North Dakota military veterans seeking postsecondary education have an option through a state-funded program hosted by NDSU. The Veterans Education Training Program will begin serving the state’s veterans later this month.
For the past 40 years, veterans looking to return to school could use the Veterans Upward Bound program. NDSU has been the grant holder for the federally funded program since 1972. However, due to a more than twofold increase in applicants for the competitive grant, which is offered through the Department of Education, NDSU’s funding was not renewed for the 2013-17 academic years.
In order to continue serving the state’s veterans, the Veterans Education Training Program was created. The North Dakota Legislature provided funding for the program for the next two years.
The new program will continue to serve students who are preparing to enroll in any North Dakota University System institution, according to Jeri Vaudrin, project coordinator for the training program. While Veterans Upward Bound was designed to assist low-income, first-generation veterans, the new program will serve all North Dakota veterans who have not received a dishonorable discharge.
Examples of the program’s services include assessment of preparedness level; GED testing; math, English and computer instruction; tailored individual instruction; college application assistance; and college retention and graduation programs. “The goal is to get them in school and keep them in school,” Vaudrin said.
In addition, the program provides referral services for veterans in need of additional help, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, socialization, suicide prevention and counseling services.
“Veterans have a different background than usual freshmen,” Vaudrin said. “The program helps get them acclimated to the classroom setting and creates support systems.”
Three former students who participated in Veterans Upward Bound supported state funding for the new program during the last North Dakota legislative session. Jerome Billups, who retired from active military duty in 2004 and attended Minot State University, later transferring to NDSU, submitted written testimony to the Senate Education Committee.
“The instruction, support and camaraderie I received from this program not only prepared me for my studies, but also was able to guide me in translating 22 years of military experience into a major area of study that complemented my service experiences,” Billups said. “They understood the difficulties that military members often face during the transition period from solider to civilian to student.”
Billups was an older-than-average student. Vaudrin said the average age of students in the Veterans Upward Bound program was 53, but she expects it to become younger as Afghanistan and Iraq veterans consider postsecondary education.
Harry Feilen began using Veterans Upward Bound while attending the University of North Dakota after retiring from eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He received help in math and sciences while pursuing a mechanical engineering degree despite having been out of a daily school setting for almost 20 years.
Feilen has since been hired as an engineer in the Institute for Energy Studies at UND and is planning to pursue a graduate degree. “The program did help me and would be worth any investment to continue their dedication to assisting veterans returning to college to further their education,” he said.
Vaudrin said UND will continue to provide in-kind space for the Veterans Education Training Program as they did for Veterans Upward Bound, which also included an online program to better serve veterans throughout the state. Vaudrin hopes to add additional classroom sites in the future.
“Veterans have a right to a good education due to the sacrifices they’ve made,” Vaudrin said.
For more information, visit <link www.ndsu.edu:trio>www.ndsu.edu/trio or call 800-570-5719.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation’s top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.