There is growing research informing of challenges student veterans face when returning to school. We have growing knowledge about the impact and intersection of mental health, chronic pain, brain injuries, neurological challenges, cultural readjustment, and reestablishing identity and purpose as common challenges experienced by student veterans. Many advocates in higher education are already diligently working to create resources to meet the unique needs of student veterans. Recruiting IT (information technology) specialists may be a way to expand an already established resource through LMS (Learning Management Systems) in updating inclusive technology to better serve non-traditional students. Already established learning management systems such as Canvas and Blackboard could be tailored to provide a personalized, effective learning experience for student veterans and non-traditional students.

Creating an LMS platform inclusive of student veterans and non-traditional students could increase student learning, student retention, and student success if the design includes the intention to support students with unique needs. Producing a successful Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has shown to have challenges but, nonetheless, is something we strive for if the desired outcome is successful learning for students with varied styles of learning. Emerging research is revealing there is no single learning design that will be able to provide significant learning for all students. Customizable learning is needed now more than ever with a fast-growing technologically advanced society. With the sudden shift in learning platforms following COVID-19, we learned that online learning platforms have challenges but we have also learned that learning platforms were underutilized resources for supporting learning for both traditional and non-traditional students. IT specialists have the capacity and opportunity to build and design learning management systems that are inclusive and can meet the unique needs of student veterans and non-traditional students. With collaborative design, research, and goals of producing appropriate learning environments, higher education is in an ideal place to support the success of student veterans transitioning from military service to service as a civilian community member.

Inclusive LMS design could support student veterans and non-traditional student learning by:

• Creating a consistent interface for all classes to increase comfort, familiarity, and expectations across classes and throughout time enrolled as a student.
• Providing retrieval of recorded lectures and transcripts to review at the student's pace.
• Programming that can adapt to the student the more they interact with the system to provide tailored needs for students, instead of the student trying to figure out these needs and adjustments. Students with similar disabilities may express different needs and LMS could quickly identify these nuances.
• Providing data to faculty and student support services to better track students' time engaged in classwork and missing assignments to initiate outreach and support.
• Building in features that provide wellness information and interactive wellness activities, as well as ticklers to remind students of important deadlines to help them locate solutions and know when and where to ask for support.
• Linking communication features within LMS to allow more dialogue between faculty and support services on the student's behalf.
• Capturing data about effectiveness of synchronous and asynchronous class structure by measuring multiple variables in support of students.
• Implementing qualitative and quantitative measures to capture general trends but also phenomena and lived experiences, thus providing the ability to accurately enhance LMS in real-time.
• Providing students with features to reach out directly for appointments or support.
• Introducing Timehop/memory features to remind students of past successes, which can be especially helpful when they are feeling defeated or questioning if they are suited to be in higher education
• Ability to design in-system peer support to promote support and resilience.

Employing resources already within our reach, such as collaboration between IT, faculty, and students and incorporating learning theories can provide a new frontier of customizable learning methods for student veterans and non-traditional students. Student veterans could engage in asynchronous classes if that would better meet their needs or engage in blended classes that include in-class instruction, use of LMS, and synchronous lectures. With more focus on creating inclusive learning through learning management systems, higher learning could provide valid and reliable resources for student veterans and students who may find challenges in current and traditional student learning formats. A multidisciplinary approach has proven effective in many areas of service, and shared leadership has shown to be viable when creating services that can validate their purpose. Adapting these strategies may be fruitful for increasing student veteran success in higher education and supporting transition and readjustment following military service time.

Article Topics

Serving Military in HigherEd Veterans Academic Success

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