Journal of College Orientation, Transition, and Retention

Transition Programs for Student Veterans

Gary Ritz

Alyssa Heggen

Katie Ericson

Jacqueline Harris

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/jcotr.v21i1.2861

Keywords: Student, veterans, transition, orientation, programs, support, groups, four-year, public, Midwestern, university

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Abstract

Many times, student veterans are returning to, or entering for the first time, an institution of higher education at an older age than the traditional student, and with very different background experiences. As institutions prepare a welcoming environment for their matriculating students, an orientation program for student veterans, supplemental to the already existing orientation, is suggested. Doing so provides all the necessary information to the student veteran about the institution, along with a separate time to create a support group with their peers. The program described was implemented at a four-year, public, Midwestern university in the fall semester of 2011. Through a multi-pronged approach, student veterans were offered a variety of resources to help ease their transition from “boots to books.” An analysis of the data on the students who participated in the activities was compared to data on the students who were not involved. The results of the analysis show positive support for continuing the specialized orientation program.