A Pilot Program for the Recruitment and Education of Navy Veterans Based on System-level Technical Expertise and Leadership Maturation Developed during Service

The project, Stern2STEM, aims to advance STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education through the preparation of student veterans to pursue baccalaureate STEM degrees and support the re-employment of these veterans into the Department of Defense (DoD) and the wider defense support industry. The program builds on the training that veterans have received in highly skilled technical areas, both in the classroom and “on-the-job”, to develop system level expertise in their respective technical disciplines. Key components of the program include: (1) establishing a mechanism for outreach and recruitment; (2) providing leveling, tutoring, mentoring, and support for students; (3) teaching and learning through proven pedagogical practices and through sound academic advising; (4) partnering with the DoD community to facilitate student career placement in the DoD STEM workforce; (5) providing workforce development for DoD STEM professionals. This paper will discuss the academic challenges that student veterans face while in higher education and the current STEM pipelines as students move through their college to professional careers. The early impact of academic tutoring, professional advising, mentorship, career placement, and recruitment of current service members into STEM disciplines through involvement with Stern2STEM will be discussed. Through Stern2STEM’s systematic interventions, the project has the potential to have a significant impact on the broader STEM education community as many of the principles, lessons learned, and tools developed will prove valuable for institutions which have a large population of student veterans. Section I: Introduction Military veterans are an underrepresented and largely overlooked population in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Prior research has demonstrated that engineering attracts students at a lower rate than any other discipline, which is reflected in an aggregate participation rate of about 17.8% in science and engineering at the associate’s and bachelor’s degree-levels for military servicemembers and veterans. Although a large portion of veterans perform technical roles during their military careers, those experiences do not typically lead to technical careers after their military service. This project, Stern2STEM, investigates the transition of servicemembers from military service to baccalaureate STEM degree programs and implements evidence-based interventions that increase participation in STEM fields and support a more successful transition into technical careers. By providing student veterans, who already possess technical STEM training gained in the military, with a strong educational foundation, the program will assist in the closure of the mid-career gap in the Department of Defense (DoD). This talent and competency gap in the DoD, and STEM disciplines in general, must be addressed by systemic policies and interventions in higher education such as this program, which seeks to increase the quantity and quality of talent seeking placement in STEM careers by focusing on student veterans. Upon graduation, the student veterans who participate in the program will bring a level of leadership, maturity, and technical expertise into the workforce which is greater than traditional graduates of the University. The University is uniquely positioned to achieve these aims. It is strategically located in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia which is home to one of the world’s largest military populations, with approximately 83,000 active duty military personnel, and has one of the largest concentrations of defense contractors in the United States. Every branch of the military is represented in this region with one or more major command centers within its borders. The University maintains close partnerships with all branches of the military and the maritime, shipbuilding, and repair industries, with many of their representatives serving as members on the University’s institutional advisory boards. Each year in the Hampton Roads region, roughly 13,000 military personnel leave their respective branches of service and enter the private sector and/or continue into higher education, which positions the University as a prime location to study the longitudinal effects of intervention to broaden the participation of student veterans in STEM degrees and careers. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: Section II reviews the existing literature and programs that are aimed at increasing minority populations in STEM degree fields, Section III describes the objectives and tasks of Stern2STEM, Section IV discusses the current highlights of the program and lastly, Section V draws conclusions. Section II: Literature Review A student veteran is “any student who is a current or former member of the active duty military, the National Guard, or Reserves regardless of deployment status, combat experience, legal veteran status, or GI Bill use”. As the number of student veterans increases, the evidence from the literature suggests that the higher education community may not be equipped to support this student population due to a lack of data and research. 7, 8 The research that does exist often uses a deficit perspective or was completed by non-veterans who lack knowledge about military experiences. Although a common theme in the existing literature is the transition from military to post-secondary education 10, 11, , there is little about supporting veterans throughout their time in post-secondary education. Vacchi and Berger created one model for veteran support that includes services, support, transition support, and academic interactions. In the Hampton Roads Region particularly, research conducted by Sibson showed that first year retention rates for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 academic years of G.I. Bill beneficiaries in three higher education institutions (Old Dominion University, Tidewater Community College, and ECPI University) were significantly lower (59.91% and 60.41% respectively) than the retention rates for students throughout Virginia (74.15% and 74.96% respectively), suggesting a deficiency in these institutions to effectively meet the needs of student veterans. In 2011 the National Research Council released a report listing the proven, intensive intervention techniques for increasing underrepresented minorities in STEM which include: involvement in summer programs, research experiences with faculty and outside laboratories, professional development activities, academic support, social integration, and mentoring. As adult learners make up an increasing portion of enrollment at universities, understanding how to increase the performance and retention of this subpopulation is a significant issue facing institutions of higher education. Research on student retention has started to address the unique characteristics and challenges of adult learners, but there are still open questions about the effectiveness of program proposals. 16 There has been significant research related to retention of other minority groups, which may be instructive to future research and program proposals to address adult learner retention. 17 Knowledge gained in studies of these other nontraditional student populations may be applicable in the design of programs targeting student veterans. With widely varying levels of preparation, personal and career goals, and previous experiences, veterans are a unique subset of the nontraditional student population. 22 Within the student veteran subpopulation there are not only a multitude of open research questions, but also difficulty in finding data on student veteran outcomes to provide answers, largely due to student privacy concerns. 18 Several authors have discussed the diversity of student veterans, 18, 22 which suggests that any proposed interventions to increase veteran retention must address the diversity of risk factors that this subpopulation faces. This begs the question, what makes student veterans such a unique subpopulation? As summarized in Table 1, student veterans are diverse along demographic and economic lines. Within this population, women student veterans make up 33% of National Guard, 31% of Reservists, 22% of active duty, and 21% of veterans. Of today’s student veteran population, 48% of active duty and 47% of reservists were racial/ethnic minorities. National Guard members in college had the highest incomes ($47,403), while Reservists, active duty, and veterans earned $34,937, $35,413, $30,538, respectfully. The average age upon entry into postsecondary education for student veterans is: National Guard 20, Reserves 22, Active duty 22, and Veteran 25. A large share of student veterans face life circumstances that are associated with postsecondary non-completion such as delayed college enrollment, no high school diploma, part time college enrollment, financially independent, have dependents, single parent status, or fulltime work while in college. Specifically, 60% of active duty undergraduate students have four or more risk factors associated with not completing college, while the corresponding percentages for veterans, Reservists, and National Guard members are 44%, 37%, and 30%. Fifty-seven percent of Active Duty members and 52% of veterans have at least one dependent. Forty-two percent of veterans, 36% of National Guard and reserve members had full-time employment. According to the Beginning Postsecondary Student Longitudinal Study, 27% of student veterans did not complete Algebra 2 or higher level math course in high school compared with 16% of other students, and only 39.4% of student veterans complete their STEM degree in four years. Table 1: Diversity of Student Veterans in Higher Education Active Duty Reservists National Guard Veterans Women 22% 31% 33% 21% Minorities 48% 47% 40% 37% Income $35,413 $34,937 $47,403 $30,538 Age at Entry 22 22 20 25 4 or more risk factors 60% 37% 30% 4