Presenters: Creating a Comprehensive Military Student Services Office Presenters: Kelly Wesener, Ed.D. Scott Peska, Ed.D.

Creating a Comprehensive Military Student Services Office

Presenters:Presenters: Kelly Wesener, Ed.D. Scott Peska, Ed.D.

Creating a Comprehensive Military Student Services Office

Presenters:Presenters: Kelly Wesener, Ed.D. Scott Peska, Ed.D.

Presentation Outline

• Starting off on the right foot

• Defining your population

• Image is Everything

• Establishing Veteran Services

• Discovering Funding Opportunities

• Tackling Institutional Barriers

Starting Off on the Right Foot

Getting campus community support and momentum for office creation

• Creating think tanks, task forces, and advisory boards

• Creating a positive “buzz” on the campus• Involving military students in the process• Presenting an accurate portrait of veterans

and their positive contributions• Use video produced by NIU to educate

about the needs of veterans

Defining Your Population

Capturing and using data to understand who you serve and what they need

• How is “veteran” defined for your campus and for the office

• Researching the needs of your military student populations

• Collecting data to inform your work

Image Is Everything

Creating the office brand

• Choosing an office name

• Creation of mission, vision, and values

• Space needs

• Promotion and publications

• Developing a content-rich, user-friendly website

What does what

Defining the services provided by the office and building collaborative relationships with other campus departments, outside services, and governmental agencies to provide key services

•Financial Aid

•Counseling

•Academic Advising

•Orientation

•Disability Services

•State and federal programs

•Office programming models

Tough Economic TimesTough Economic Times

Funding Opportunities

• Grants

• Development opportunities

Tackling Institutional Barriers

• Recruiting veterans

• Developing veteran friendly institutional policies and procedures

Questions and AnswersQuestions and Answers