Factors Influencing Affordability, Accessibility and Academic Success of Military Student Veterans in Higher Education: A Descriptive Case Study

Abstract

Currently, an increasing number of military student veterans are arriving on college campuses. Therefore, higher education administrators need to understand veterans' needs and analyze policies, procedures, and programs to determine how to create more veteran-friendly campuses. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to obtain a greater understanding of factors influencing affordability, accessibility, and the academic success of military students in higher education. Three research questions were investigated using both survey and archival data. A causal comparative methodology was implemented to investigate the academic success of 249 student veterans and their non-veteran peers; findings were reported employing descriptive statistics. The study concluded that student veterans: (a) perceive higher education as affordable, (b) create relationships that improve their social capital, (c) utilize academic support more frequently than transitional support services, and (d) maintain comparable GPAs by dropping a higher percentage of courses and consequently, sacrifice their satisfactory progress and/or persistence rate. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone [phone]. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]