Phoenix — Colleges should reach out to the veterans arriving on their campuses and help them make the transition from the combat zone to college, Eric K. Shinseki, secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, told college leaders here today at the American Council on Education’s annual meeting.
But admitting veterans with benefits from the new GI Bill is not enough, he said. Unless they graduate and go on to successful second careers, the United States and its taxpayers will not be getting a good return on the investment of those education benefits. “I’m looking at graduation rates,” Mr. Shinseki said. “That’s where my focus is.”
Veterans especially need help in the first six months to a year, as they move from a high-stress, highly structured environment into a looser one at college. They may also suffer residual effects from combat that need special attention, he said. “When we succeed in transitioning them,” he said, “they will be invaluable to your campus.” –Kathryn Masterson
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4 Responses to Colleges Should Help Veterans on Path to New Future, VA Secretary Says
scupterry - March 10, 2010 at 10:18 am
The University of Michigan got its act together and did an excellent, integrated job of planning for its implementation of the new GI Bill: http://www.scup.org/blog/scuplinks/labels/veterans.html.
jesor - March 10, 2010 at 11:51 am
I know of very few colleges that are intentionally hostile towards veterans. Most don’t have the resources to hire the counseling and outreach staff to provide the supports that the VA should probably be doing in the first place.I understand that the VA is stretched due to years of underfunding and denial by policymakers of the long-term costs of warfare, but having dealt with the VA both professionally and for a family member, this sounds a lot more like “lets use the GI bill to pawn off some of our costs onto colleges” rather than a sincere attempt to create a more welcoming environment on campuses. If you truly want colleges to provide the extra level of support, put some dollars behind it and I’m sure there are many schools that would jump at the chance to actually expand a program in the current budget climate.
orourkepc - March 10, 2010 at 12:25 pm
The General comes to the VA with impeccable credentials attempting to change the culture of the VA from a stodgy bureaucracy to a sensitive, caring organization with tremendous challenges. As a former Army Chief of Staff, General Shinseki also understands manpower surveys, force structure, and organizational change. Our veterans programs which execute the six federal (and one state) USC Title 38 programs on large, public colleges and universities are a Veterans Administration unfunded manpower requirement. The impact of the Post 911 GI Bill on our campuses is measureable. Given the horrendous general fund shortfalls in our states’ budgets and the lack of attention to public education, veterans programs on these large campuses struggle to manage a complex, confusing, and ever-changing benefits program for veterans. I strongly encourage the General to prepare now and work with his counterpart, the Secretary of Education, to shore the capabilities gap on our large public institutions of higher education. I also recommend a manpower survey conducted at selected colleges and univesities to show the unfunded workload being done in support of the VBA programs. Now is the time for the VA to change the paradigm and take responsibility for on-campus veterans programs. Now is a time for leadership!
cdrlumpy - March 10, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Just a few false assumptions noticed in the comments. The VA budget was doubled during the eight years of the Bush Administration. However the bureaucracy is still very evident in their processes, for those who have undergone their certification process. Gen Shinseki is a great leader, but turning the bureaucracy of a large organization into a lean customer service type organization will even test his leadership abilities.