The Veteran Center at National University has worked to create a sense of belonging among the military-affiliated student population. In an increasingly digital age, the Veteran Center has tested and utilized a number of effective ways to offer remote student services and increase engagement in online learning environments. We hope learning about our strategies at National University can help your campus staff and leaders brainstorm what best suits your military-affiliated students.

Our Campus
National University was founded in 1971 by retired U.S. Navy Captain David Chigos, who saw a need to help military students complete their degree programs. The institution was ahead of its time by offering courses at night -- today, the university offers courses both online and on-site, with more than 45 of its degree programs available 100 percent online. About one-third of National University students are military-affiliated, which means they are either active-duty, active reservists, veterans, retirees, and/or dependents.

The Veteran Center at National University serves as a liaison for students and the university, including providing assistance with transitioning from military life to civilian life and higher education. Here, military-affiliated students find a community that creates lifelong connections with other military-affiliated students, staff and faculty who encourage them from their first class to graduation and beyond.

We are continuously engaging with our students to deeply understand their needs and wants. We use that information to design a student-centric experience. Over two years into the pandemic, most of our classes are still fully virtual, and our staff members are still working remotely. In online learning environments, the Veteran Center has found ways to assist military-affiliated students through:

• Virtual Veteran Center & Veteran Center website
• NUton chatbot
• Good old-fashioned phone calls

A Virtual Veteran Center
The Veteran Center's website is accessible to anyone and offers an overview of our funding options, transition resources, academic resources and external organizational information at National University. It also serves as an online hub for the Virtual Veteran Center.

The Virtual Veteran Center was implemented in 2018, before the pandemic, and its primary focus is to virtually offer the same information an enrolled student would receive in person. Recently, the Virtual Veteran Center transitioned from Blackboard Collaborate to the D2L, Brightspace. Military-affiliated students are automatically populated into the virtual Veteran Center once their enrollment into the university is complete. (They may choose to opt-out.)

During the pandemic, the Virtual Veterans Center has provided us a way to communicate with the military-affiliated student population all at once by providing resources, routinely posting announcements, and offering a space for students to interact with the physical Veteran Center and fellow students. The announcements are often the result of collaboration opportunities internal and external to the university -- for example, we've found success in partnering with the university's Career Services department. We have also sent out interactive announcements to boost student engagement and retention. Recently, the Veteran Center asked students to share "What have you been up to since the world paused?" A couple of the student responses were:

• "I've started landscaping my backyard and trying to start a mini garden."
• "I've been rebuilding my old bicycles, painting them, and cleaning them up."

NUton the Chat Bot
National University wanted to find a more innovative way to interact with specific groups of students at one time. In February 2020, the Veteran Center served as the pilot for a campus-wide SMS/texting project. This project came on the heels of receiving student feedback that they'd like to be able to receive information from the university in a clearer, more concise way. This pilot program is a way to send tailored messages to a specific student population. For example, if an active-duty student is using tuition assistance, they will receive a reminder to apply for their tuition assistance. The Veteran Center also wanted to create comradery by sending joy-based text messages in addition to informational text messages. One of the joy-based text messages was for Veterans Day 2021 when the Veteran Center showcased its partnership with a local veteran-founded organization, One More Wave. By sending a text message (which included a hyperlink to the One More Wave website) to the military-affiliated student population, we empowered students to learn about the organization on their own time. Students were encouraged to post on the military community website for the university, doubling the number of posts during this time. This is an example of what collaboration can do for all involved. However, there are times when a more personal one-on-one interaction is warranted.

A Good Old Fashioned Phone Call
Don't forget that a good old-fashioned phone call is a way to resolve a situation. It offers an opportunity to connect and build rapport. Actively listening, we learn about their individual stories. In addition, we can hear the inflection in their voice, tone, and get a sense of urgency for the situation. We try to offer solutions, but when we cannot resolve a situation, we take ownership and say, "I will get back to you," demonstrating that we are committed to assisting them. We also work in close collaboration with other departments in the university, enabling a holistic, cohesive approach to student support.

Engaging with the military-affiliated community on our campuses can be complex, but it is one of our primary responsibilities as leaders in our campus veteran centers. This is just a snapshot of our strategies to effectively provide remote services for military-affiliated students and increase engagement at National University. How are you providing remote student services for military-affiliated students at your institution?

Article Topics

Military Focused Events Military Friendly Institutions Serving Military in HigherEd Working as a Veteran in HigherEd Workplace Inclusion

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