Creating a Military & Veterans Transition Academy at Regent University
Creating a Military & Veterans Transition Academy at Regent University
David Boisselle | 2015
Abstract
A Military & Veterans Transition Academy is proposed at Regent University to provide comprehensive and holistic services to student veterans. These services include orientation and transition, counseling and mental health (including treatment for post-traumatic stress), community activities, career services, and spiritual development. Schlossberg’s transition model (1995) for adults provides the theoretical framework for serving student veterans in the Military & Veterans Transition Academy. Already recognized as a “military-friendly” university byGI Jobs,Military Advanced Education, andUS News & World Report, Regent has the opportunity to become a benchmark “veteran-friendly” university in the nation to match the likes of Arizona State University, Syracuse University, and Texas A&M. Regent’s location in the heavily-military region of Hampton Roads, VA makes it uniquely positioned to attract prospective student veterans to its seven graduate and undergraduate College of Arts & Sciences. In particular, Regent’s career transition support including the Military Transition Lunch ‘n Learns not only assists student veterans but prospective student veterans in the region to cross the oftentimes difficult bridge from active duty to the civilian workforce. Regent can thus become a major contributor to military workforce development initiatives which seek to retain these highly-skilled veterans in Hampton Roads. Creation of the Military & Veterans Transition Academy is faithful to the university’s core values of Christian, Excellence, and [Servant] Leadership. This final project includes a business plan for the proposed Military & Veterans Transition Academy as well as a survey of Regent student veterans’ satisfaction with student services. The literature review examines the effect of student engagement on adult learners as well as a competitive analysis of benchmark veteran-friendly universities in the U.S., both of which make the case that providing the comprehensive and holistic services by the Military & Veterans Transition Academy is not only a Christian imperative, but a common sense business imperative as well.