Veteran Students.SNHU has an extensive history of serving the educational needs of Active, Reserve, National Guard, and Veteran military students. These students bring unique lived experiences to the table that are often different from the traditionally-aged college undergraduate student. This page is to help illuminate some of the differences and benefits that veteran students bring to the classroom.
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The following is information provided by the Office of Veteran Services.
Benefits Veterans Bring to the Classroom:
Veterans typically demonstrate:
- Leadership
- Work Ethic
- Motivation
- Discipline
- Respect for authority (to include professors)
- Strong sense of teamwork
Challenges Veteran Students Face:
- Perceiving other (typically younger) classmates to be immature, lazy, or naïve
- Creativity, self-expression, and critical thinking are are emphasized less in military training than in college.
- 28% of veteran students have been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or both.
- A core aspect of military culture includes self-reliance, which can make it difficult for a student vet to ask for help.
- Time management on unstructured assignments may be difficult.
- Veteran students often experience a lengthy gap between high school and college.
- Communication styles are often drastically different in military and non-military experiences.
| Military | Civilian |
|---|---|
| Direct Communication | Indirect Communication |
| Conflicts Addressed | Conflicts Avoided (Diplomacy) |
| Rules of Conduct Explicit | Rules of Conduct Implicit |
| Language Function | Language Ascetic |
| Authority = respect/formality | Authority = peer/informality |
| Daily Structure = High | Daily Structure = Low |
| Emphasis on Outcome | Emphasis on Process |
| Tight Community Bonds | Loose Community Bonds |
Recommendations for Faculty:
The following faculty recommendations are taken from the office of Veteran Support Services:
- Consider a syllabus statement such as: “Veterans and active duty military personnel with special circumstances are welcome and encouraged to communicate these to the instructor, in advance if possible.”
- Encourage veterans to question ideas and concepts presented in class.
- Do not interject your political beliefs about current wars or the military into the classroom.
- Provide specific grading rubrics, examples of tangible applications for abstract principles, and timely feedback
- Establishing authentic rapport with a veteran is critical in order to build trust
- Though some military veterans might be fairly outspoken in the classroom, they might not want to talk about their military experience.
- Be familiar with the UC Absence and Withdrawal Due to Military Service policy if you have Guard or Reserve students in your class.
