Citation

Nichols-Casebolt A. About Campus 2012; 17(1): 26-29.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American College Personnel Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/abc.21070

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

With the advent of the new post-9/11 GI Bill, many colleges and universities have seen significant growth in the numbers of veterans and other military students on their campuses. Along with this increased population has come a growing recognition that while these students share many of the same struggles as other students, their service in the military--often in a combat environment--can make them feel isolated and uncertain in the academic setting. In addition, wounds of war that are experienced by some of these students, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and physical injuries, can make the adjustment even more difficult. Personal accounts and research studies have documented the numerous issues faced by veterans in their transition from "combat to classroom." These issues range from problems with accessing their GI Bill benefits to trouble concentrating in their classes to not feeling welcome on campus. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), witnessing its own growth in the numbers of veterans and military students on campus and concerned about their successful transition, began planning how it could better meet the needs of this unique group of students. While various administrative strategies were identified (and subsequently implemented), it was clear that knowledge about, and support of, military students on campus needed to extend throughout the institution if VCU was going to be seen as veteran-friendly. The goal was to develop a very visible network of faculty and staff in all schools/colleges and administrative units to whom these students could go to receive assistance. In this article, the author describes the "Green Zone" (GZ) program which VCU has implemented to respond to the needs of this important group.

Language: en