Kat Schorr hosted the May HigherEdMilitary Careers and Coffee chat and the topic of discussion focused on mental health and veteran students in higher education. She stressed the importance of supporting veteran students on campus and queried chat participants about their institution’s practices, or programs, focused on veteran students mental health. Open-ended, general questions allowed for ease of discussion and idea sharing throughout the chat.

Here is a brief overview and some key takeaways from the May event. Register here if you are interested in joining us for the June HigherEdMilitary Careers and Coffee session!

What Activities Does Your Institution Provide to Support Veteran Student Mental Health Needs?

Multiple participants answered by sharing that some have mental health counselors on staff that connect with veterans immediately upon entering campus. Texas A&M accomplishes this through student orientations that consist of breakout sessions for veterans. Other campuses have general counselors that are available to all students and focus on reducing stigma related to mental health issues and assistance seeking. 

Kat shared that her team is not trained on veteran mental health needs, therefore outside referrals is the method used for assisting them. Additionally, their local vet center visits monthly to gain a pulse of the students and to connect with their veterans, resulting in improved impacts on those students.

The discussion continued with participants seeking best practices from other organizations in an effort to improve upon the current strategies employed by their current institution. 

Does Anyone’s Institution Connect with Local VA Centers?

The Denver Veterans Center is engaged with various local universities, Metropolitan State University has developed close relationships with their local VA counselors to help veterans with mental health needs. Additionally, they have utilized their university’s social work department students for internship opportunities within their veteran center, resulting in peer mentoring and connection building. The entire panel agreed and stressed the importance of peer-to-peer connections regarding mental health for veteran students.

At some universities, mental health is categorized under academic accommodations services, and it is essential that veteran students are aware of this and utilize these services to their advantage, therefore where applicable, increasing awareness among veterans of these services is critical.

Hira, from Amherst College, related that during a veterans focus group it was discovered that the biggest issue for student veterans is the faculty’s lack of understanding the VA medical appointment process. This misunderstanding can cause veteran students to lose participation points, or worse, if not excused from class during these times. There is an opportunity to educate higher education faculty of the VA medical appointment process to help veteran students navigate the course attendance requirements. This could also fall under academic accommodations if institutions become aware of the need and add it to their requirements or recommendations for faculty.

Are There Any External Organizations That We Are Tapping into for Veteran Student Mental Health Needs?

Hira provided numerous links including the Warrior Care Network that networks with the Wounded Warrior Program and various hospitals around the country. See below:

https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/programs/warrior-care-network

https://roadhomeprogram.org/

https://homebase.org/

https://good2go.org/top-ten/

Are There Any Internal Departments That Are Being Used to Focus on Veteran Student Mental Health Needs?

Texas A&M uses their Troops to College program to develop veteran advisory committees to address topics such as counseling and mental health issues and trends.

Hira shared that there is a Spiritual Life Center that provides students a place to go to talk, hoping to get them connected to someone outside of mental health or clinical settings to open a conversation about their thoughts and feelings.

Other universities have conduct offices or student behavioral teams that address issues that may present warning signs for a student who needs assistance and can be directed to the appointment office for help.

Overall, the chat was productive in connecting professionals with various experiences within higher education regarding veteran students and their ongoing needs. Going forward, it would be beneficial to touch base periodically regarding this subject to share new developments, best practices, and observed trends within the veteran student community.

Please consider connecting with the HigherEdMilitary LinkedIn page at: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12524190/.

Other Resources Shared During the Discussion:

https://operationhomefront.org/veteran-caregiver-support/

https://www.metrocareservices.org

https://camaraderiefoundation.org

Article Topics

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

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