PEER-TO-PEER GROUP

MENTORING

FOR TRANSITIONING

STUDENT-VETERANS

HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

CURRENT ISSUE

PROPOSED INTERVENTIONAl

ert V

eter

an st

uden

ts p

rod

stod

gy p

rofe

ssor

s.

(194

7). J

ourn

al o

f Edu

catio

n, 1

30, 3

1.

Bann

ier,

B. (2

006)

. The

impa

ct o

f the

GI B

ill o

n de

velo

pmen

tal e

duca

tion.

The

Lea

rnin

g As

sista

nce

Revi

ew, 1

1, 3

5-44

. Co

hen,

J., W

arne

r, R.

L.,

& S

egal

, D. R

. (19

95).

Mili

tary

serv

ices

and

edu

catio

nal

attai

nmen

t in

the

all-v

olun

teer

forc

e. S

ocia

l Sc

ienc

e Q

uart

erly,

76,

88-

104.

DiRa

mio

, D.,

Acke

rman

, R.,

& M

itche

ll, R

. L.

(200

8). F

rom

com

bat t

o ca

mpu

s: V

oice

s of

stud

ent-v

eter

ans.

NAS

PA Jo

urna

l, 45

, 73-

102.

Fe

ldm

an, S

. F. (

1974

). Ge

ogra

phy

cont

rols

GI B

ill

oppo

rtun

ities

(Sta

ff Re

port

). W

ashi

ngto

n,

DC: N

ation

al L

eagu

e of

Citi

es a

nd U

nite

d St

ates

Con

fere

nce

of M

ayor

s.Ro

ach,

R. (

1997

). Fr

om co

mba

t to

cam

pus.

Bla

ck

Issue

s in

High

er E

duca

tion,

14(

13),

26.

Rum

ann,

C. B

., &

Ham

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F. A

. (20

09).

Supp

ortin

g st

uden

t vet

eran

s in

tran

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. Ne

w D

irecti

ons f

or S

tude

nt S

ervi

ces,

126,

25

-34.

Ry

an, S

. W.,

Carls

trom

, A. H

., Hu

ghey

, K. F

., &

Ha

rris,

B. S

. (20

11).

From

boo

ts to

boo

ks:

Appl

ying

Sch

loss

berg

’s m

odel

to

tran

sition

ing

Amer

ican

vet

eran

s. N

ACAD

A Jo

urna

l, 31

, 55-

63.

U.S.

Dep

artm

ent o

f Edu

catio

n, N

ation

al C

ente

r fo

r Edu

catio

n St

atisti

cs. (

2011

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ats i

n br

ief:

Mili

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serv

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embe

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vete

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AS:0

8).

Wils

on, R

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The

G.I.

Bill

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orum

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(4),

20. Re

fere

nces

Post-WWII Era

Alert Veteran Students Prod Stodgy Professors “Exceeding pre-war records by 50%, 2,062,000 men and women are now crowding America’s colleges to the bursting point. With individual institutions showing increases of from 10 to 500%, educators are finding that lack of space is not their only problem. One college official viewed the influx of 1,073,000 ex-servicemen into the nation’s classrooms as stimulating, if not always comfortable. ‘The performance of teachers is being challenged for the first time by their students,’ he said, citing the case of a Western Reserve student-veteran who told a professor his lecture was ‘the stupidest I’ve ever heard.’ ‘Teachers have had to throw their old lecture notes out of the window,’ said M. B. Toler, mathematics department head at Fenn College. ‘We’ve had to acquire a whole new body of knowledge to keep apace of the widely traveled and experienced GI’” (Alert Veteran Students Prod Stodgy Professors, 1947).

Late 20th Century

Vietnam Era & All-Volunteer Force Veterans on Campus

• Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP) was an enlistment incentive for Vietnam and post-Vietnam Era veterans (Bannier, 2006)

• Inferior to previous incarnations of the GI Bill (Bannier, 2006)

• Required contributions to the plan with federal government matches at a rate of two to one (Bannier, 2006)

• Veterans believed they were unwelcome on campuses during this era & consequently were more likely to try to ‘blend in’ to civilian college life (Rumann & Hamrick, 2009)

Schlossberg’s Transition Model• Transition = “any event, or non event, that results in changed

relationships, routines, assumptions, and roles” (as cited in Ryan, Carlstrom, Hughey, & Harris, 2011, p. 56)

• Four factors will influence the quality of any transition: the self, the situation, the support, and the strategies utilized, otherwise known as the 4 Ss (as cited in Ryan et al., 2011)

• This model will give a framework for working with Student-Veterans transitioning from active duty military to college, including perceptions of the cultures of college and military life (self), perceived negative or positive reasons for leaving the military (related to the situation), family and connection to others (support), and techniques for navigating through the academic bureaucracy (strategies), among a multitude of other factors (Ryan et al., 2011)

Schlossberg, Lynch, and Chickering’s Transition Framework

• Identified the “Moving In, Moving Through, Moving Out” structure of transitions (as cited in DiRamio, Ackerman, & Mitchell, 2008)

• Structure is a useful way of evaluating transitions over time by separating stressors into these headings

• Research (DiRamio et al., 2008) shows that student-veterans identify six factors associated with “Moving In” to college: “connecting with peers, blending in, faculty, campus veteran’s office, finances, students with disabilities, mental health and PTSD” (p. 80)

DiRamio, Ackerman, and Mitchell’s Results (2008)

Percentage distribution of undergraduates and graduate students, by military status and receipt of GI Bill education benefits: 2007–08

Undergraduates Graduate students

Military status and receipt of benefits

Percent Number Percent Number

Total in U.S. 100.0 20,928,000 100.0 3,456,000

Military students

Veterans 3.1 657,000 3.1 107,000

Active duty 0.7 139,000 0.8 29,000

Reserves 0.4 76,000 0.2 9,000

Nonmilitary students 95.8 20,055,000 95.8 3,312,000

Among military students

Received GI Bill education benefits for2007–08 academic year

37.7 329,000 20.5 29,000

Did not receive GI Bill education benefits for 2007–08 academic year

62.3 543,000 79.5 115,000

(U.S. Department of Education, 2011)

• New cohort of Student-Veterans is likely to increase in size as troops draw down in Iraq and Afghanistan (Ryan et al., 2011)

• New “Post 9/11” GI Bill includes increased educational benefits (Ryan et al., 2011)

• Student-Veterans of this era may have difficulties distinct from other eras (Ryan et al., 2011; DiRamio et al., 2008)

• Current Student-Veterans are a population worthy of student affairs professionals’ consideration in developing specific programming that can help them to transition out of combat and into college

• My program addresses the transitioning difficulties of Student-Veterans new to college campuses and would work best at an institution similar to Oregon State University

Peer-to-Peer Group Mentoring Program

• New Student-Veterans are identified during the college application process and informed that another orientation program is available to them; they must opt-in to the program

• Student-Veterans who have been on campus for at least one year are trained by a staff member to facilitate mentor groups of clusters of 5 to 8 new Student-Veterans and are supervised by a staff member throughout the program

• New Student-Veterans elect to participate in this extended orientation that continues through the first term of their college experience

• Mentor Groups meet once a week for an hour over the course of the term, with the trained Student-Veteran facilitator, to discuss transitioning issues, such as financial, relationship, academic, cultural, and mental health difficulties

• Student-Veteran facilitator will be well versed in resources available to his mentees and able to refer them to student affairs offices such as DAS and counseling

• Session topics may include in-depth discussion of college support services, challenges of the transition out of combat, culture shock, personal stories of military service, and overviews of the warning signs associated with PTSD, enabling Student-Veterans to look for those signs in others and in themselves

• At the end of the term, new Student-Veterans can elect to continue to meet periodically with their mentor one-on-one to check up and follow through the first year

Program Goals• To empower Student-Veterans by offering extensive

knowledge of the support services available to them• To create an instant peer group of other Student-

Veterans who share a common culture• To offer a role model and confidant in the Peer Mentor• To assist Student-Veterans in “Moving In” to college• To give the Peer Mentor a valuable leadership and

service experience in mentoring fellow Student-Veterans• To act as an early warning system for Student-Veterans

who are having particular difficulties with their physical, mental, or emotional health or with navigating the “red tape” of the college campus

Student Affairs Competencies Required to Facilitate

this Program• Multicultural Competence• Staffing and Supervision• Teaching in the Co-Curriculum• Advising and Consultation• Community Development• Academic and Student Affairs Partnerships

JESSICA BARON