Veteran Student Enrollments Spike

Colleges across the nation are reporting increases in enrollments of veteran students who are using military education benefits to fund their college tuitions. Arizona State University (ASU), for example, recently reported a 102 percent increase in veteran student enrollment since 2008. ASU saw a spike in veteran student enrollment in the fall of 2009, coinciding with the enactment of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The New GI Bill provides more educational benefits funding to servicemembers and their dependents than any of the previous GI Bills--something that contrubted to ASU's vetran student population jumpping from 874 in 2008 to 1,269 students in 2009, and 1,767 students in 2010.

"ASU greatly appreciates and honors those who have served in defense of our country," said Kathy McBride, associate registrar in a press release from the school. "We are grateful for their service and honored to help them pursue their educational goals."

In October, ASU was also selected to participate in the VetSuccess pilot program. This program from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is designed to ensure veteran students get the most out of their VA educational and health benefits. ASU will employ two Veterans Affairs staff members, a vocational rehabilitation counselor, and an outreach coordinator at the campus Vet Center to assist the school's growing number of veteran students.

Smaller Colleges Attract Students Using Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits

The University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks also recently reported a rise in student enrollment from servicemembers drawn to higher education through the Post-9/11 GI Bill. UND, which enrolls just over 14,000 students, serves 715 veteran students, National Guard members who have yet to be deployed, and dependents of servicemembers.

And schools without historically large numbers of veteran students, like St. Lawrence University, the University of St. Thomas, and St. John Fisher College, are all actively welcoming veteran students. St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, recently increased the number of undergraduate veteran students eligible for Yellow Ribbon Program benefits from 10 to 15.

"We're an institution where we historically haven't seen many students with veterans benefits," says Patricia J.B. Farmer, director of financial aid told the Watertown Daily Times. "We thought this was a great opportunity for us to reach out a bit more."

The University of St. Thomas, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, has also seen veteran student increases. According to Terry Eggert, operations manager at the Registrar's Office, there are now 17 law school veterans, 53 graduate school veterans, 62 undergraduate veterans, and 3 veterans studying at the professional level.

St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY has seen a 60 percent increase in veteran enrollments, from 30 students last year to 50 students in the fall of 2010.

GI Bill-Friendly Schools Promote Veteran Education

Duquense University in Pennsylvania also actively seeks veteran students, says Don Accamando, military program director for the Duquense University School of Leadership and Professional Advancement. Military students, Accamando says, enhance the bachelor's and master's degree programs due to their wide variety of life skills and experiences.

Schools like Duquense have earned a reputation for being "military friendly" by offering a variety of services to help veterans excel and reach their education goals. One of the quickest ways schools can help veteran students is by making comprehensive financial aid and enrollment information available on their websites.

"To be military-friendly, you have to make yourself accessible, and you have to provide services veterans can rely on," Accamando says. "There is a certain chain of command with military folks--they are very self-reliant, but they need to be able to find stuff on their own and go get it. Duquense is very receptive to establishing a means for military students to get information easily."

Other ways Duquense and similarly military friendly schools can help veterans pursuing higher education online, Accamando says, is by providing some leeway to students who are deployed overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan. Professors at Duquense, for example, understand that online military students often can't log in on a daily basis to respond to class requirements. That patience, Accamando says, translates well into strong relations between professors and military students.

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