Colleges See Increase in Military Enrollments
Operation College Promise has helped student population at state schools grow.
Burlington County Times
Peg Quann, Staff Writer
August 12, 2010
Veterans and active-duty military personnel have swelled the ranks of New Jersey colleges and universities in the past year since the Post 9./11 GI Bill has taken effect, thanks in part to a new program called Operation College Promise.
A survey of New Jersey's nine state colleges and universities by Operation College Promise, the veterans project of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities, shows that enrollment of military personnel was 60 percent higher in the past year, with three institutions seeing military-related enrollment increase by more than 90 percent.
Richard Stockton College experienced a 192 percent increase, Montclair State University a 161 percent increase, and Rowan University a 94 percent increase.
Operation College Promise, funded through a $100,000 grant from Wal-Mart, has become a national model in helping veterans re-acclimate to civilian life through higher education. Director Wendy A. Lang said the program was created in 2008 when Congress enacted the Post 9/11 GI Bill, which expanded educational benefits for veterans and military personnel who have served since September 12, 2001. The program prepares higher education institutions in meeting the needs of the new contingent of veterans now taking advantage of the expanded benefits. The new benefits went into effect in August last year.
"It was critical to ensure our colleges and universities were prepared for this emerging student population," Lang said.
About 70,000 veterans live in Burlington County, making the county one of the top five in the state for the use of veterans' services, she said.
Under the Post 9/11 GI Bill, veterans and military personnel with at least 90 days of aggregate service on or after September 11, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days are eligible for some type of educational benefit if they received an honorable discharge.
For many veterans, Operation College Promise provides a free education at a state-funded college or university. If they want to enroll in a more expensive private institution, a separate Yellow Ribbon program provides extra tuition assistance. In some cases, private colleges are 100 percent tuition-free, depending on how much the school wishes to contribute to the veterans' expenses. For more information, visit the Department of Veterans Affairs website at www.gibill.va.gov/gi_bill_info/ch33/post-9ll.htm.
"One of the lessons learned through the OCP project is that among a veteran or service member population, word of mouth works," Lang said. "There is no better advertisement for higher education than a veteran having a positive experience on campus, and the efforts of those institutions to cultivate this experience is reflected by the enrollment increases. If you build an environment for success on your campus, veterans really will come."
As part of Operation College Promise, college and university officials and staff members of mental-health and other social agencies can participate in a 2-1/2 day seminar that offers advice on how to meet the needs of veterans trying to re-acclimate to civilian life. The next semester is planned for December.
The college program has attracted national attention. Six states have
requested information on how to set up their own, and Operation College Promise
is developing a national model. It has also put together a free 100-page
guidebook, "Creating an Environment for Veterans, the Operation College Project
Field Guide," which is available by contacting Lang at
walang@njascu.org,
www.operationcollegepromise.com,
or
609-989-1100.