Development of a Success Model for Student Veterans at Community Colleges

As United States veterans transition from their military to civilian segment of their lives, they may face many challenges due to the experiences faced during their military service. These challenges can have a significant impact on the success of the veterans’
transition and greatly affect the quality of life the veteran is attempting to build. Historically,many veterans leaving the service take advantage of educational benefits available to them to pursue higher education degrees. But, the transitional challenges they face may also follow them to the college campus. To assist student veterans in being successful while attending community colleges, student success models can be developed to provide a framework for colleges to adapt to assist their veteran students.Student success models focus on the resources on community college campuses where students can engage to provide momentum in aiding them move successfully forward in pursuit of their education.These models also need to minimize or eliminate any potential barriers that can have an adverse effect on a student’s educational track. The purpose of this qualitative research was to develop a student success model, specifically designed for student veterans attending community colleges. The development of this model was completed in two phases.First,an initial student success model was created based on an in-depth review of literature pertinent to student veteran experiences in higher education. Upon completion of the initial model,additional information was gathered via in-depth interviews with various community college staff,faculty,and administrators.Interviews i
were conducted with personnel at four different community colleges across the country that had been recognized as being premier providers of student veteran services by The Military Times. The personnel interviewed represented all levels of the college hierarchy to provide different perspectives on issues facing student veterans. The responses from the interviews were analyzed and then used to modify a more streamlined,effective student success model.