Creating a Veteran-Friendly Campus (PDF)

As the United States? wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue,increasing numbers of students who experienced combat will enrollin colleges and universities. There is mounting evidence that theseveterans will require support unique to their needs beyond theprocessing of financial aid paperwork from the VeteransAdministration. Obviously, combat frequently inflicts injuries,both physical and mental, that will require attention, but veteransare a unique population in other ways as well. Soldiers experienceextraordinary bonding in wartime, and colleges can provideopportunities for that fellowship to be a source of support andconnection. Female veterans will bring a new, nontraditionalperspective to campus, and student service organizations should paycareful attention. There is also a significant group of studentswho leave for service and return?under the best of circumstances,they need accommodation to succeed.

Institutions of higher education traditionally have responded tothe needs of special student populations by developing programs andoffering services. This volume contains information aboutprogrammatic initiatives that can help create a welcomingenvironment for veterans, one that encourages serious, creativeinvolvement. The authors bring broad experience and deliberateconsideration to bear on questions that are only becoming moreimportant to the entire spectrum of American colleges anduniversities.

This is the 126th volume of the Jossey-Bass higher educationquarterly report series New Directions for StudentServices, an indispensable resource for vice presidents ofstudent affairs, deans of students, student counselors, and otherstudent services professionals.

Each issue of New Directions for Student Servicesoffers guidelines and programs for aiding students in their totaldevelopment: emotional, social, physical, and intellectual.