Supporting Student Veteran Success: Institutional Responses to the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the Influx of Student Veterans

Abstract

The Post-9/11 GI Bill, implemented in August 2009, represents the largest investment in veterans? education in more than 60 years. As veterans of the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan return to American soil, the Post-9/11 GI Bill and other benefits will help thousands attend colleges and universities across the nation. Many of these institutions of higher education are undertaking various measures to prepare for the challenges of an influx of student veterans, many of whom have unique characteristics and needs in comparison to traditional college students who enroll immediately following high school. In this Viewpoints, contributors from three postsecondary institutions in Madison, Wisconsin call attention to a number of problems that student veterans face, describe their institutions? responses, and discuss some promising potential solutions.