The Commission for Higher Education's Veterans Task Force Working Group began work in February.
(U.S. Army ROTC/Flickr)
Indiana’s Commission for Higher Education wants to see 5,000 more U.S. veterans with college credentials by the 2025-2026 academic year.
The Veterans Task Force Working Group presented recommendations to the commission Thursday. The task force laid out a plan for meeting its goal, including giving vets credit for what they learned in the service, improving communication and navigation in higher ed, and supporting students once they’re enrolled.
“This really is designed to help Indiana move from what we might consider being military- and veteran-friendly to being military- and veteran-ready and engaged,” Stacy Townsley, associate commissioner for adult strategy, said. “A lot of the work is already happening in the state. But it generally is a little bit disconnected.”
The task force includes 25 active participants from military and veteran organizations as well as Indiana colleges. The task force began its work in February.
The task force highlighted the importance of standardized, transparent Credit for Prior Learning programs, which would help transition military training into academic credit.
Jayson Jarrett, assistant director of financial aid for veterans affairs at Ball State, said when thousands of veterans leave the military and return to Indiana each year, they bring with them knowledge and experience. Many want to pursue higher education, but it’s complicated.
“It can be an opaque and kind of broken process. There is no one standardized way of saying, ‘I was in this branch service, this was my occupation. What can I get at IUPUI, at Ball State, at any of these institutions of higher learning?’” Jarrett said. “It's time for this to change.”
The American Council on Education has recommendations on how military courses and job experiences can be turned into college credit. The task force said Indiana institutions should accept these guidelines.
The task force also wants higher education institutions to standardize their processes for giving credit for military work. By standardizing credit awarding, the decision-making process is transparent and course equivalents are clear.
As for the state, the task force recommended creating a centralized source, like a website, which would include information from universities on how credits will transfer and what opportunities are available around the state.
Jarrett said Ohio, Kansas and Texas have already created systems like this, so veteran students know exactly where they stand when they start their degree.
“We believe this is key,” Jarrett said. “And this is extremely important because students who come in with a clear knowledge and a clear path, they're more likely to enroll, they're more likely to stay, to persist, to graduate and to leave their universities and their colleges with a degree that can create meaningful pathways to meaningful careers.”
Suggestions for supporting veteran students in college include extending active duty policies past 15 days, ensuring students return without penalty, and removing financial barriers. That might look like getting all veterans in-state tuition, providing tuition discounts and payment grace periods for students using a GI bill.
Other supports for veterans in college include career counseling for post-graduation plans, referral to disability servicesd and providing a military-affiliated mental health counselor.
Lori Sprague, Ivy Tech Community College’s Director of Veteran and Military Benefits, provided student support suggestions to the Commission for Higher Education.
She highlighted the task force’s recommendation for developing Purple Star guidelines for colleges and universities, meaning those schools make a “significant commitment to service members, veterans, and students and families connected to our nation’s military.” Institutions will respond to a survey showing how many resources or supports they have for veterans. Veteran population size will be taken into account.
“Our final recommendation is that there will be a tiered ranking system to allow those institutions that may not have a lot of military affiliated students, but still doing great things to also qualify for purple star designation,” Sprague said.
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her ataubmwrig@iu.eduor follow her on Twitter at@aubreymwright.
