. “It is that expectation of recovery that provides hope. And hope is the antidote to giving up on life.”

27. 2. To succeed, veterans need your understanding, compassion and respect. “Understanding that their actions are not personal, reaching out to them with compassion and respect, accommodating their individual learning needs, and most importantly, seeing them as people who chose to serve our country and who have endured burdens beyond anything we can imagine, could make all the difference to that student veteran.”

28. 1. Student veterans are one of America’s greatest untapped human resources. “They not only understand the concept of sacrifice for the greater good, they’ve lived it. Ten Things You Should Know About Today’s Student Veteran by Alison Lighthal http://www.nea.org/home/53407.htm

30. What are your questions?

31. Online Resources:www.gibill.va.gov - GI Bill informationhttp://www.ptsd.va.gov/ - National Center for PTSDhttp://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Toolkit-for-Veteran-Friendly-Institutions.aspx - ACE Toolkit for Veteran Friendly Institutionshttp://studentveterans.org/ - Student Veterans of Americahttp://www.calstate.edu/veterans/ - CSU Troops to Collegehttp://www.csulb.edu/divisions/students/veterans_university/awareness.html - VET NET ALLY program at CSULB