Abstract:
Since the signing of the Post-9/11 GI Bill in 2008, veteran enrollment in college has increased to numbers not seen since the end of World War II. This most recent iteration of the GI Bill provides education benefits for thirty-six months at a great cost to the taxpayers. Student veterans are a unique class of non-traditional students due to their military experiences and use of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. This qualitative study was conducted using the CIPP evaluation model to assess the needs of the student veteran, what measures the institution has in place to meet those needs, and if the veterans thought the institution’s procedures, programs, and services facilitated degree completion within the timeframe of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Data were collected through individual interviews of current and recent graduates using open-ended questions. After respondent validation of the interviews, thematic analysis was used to code the data from which the researcher identified several themes. The themes identified were mandatory policies and processes and optional services. The data and participant responses indicate that some institution services, those specifically for veterans, can be very beneficial toward degree completion. However, the policies and processes of the institution geared toward traditional students can inhibit timely progress toward degree completion for veterans. Some of these processes and policies are outside the institution’s ability to change, though there are institutional requirements for programs which should look at the veteran’s whole life experience, not only their transcripts.