Military-Friendly Graduate Programs: A SDSU Perspective

1. Military-Friendly Graduate Programs: A SDSU Perspective Nikhil P. Varaiya Director of Graduate Programs Professor, Department of Finance College of Business Administration San Diego State University Presentation at WACSB Meeting in Honolulu, October 5-6, 2015

2. Introduction • One of the biggest challenges for vets who strap on the book bag right after taking off the uniform is the loss of camaraderie and purpose that the military provided. Schools and their vet students must work together to ease the transition. (Best for Vets: Colleges 2015, Militarytimes.com) • Reputation matters, said Stephen Abel, Director of the Office of Veteran and Military Programs and Services at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. • “If you get a degree from a school that has a solid academic reputation, that’s a really big plus,” Abel said. And if the school has made a big effort to • accommodate vets with special programs and policies, “that makes the • transition all the more easy.” (Best for Vets: Business Schools 2014, Militarytimes.com) • The biggest challenge according to Lloyd McGuire, a prior active-duty Marine doesn’t come in the classroom but at the bank. With a wife and young son at home, doing without a full-time salary is difficult, he said. But he thinks it will be worth it. • “Take that leap of faith. Use the GI Bill, which is the greatest benefit, and • invest in yourself, and the world is yours.” (Best for Vets: Business Schools 2014, Militarytimes.com)

3. Serving the Veteran Community at SDSU • Our experience confirms that this is a highly desirable student population • Very disciplined • Mature • Eager to learn • Highly adaptive • Academic performance mimics that of non military peers • The Graduate Business Programs Office and the Graduate Career Management Center in partnership with SDSU’s Veterans Center is striving to facilitate the transition of veterans to the academic and business environment through comprehensive academic and career advising.

4. Veterans Education and Training Program Benefits • The term GI Bill refers to any Department of Veterans Affairs education benefit earned by • members of Active Duty, Selected Reserve and National Guard Armed Forces and their • families. The benefit is designed to help service members and eligible veterans cover the costs • associated with getting an education or training. The GI Bill has several programs and each is • administrated differently -- depending on a person's eligibility and duty status. • GI Bill Programs: • - Post-9/11 GI Bill • - Active Duty Montgomery GI Bill • - Reserve and Guard Montgomery GI Bill • - Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) • - Vocational Rehabilitation and Education Program (VRAP) • - Post-Vietnam Era Veterans Educational Program (VEAP) • The following programs are available to survivors of service members who die in the line of • duty or dependents of totally disabled veterans: • - Dependents’ Education Assistance (DEA) • - Fry Scholarship

5. Beneficiaries who received education benefits by fiscal year

6. Beneficiaries who began receiving education benefits by training type and program during fiscal year 2013

7. SDSU was ranked as the 18th best business school in the nation for MBA programs available to military veterans by Military Times magazine in 2014 The Joan and Art Barron Veteran’s Center provides assistance for veterans, reservists, active duty personnel, as well as their dependents with applying to the university, accessing military benefits and finding housing and employment Assistance for Military Veterans at SDSU

8. Military Student Enrollment at SDSU by Student Level

9. Veterans Enrollment in All Graduate Business Programs at SDSU – Spring 2015

10. Veterans Enrollment in MBA for Executives (EMBA) Program at SDSU