The Wal-Mart Foundation and the American Council on Education today identified 20 colleges as recipients of Success for Vets Grants, meant to help them develop innovative ways to help veterans make the transition from military service to college.

Each winner can use its $100,000 award to “accelerate the development of programs they already had in place,” said James Selbe, assistant vice president for lifelong learning at the council.

Many of the winning proposals include plans to enhance veteran-support services, train faculty members to be aware of veterans’ needs, and create orientation programs about useful resources on and near the campus. Oregon’s Clackamas Community College, for example, plans to “develop standards for awarding credit for military training and experience,” an issue that has long been raised by veterans seeking college degrees. Colorado State University plans to establish a national honor society for student veterans.

Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation, said colleges need to embrace “an influx of veterans next year and the following year.” The 20 colleges serve about 25,000 veterans this year and will probably see at least 30,000 next year, once new GI benefits go into effect.

Award recipients are expected to track their programs’ progress.

Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education, said the efforts that will be supported by the grants “hold enormous potential to those who served our country so bravely.” —Megan Eckstein