Abstract:
The contemporary student veteran population is growing rapidly as service members who served in the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts take advantage of the Post 9/11 Veteran Educational Assistance Act of 2008 to receive educational benefits to attend college (Cook & Kim, 2009). However, student veterans entering college today have a unique set of qualities and experiences. As an emerging student population, little is known about the experiences and perceptions these student veterans bring with them to college (DiRamio, Ackerman, & Mitchell, 2008).
This study explored the nature of contemporary student veteran transition experiences from military life to college life to uncover (a) the factors that had positive effects on the contemporary student veteran transition process, and (b) the factors that posed challenges to the contemporary student veteran transition process. The information presented in this study has significance as it fills a knowledge gap that in existing literature regarding transitional experiences and perceptions of contemporary student veterans. In addition, the findings may serve as a foundation to improve the quality of resources available for those working to serve the needs of this growing student population.
