May 2011

2010 Military Times EDGE magazine  2010 Military Times EDGE magazine  Evaluation criteria used: Financial assistance Financial assistance Academic flexibility Academic flexibility Campus culture Campus culture Support services Support services

 Veterans and Military Programs and Services (VMPS)  14 parts (e.g., Mission, programs, human resources, ethics, leadership)

 Survey – created, distributed, and analyzed by students in CAHE 572 Conducted by Sharon Anderson, Amy Buhrow, Conducted by Sharon Anderson, Amy Buhrow, & Richard Mitchell  MSS 2011 benchmarking study Conducted by MSS staff Conducted by MSS staff

 Needs Analysis - surveyed Fall 2010 population of 552 veterans & active military students  146 (26% response rate) took the survey

Mean age 32 (n=129) Mean age 32 (n=129) 88% white (n=118); 6.5% Latino/a (n = 9) 88% white (n=118); 6.5% Latino/a (n = 9) 46% (n=62) have one or more children 46% (n=62) have one or more children 26% (n=33) reside in DeKalb 26% (n=33) reside in DeKalb 55% (n=70) live more than 25 miles from DeKalb 55% (n=70) live more than 25 miles from DeKalb 61% (n=89) undergraduates 61% (n=89) undergraduates 77% (n=105) transfer students 77% (n=105) transfer students

 Deployment status (n=134) 93% have been deployed (n=125) 93% have been deployed (n=125) 60% were deployed (n=79) to combat theatre 60% were deployed (n=79) to combat theatre *Only 2 were deployed while a student at NIU

 Reasons for choosing NIU 75% (n=109) indicated location 38% (n=56) indicated specific program/major 34% (n=51) indicated cost 21% (n=30) indicated veteran-friendly campus

Use of Benefits  71% (n=97) use GI Bill benefits  66% (n=90) use IVG/ING Biggest college-related challenge  40%(n=38) Finding balance – (e.g. family, education, commuting, and working)  25% (n=24) Financial issues  25% (n= 24) Adjusting to college life (e.g., studying, immature students, socially connecting)  18% (n=17) Interpersonal communication challenges

 93% (n=127) found NIU to be a “veteran- friendly” campus  85% (n=123) were completely satisfied or satisfied with services and support at NIU. Most satisfied Most satisfied  Scholarships, tuition waivers (n=118)  Financial aid/benefits processing (n=130) Least satisfied Least satisfied  Employment assistance (n=40)  Housing assistance (n=39)

 55% (n=44) of students deployed indicated that Mental Health Services were very or somewhat important  53% (n=42) of students deployed indicated that Physical Disability Services were very or somewhat important  36% (n=29) of those who had been deployed to combat theatre indicated that opportunities to connect to veterans were very or somewhat important

 75% were aware of NIU’s Veterans club 13% (n=19) attended a meeting 13% (n=19) attended a meeting 11% (n=17) expressed interest in attending 11% (n=17) expressed interest in attending Reasons having not attended included: Reasons having not attended included:  Too busy, no time (39)  Off-campus/commuter student (20)  I don’t know where they meet, or never been contacted by them (23) never been contacted by them (23)

Top three areas of interest for programs (n=107)  Top three areas of interest for programs (n=107) 65% (n=69) Educational Benefits 65% (n=69) Educational Benefits 50% (n= 53) Resume Development 50% (n= 53) Resume Development 40% (n=43) Career Advisement 40% (n=43) Career Advisement

 Mentoring program 52% (n=41) of veteran’s deployed (n=79) indicated a military student mentoring program is very or somewhat important 52% (n=41) of veteran’s deployed (n=79) indicated a military student mentoring program is very or somewhat important  Women’s group 37% (n=51) very or somewhat important to have a women’s specific group 37% (n=51) very or somewhat important to have a women’s specific group 76% (n=22) of WOMEN veterans felt it is very or somewhat important to have a women’s specific group 76% (n=22) of WOMEN veterans felt it is very or somewhat important to have a women’s specific group

Campus IR Statistics (547)  74% (405) white  81% (443) male  72% (396) full-time  72% (395) undergrads  Mean age = 30 (547) CAHE 572 Study (136)  88% (118) white  79% (104) male  70% (96) full-time  61% (89) undergrads  Mean age =32 (134)

 Identified 18 institutions to benchmark with using the following criteria: Ranked in the top 50 by Military Times Edge as a “Veteran Friendly” institution Ranked in the top 50 by Military Times Edge as a “Veteran Friendly” institution Similar in size/scope to NIU (~24,000 students) Similar in size/scope to NIU (~24,000 students) Nationally known for strong veteran services Nationally known for strong veteran services Recognized in the state/MAC for strong veteran services Recognized in the state/MAC for strong veteran services

 23areas were identified by staff  23 areas were identified by staff Institutional/Veteran enrollment data (number of veterans, SOC, IVG) Institutional/Veteran enrollment data (number of veterans, SOC, IVG) Service-related data (orientations, seminar classes, etc) Service-related data (orientations, seminar classes, etc) Veteran office data (number of employees, funding, space, mission, etc) Veteran office data (number of employees, funding, space, mission, etc)

 61% (n=11) institutions are SOC affiliated institutions  55.5% (n =10) institutions serve less than 1,000 veterans  10 institutions reported number of veteran’s using Post 9/11 GI Bill ranging from 132 – 650. Average is 473.

 100% (n=18) of institutions provide veteran-specific programs (workshops, mental health outreach, etc)  44% (n=8) of institutions provide some type of social programs designed to help veterans connect to each other  67% (n=12) of institutions have at least something during orientation for veterans specifically  39% (n=7) of institutions hold a seminar for veterans

 100% (n=18) of institutions have an office for their services  61% (n=11) of institutions have a space for their VA Representative  61% (n=11) of institutions have a transition staff  28% (n=5) of institutions have some sort of recruitment mission  39% (n=7) of institutions provide some type of family services

 17 institutions have strong relationships with veteran clubs (e.g., University of Arizona has their veteran’s club provide most of their programs)  Two institutions have developed models for programmatic services for uniformity and assessment (e.g., Kent State University & Arkansas State University)

 All institutions used to communicate with veterans (news, information, events)  At least 67% used Facebook to communicate with veteran students  All have a web presence to communicate specific veteran information.

 All institutions have created an office specifically for veteran services. Most are in the initial stages of creating or broadening their veteran services beyond providing educational benefits  Many are exploring offering similar programmatic services (e.g. women’s group, mentoring, veteran honor societies)

 Data from the survey suggest: Create a women’s veteran group (Annual Priority) Create a women’s veteran group (Annual Priority) Develop a mentoring program (Annual Priority) Develop a mentoring program (Annual Priority) Develop a programming model that largely focuses programming for veteran students who are non-traditional, off-campus, and parents Develop a programming model that largely focuses programming for veteran students who are non-traditional, off-campus, and parents

 Data from the benchmarking study suggest: Explore becoming a SOC affiliated institution Explore becoming a SOC affiliated institution Strengthen relationship with the Veteran’s club (e.g., hiring veteran work study who are members, collaborative programming) Strengthen relationship with the Veteran’s club (e.g., hiring veteran work study who are members, collaborative programming) Possibly offer family services and have staff focus on transition of veterans Possibly offer family services and have staff focus on transition of veterans