With nearly 4,000 accredited online-offering universities and colleges in the U.S., many military service members and veterans have taken advantage of these programs and courses. Some are exclusively taken online while others adopt a hybrid learning approach. Afterall, the military community is the pioneer of advancing distance education (DE). As the 2017 National Postsecondary Education Cooperative report indicates, "DE began to grow in popularity in the years following World War II as veterans sought to begin or finish their higher education studies." Online learning models have evolved, and schools offering these models must continue to do the same to meet the needs of student veterans today.

In 2011, the VA launched the Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL) program, which provides support with health care benefits, academic accommodations, and mental health services to student veterans. The goal is to help veterans achieve success, and to do that, the VA has partnered with colleges and universities to address service needs that support well-being and retention.

VITAL Program

Of the current 153 listed sites in 23 states via the VA VITAL Program Sites locator, only a few states like New York have a large number of sites whereas others have very few. Even more, 54% of states have no VITAL sites at all and only one university - Western Governors University - is designed as a VITAL online program site. Refer to the "VITAL Program Breakdown" at the bottom of this article for the on-campus count of sites per state/online location and available higher education institutions.

Military Mental Health and Care Services

The VA's 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report says it best: "Veteran suicide prevention is VA's highest clinical priority, but we can't do it alone." It lists focus areas to expand the network of care and support, the VITAL program in higher education provides:

• Enhancing mental health care access across a full continuum of care
• Building and sustaining community collaborations
• Tailoring prevention and intervention services

Specifically, VITAL programs promote education and training, community, and easier access to healthcare and counseling services. Its mission is to help veterans reach their goals by removing obstacles via collaboration between the VA Medical Center (VAMC) and higher education. This includes the following:

• Connecting veterans to appropriate services on campus and within the VA system
• Providing education and training to faculty and staff about veterans' needs in the academic setting
• Participating in outreach to student veterans and campus and community partners, coordinating peer mentoring for student veterans
• Providing mental health treatment to veterans on campus

Western Governors University (WGU): An Online Model

WGU's VITAL program began in 2019 with the VAMC to provide assistance and treatment for stress, anger, transition adjustment, concentration, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and post-traumatic stress. These students get timely and personalized care ranging from accommodations with assistive technology with student disability services to support from senior veteran advisors who are also veterans. Many veteran students receive help with resources from the VA and affiliates such as the Veterans Benefits Administration and Veterans Readiness and Employment.

Ken Williams, military and veterans benefits client relations manager at Western Governors University explains what makes this online higher education institution successful and unique beyond the call of duty. It comes down to being veteran-centered.

• A male student veteran was under the impression he was utilizing his full benefits. Upon the evaluation completed by a senior veteran advisor, he understood the benefits he was missing out on, saving him approximately $3,800 a year.
• In another example, a female student veteran sustained sexual trauma during her service. She was told upon discharge there was no help for her. Once she met with a senior veteran advisor and they uncovered her trauma, she was provided the long overdue psychological care she was entitled to. She received the care through WGU's partnership with the VAMC stating, "I am a better wife, mother, worker, and citizen."
• WGU also sprung to action after learning that a male veteran was in crisis with suicide ideations at one of their events in Dallas. The student was connected to VITAL contact and received the immediate intervention they needed as the senior veteran advisor was able to assess the concerns of the student veteran and connect them to the VA Medical Center so they could receive the professional care they are entitled to.

Even more, VITAL programs fill in gaps to support better retention. VITAL participants' gross drop rate of 2.52% is less than their non-military peers at 2.76% and veterans not enrolled in VITAL, which is 3.30%. Additionally, WGU's VITAL program extends the community of care by educating faculty and staff about military culture and needs to promote academic success.

Taking Action

By looking at the current VA VITAL program site data locations, we can do more to expand to both on-campus and online services. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, graduate military students engage in online learning more than undergraduate military students. The full VITAL program documents and standard operating procedures provide a high-level overview and contact information for the VITAL Program Coordinator. Questions and assistance can be directed to vavital@va.gov.

We should also lean into what other schools are doing and learn from WGU's success in delivering the VITAL program online. This helps higher education organizations identify gaps, set realistic goals, and develop effective ways to implement the VITAL program.

The VITAL program links veteran students in higher education with VA care services and may provide another layer of assistance, especially with mental health. To continue to meet the needs of the veteran student population, more colleges and universities can do more to proactively start VITAL programs, and with an increasing amount of online degree programs and institutions, there is no reason why this program cannot achieve a global reach.

VITAL Program Breakdown (States Not Listed Have No VITAL Sites):

Article Topics

Military Educational Benefits Military Friendly Institutions Policy News Serving Military in HigherEd Veterans Academic Success Women Veterans

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