Undergraduate Student Veterans at Ivy League and Ivy+ Colleges and Universities
Abstract
The client, Service to School (S2S), remains interested in understanding the experiences
and outcomes of undergraduate student veterans who have matriculated into Ivy League
and Ivy+ colleges and universities. Consequently, the following research question
was asked along with several subsidiary questions. Research Question: What policies
should Service to School (S2S) adopt in order to provide better support to undergraduate
student veterans at Ivy League and Ivy+ colleges and universities? Subsidiary Questions:
What challenges do undergraduate student veterans experience while enrolled in Ivy
League and Ivy+ institutions?
What factors are contributing to the challenges experienced by undergraduate student
veterans who attend Ivy League and Ivy+ institutions? After consultation with the
client, university administrators, key leaders from other veteran services organizations,
current and former undergraduate student veterans, and other stakeholders, this project
was designed to capture the lived experiences of current undergraduate student veterans
to present tangible policy solutions to the client and pave the way for future cohorts
of student veterans. This initial subsidiary research question was answered through
the use of qualitative survey research. The case study methodology was utilized to
answer the second subsidiary research question. The case studies were used to supplement
the analysis portion of this paper, as many of the responses had thematic similarities
to issues discovered in the survey findings. While this project was able to successfully
reveal the lived experiences and challenges of undergraduate student veterans at Ivy
League and Ivy+ schools, there is still much to be learned about this population.
Future research questions have been identified throughout the findings and analysis
section and warrant greater discussion. What can be concluded is that undergraduate
student veterans take the necessary steps to prepare for and do well at the most elite
schools in the nation. Simultaneously, these veterans struggle to relate to their
peers and experience institutional challenges that continue to remain unsolved and
unaddressed. Based on these findings, several policy recommendations were given to
the client for consideration.
Type
Master's projectDepartment
The Sanford School of Public PolicySubject
Student VeteransHigher Education
Veterans Issues
Ivy League Veterans Council
Transitioning Military
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/20704Citation
Pratson, John (2020). Undergraduate Student Veterans at Ivy League and Ivy+ Colleges and Universities. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/20704.More Info
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