For decades, the G.I. Bill has been a primary motivator for young men and women to enlist in the U.S. military, and Veterans Administration statistics show an increasing number of veterans are taking advantage of educational benefits. For many young people not necessarily able to afford college immediately out of high school, the promise of a free education is an opportunity too good to pass up. Yet, there is a large disparity between the educational benefits provided to veterans through the G.I. Bill and the full cost of attaining a four-year degree. Veterans assistance became a major issue in 2008, as Congress worked to provide more comprehensive benefits.
For a growing number of veterans, educational benefits require more than just college tuition assistance. For a disabled veteran–someone whose life has changed due to severe and permanent disability–the cost of living escalates with the need for transportation, medical assistance, adaptive equipment, tutoring, mentorship and other necessities for adjusting to life with a disability. These additional expenses incurred while pursuing an education can have a crippling effect on disabled veterans and their families.
Different Barriers for Disabled Veterans
"Disabled veterans face significant monetary barriers," says David Geffen, an attorney in private practice in Santa Monica, Calif. "Disabilities are expensive. They may require special equipment, medical assistance, and day-to-day assistance like transportation services. But that's just part of the barriers facing students with disabilities. There are also attitudinal and physical barriers that need to be overcome."
Universities also need to keep in mind that disabled veterans are dealing with relatively new injuries. "They don't yet know what they need in terms of resource and social support. They're exploring this new facet of life, and encountering new obstacles daily," says Geffen, who specializes in law and mediation for those with disabilities and is himself disabled. "A number of injuries are not physically apparent, and some take time to surface. Institutions need to be adaptive as needs develop."
"Universities should work with these students to anticipate their needs, but also re-evaluate often to determine whether the proposed solutions are working, or need to be adjusted," he adds. "The key to maintaining and supporting success for disabled veterans is to keep the interactive process ongoing and adaptable."
Rick Creehan, executive vice president at Adrian College (Mich.), agrees, "Assisting disabled veterans goes deeper than money. We can compartmentalize a number of student demographics. But disabled soldiers come back with such unique needs that there is no predictive modeling. These students need social and academic support at levels beyond what an average student experiences, and needs vary from one student to the next."
"We see students with Traumatic Brain Injury that may need help overcoming the effects of memory loss and concentration," says John Sawyer, veterans adviser at the University of Idaho. "This might include study and classroom strategies and might be computer software and technical assistance. These students are adapting to new 'learning skills' at the same time they are taking on new subjects. We see students with Post Traumatic Stress [disorder] who may need counseling and help with dealing with fear, anger and concentration problems. They may be learning to manage medications and new learning situations. They may need classroom and test-taking accommodations. And students with physical disabilities may need special accommodations in the classroom and on campus."
Every school, particularly public institutions, should seek to help these students, says Sawyer. "These men and women have suffered for the public good and should receive the help they need to be successful. They make the students around them more mature and more accepting of others because they are there. They open the general student population to the reality beyond pop culture or pure academics, and are very much a part of the community."
