SVA Spotlight 2016 Brief 1 - Student Veterans SVA Spotlight project is an effort to fill in the gaps of existing databases and provide basic demographic information on student veterans

INTRODUCTION

Student veterans have been a part of U.S. college campuses since the original GI Bill® over 70 years ago. We now know that the first student veterans were also the first large group of non-traditional students to arrive on college campuses (Altschuler & Blumin, 2009; Humes, 2006). Many of them arrived on college campuses with spouses and families, leading to the establishment of family housing. Often older than traditional college students, student veterans brought to class with them their world experiences and developed skills from their time in the military service. The World War II and Korean War era student veterans expanded the diversity of the student body and forever changed higher education in the United States (Altschuler & Blumin, 2009).

Researchers, policy makers, stake holders, and the general public ask if the current student veteran population continues to bring diversity to college campuses or ifdoes this generation more closely reflects the traditional student population. Answering this question is difficult because veterans are not required to disclose their military status to

colleges or employers, thus making identifying and collecting data on current student veterans difficult for schools, organizations, and Federal programs. This includes basic demographic questions that can add insight to the diversity of student veterans, or the lack thereof.

The Student Veterans of America (SVA) Spotlight project seeks to fill some of these holes in the data by surveying student veterans and military connected students on three main demographic areas. The first, standard demographics, are questions familiar to nearly everyone who has taken a survey or been in a research project and include questions such as gender, age, race / ethnicity, marital status, etc. The second area focuses on the academic demographics typically asked of post-secondary students, such as school sector, school level, majors, grade point average ( G PA ) , a n d c l a s s r a n k . M i l i t a r y demographics, such as branch of service, military rank, years in service, level of service, and deployment history, comprise the final section of the 2016 Spotlight.

The following is the first of a series of research briefs highlighting key findings from SVA Spotlight 2016. Each brief will highlight different areas and sections of the Spotlight along with short discussions about the findings. A full report will be released later in the year providing more detailed findings and discussions.

REVIEW

There are three primary federal data sources to explore veteran demographics. The first is the American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census (U.S. Census Bureau , 2016) . The ACS prov ides population- level statistics and demographic information on a wide range of variables, including veteran status. However, the ability

STUDENT VETERAN DEMOGRAPHICSSelect Results from Student Veterans of

America Spotlight 2016

CHRIS CATE, PHD & TAYLOR DAVISFebruary 2016 | Vol. 2 Issue 1

RESEARCH BRIEFStudent Veterans of America

www.studentveterans.org

to understand college-level data such as majors and schools attending is limited.

The second data source is the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016). The VA col lects and reports on several demographic variables of veterans to inform policy makers on changes in the VA population. For example, the increase in the percentage of female veterans in recent decades has lead the VA to develop health programs to meet the needs of female veterans entering into the VA. However, the amount of demographic data connected to education benefits is limited because it is unnecessary to have to process VA e d u c a t i o n b e n e fi t s . T h e l a c k o f demographics restricts a robust exploration of diversity connected with VA education benefits. In addition, a proportion of veterans do not use education benefits to pay for college, thus the VA data contains missing data the extent to which is unknown.

The next data source is the Department of D e f e n s e ( D o D ) a n d t h e i r a n n u a l demographic reports available through Mil itary One Source (Department of Defense: United States of America, 2015). The reports contains the entire population data of the U.S. Military; an advantage over the VA data. However, the disadvantage is that by law the DoD can no longer track veterans or serv ice members once separated from the military. The DoD data and reports provide a high quality of population data for recently separated veterans, but is limited to only current military service members and not beneficial when examining in-depth quest ions regarding student veterans.

Without current, robust data collection on student veteran demographics, assumptions about this vital segment of the post-secondary student population persists. This limits the ability for policy makers, stake holders, and the public to obtain an accurate

portrait of student veterans. The SVA Spotlight project is an effort to fill in the gaps of existing databases and provide basic demographic information on student veterans to institutions, organizations, and the public. This is the first in a series of brief reports on results from the SVA Spotlight 2016 survey. Future periodic briefs will be released throughout the year with a final comprehensive report being released by the end of 2016.

METHODOLOGY

Data was collected through the use of an online web survey. Participants were primarily selected through a database of Student Veterans of America chapter leaders (President, Vice President, etc.), chapter advisors, on-campus veteran center directors, and school VA certifying officials. The email contained a description of the project, the rationale, and a link to the informed consent page at the start of the survey. In addition, the announcement of the survey was posted on various social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The survey was launched October 13th, 2015 and closed on October 31st, 2015 with reminder emails sent out at regular intervals.

The lack of national-level statistics on student veterans makes it difficult to create regional quotas for stratification or know if t h e r e s u l t s a r e b i a s e d d u e t o misrepresentation due to geographical bias. However, the survey received respondents from all states with the exception of North Dakota.

The survey instrument contained standard demographic questions used frequently in research. Three main demographic areas were focused on in the survey: Traditional demographics (gender, age, ethnicity), Education demographics (school sector, major, level of enrollment), and Military demographics (branch of service, rank,

deployments). No personal identifying information, such as social security number, date of birth, names, were asked as part of the survey. Respondents had the opportunity to withdraw from the survey by closing the browser window or selecting the exit button in the survey.

A listwise method of data analysis was used to clean the data. Entire cases were deleted when essential data to verify student veteran status (e.g. branch of service, school rank, etc.) were missing. In addition, cases where conflicting or improbable responses, such as a 23 year old serving in the Korean War, were also removed from the sample and all analyses. The result was a sample size of 1,352 individuals, producing a margin of er ror o f approx imate ly 2 .8% us ing Department of Veterans Affairs GI Bill population data (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2015).

RESULTS

The results for this brief focus on common demographic variables associated with student veterans, such as Age, Ethnicity, Branch of Service, Rank, School level, and School Sector.

Age

Common among many other non-traditional students, a majority (80.4%) of student veterans in this sample were over the age of 25. An examination of the distributions of ages in the sample reveal two items of interest (see Figure 1). First, the frequency of ages peaks between the ages of 25 and 30. Second, the distribution plateaus between 40 and 50. This plateauing in this age frame, suggests that retired service members enter college after leaving the military. This represents another group of student veterans who may be overlooked by institutions.

Figure 1: Frequency of Student Veterans’ Ages

�

Relationship Status

Less than one-third (30.19%) of the sample reported being single and never married. This does not include those who are engaged or in a committed relationship (9.44%). The rest of the sample currently are married (45.13%) or were married, including divorced (12.12%) or separated (1.49%).

Race/Ethnicity

This survey asked race/ethnicity as a multiple-response question allowing the respondent to choose more than one race/ethnicity category. During the data cleaning, respondents who choose more than one race/ethnicity category were regrouped into a “Bi-/Multi-Racial” category, and those respondents that only choose one race/ethnicity category retained their original category (See Table 1). A strong majority of the respondents (70.86%) selected White/Caucasian (70.86%) as their race/ethnicity, followed by Hispanic/Latino (8.58%), African-America (8.06%), and Bi-/Multi-Racial (6.78%). All other categories made up less than five percent of the sample.

Table 1: Student Veteran Breakdown by Ethnicity

Ethnicity Percentage

White/Caucasian 70.86%

Hispanic/Latino 8.58%

N = 1,328

School Sector and Level

Table 2 displays the results of the respondents current school sector (e.g. Public, Private, For-Profit, etc.) and level (e.g. 2-year, 4-year). A strong majority (83.26%) of respondents attend a public school, with 24.67 percent reporting attendance at a 2-year public school and 58.59 percent of the sample reporting attendance at a 4-year public school. Private school attendance made up 12.45 percent or the responses, with 11.41 percent reported attending a 4-year private school and 1.04 percent reported attending a 2-year private school.

MILITARY DEMOGRAPHICS

Table 2: SVA 2015 Census Crosstab of Respondents’ School Sector and Level

N = 1,350

Branch of ServiceNearly half of the respondents (43.65%) reported serving in the Army (see Table 3). The Navy was next most frequent with 18.49 percent of respondents. Air Force and Marines had the same proportion of the sample (18.04%), with the Coast Guard making up 1.78 percent of the sample.

Military Rank

Nine-out-of-ten respondents indicated that they were enlisted service members during their military service. Of the remaining 9.65 percent, 1.20 percent were warrant officers and the remaining 8.45 percent were commissioned officers.

Military Operations

The military operation question for the survey was a multiple response question, allowing for respondents to pick more than one operation to accurately reflect their military service. Therefore, the percentage column in the Table 3 for the military operation section will sum to greater than 100 percent reflecting the option of choosing multiple military operations.

Large proportions of the sample reported serving in Operation: Enduring Freedom (OIF; 46.30%) and Operation: Iraqi Freedom (OIF; 37.72%). While still relative recent, close to ten percent of the sample reported serving in the more recent mil i tary operations in Iraq (7.54%) and Operation: New Dawn, Operation: Inherent Resolve (1.04%) in Syria. Five other operations garnered greater than five percent of the sample, Persian Gulf War I (aka Desert Shield/Storm; 6.80%), Other Global War on Terror Operations, not listed (6.51%), Humanitarian Operations (5.55%), and Peacetime Service (5.47%). Another large proportion (21.38%) of the sample reported never being deployed for a mil itary operation.

African-American 8.06%

Bi-/Multi-Racial 6.78%

Asian 2.48%

Native American/American Indian/Alaska Native

1.13%

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.60%

Middle Eastern 0.23%

Other, not listed 1.28%

Other 2-Year 4-Year Total

Public 24.67% 58.59% 83.26%

Private 1.04% 11.41% 12.45%

For-Profit 1.85% 1.85%

Other 2.44% 2.44%

Total 4.29% 25.71% 70% 100%

Table 3: Military Demographic Breakdowns

DISCUSSION

The majority of the results from this survey provided further evidence to student veterans’ non-traditional student status. They also provided further details into the demographics of student veterans. Student veterans enroll in school after completing their military service obligations. While a majority of student veterans leave the service and begin college in their late 20’s and early 30’s, the data from SVA Spotlight 2016 also suggests a large proportion of retired military service members may also enroll in college upon retirement. The long plateau in the frequency of ages from early to late 40’s would be indicative of this group. This poses potential difficulties for post-secondary programs and services designing programs solely around younger student veterans, thereby excluding the needs of older student veterans.

The results from this survey also support other common assumptions about student veterans. A majority of student veterans reported being in or were previously in a serious, committed relationship (engaged, married, divorce, etc.). Nearly half of the sample also reported being parents, further highlighting their non-traditional student status.

A potential difference between the results of this study and other studies pertains to the race / ethnic breakdowns. Specifically the difference in the proportion service members and those student veterans in the sample reporting their race / ethnicity African-American. The Department of Defense reports that 16.8% of the U.S. military report

Branch of Service Percentage

Army 43.65%

Navy 18.49%

Air Force 18.04%

Marines 18.04%

Coast Guard 1.78%

Military Operations PercentageOperation: Inherent Resolve 1.04%

Operation: New Dawn 7.54%

Operation: Enduring Freedom (OEF) – All Locations

46.30%

Operation: Iraqi Freedom (OIF) 37.72%

Operation: Active Endeavour 0.59%

Other War on Terror Operation, not listed

6.51%

Operation: Odyssey Dawn 0.22%

Kosovo (Operation: Allied Force) 3.48%

Somalia (Operation: Restore Hope)

1.04%

Operation: Northern / Southern Watch

3.92%

Persian Gulf War I (Operation: Desert Shield / Storm)

6.80%

Panama (Operation: Just Cause)

0.74%

Grenada (Operation: Urgent Fury)

0.67%

Vietnam War 0.81%

Humanitarian Operations (Restore Hope, Provide Promise,

etc.)

5.55%

Peacetime Service 5.47%

Korean War 0.00%

World War II 0.00%

None of the above, Not deployed 21.38%

Other, not listed 4.88%

Rank PercentageEnlisted 90.35%

Warrant Officer 1.20%

Officer 8.45%

their race / ethnicity as African-American (Department of Defense: United States of America, 2015). Yet, SVA Spotlight 2016 found that only 8.06% of the sample reported their race / ethnicity as African-American. At first glance this might suggest that only half of African-American service members enroll in school after their military service. However, differences in the two survey’s scales and options between the DoD report and this brief may help explain some of this difference. SVA Spotlight includes a “Hispanic / Latino” option while the DoD excludes such an opt ion. Additionally, it should be noted that this brief reported a larger percentage of Bi-/Multi-Racial respondents (6.78%) compared with the DoD report (2.4%) and the DoD report notes that some portions of the military do not offer the option of “Multi-Racial” in their data collection. Therefore, it is possible that a portion of “Black / African-American” responses in the DoD report were classified as “Bi-/Multi-Racial” in this brief also explaining the discrepancy between the two reports. However, more research and study should be conducted before a definitive statement is made.

A more clear difference between the DoD report and SVA Spotlight 2016 is a larger proportion of female student veterans in relation DoD reports of female service members. The SVA Spotlight reported over one-quarter (26.94%) of the sample reported being female, however the DoD reports a significantly lower percentage of female service members (16.5%). This finding suggests that female service members might be more likely to enroll in college after their military service than their male counterparts.

A similar but smaller difference is also found in comparing military rank between the two reports. The SVA Spotlight found 90.35% of the sample reported an enlisted rank an 8 percent increase compared with the DoD Demographic report (82.3%). This result is not unexpected as many officers have already earned a bachelor’s degree during

or prior to their military service, and might be more likely to enter into the workforce after their military service.

Some weaknesses of SVA Spotlight 2016 should be noted. The project used chain sampl ing or snowbal l sampl ing for recruitment; meaning that the init ial recipients could forward the emails to other student veterans or military connected college students. This method of sampling h a s c e r t a i n d i s a d v a n t a g e s . Tw o disadvantages with this technique are finding primary contacts that are not connected to the target population and the lack of control over the sampling method, the primary investigator surrenders control over recruitment to the respondents, specifically the primary contacts. These disadvantages were addressed by using primary contracts that were strongly connections and regular interactions with the target population, such as veteran certifying officials, veteran center directors, and student veteran campus leaders.

Another disadvantage with this sampling technique is the inability to estimate the overall sample size. This is true of the overall student veteran and military connected student population as individuals are not required to disclose their veteran or military service status to schools. While data on the GI Bill allows for a closer approximation, it does not provide complete population data as veterans may choose to enroll in college without using the GI Bill or have exhausted benefits. Therefore, no accurate national lists or obvious sampling techniques allow for probability based sampling of student veterans or military connected college students, which makes chain or snowball sampling technique appropriate for this population.

How many are women?

SVA Spotlight: 27%Department of Defense: 16.5%

CLOSING

The initial findings from SVA Spotlight 2016 highlight the diversity of student veterans attending college today. This also reflects the continued increase in diversity and inclusion seen in the U.S. military since World War II (Evans, 2003; Department of Defense: United States of America, 2015). The findings confirm several current assumptions of current student veterans as non-traditional students, such as age, but also highlights the potential need of expanding services and programs to include retired service members who tend to be older returning to school and not just the younger more identifiable student veterans.

The current generation of student veterans continues to add to the diversity at colleges and universities. The diversity goes beyond racial / ethnic diversity to include their experiences serving in the military and deploying for military operations. While there is still a large proportion of student veterans reporting serving in Operation: Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, a small but important group of student veterans report deploying for more recent military operations such as Operation: New Dawn and Operation: Inherit Resolve. It serves as a reminder that even though there is less media about these operations, veterans from these operations will arrive on c o l l e g e c a m p u s e s j u s t l i k e t h e i r predecessors.

REFERENCES

Altschuler, G., & Blumin, S. (2009). The GI Bill: The New Deal for Veterans. USA:Oxford University Press.

Department of Defense: United States of America. (2015). Demographic Reports. Retrieved January 27, 2016, from Military One Source: http://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2014-Demographics-Report.pdf

Evans, R. (2003). A History of the Service of Ethnic Minorities. Santa Barbara: Palm Center. Retrieved from http://www.palmcenter.org/files/active/0/Evans_MinorityInt_200306.pdf

Humes, E. (2006). Over Here: How the G.I. Bill Transformed the American Dream. Harcourt.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2016, January 27). American Community Survey. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2015, October 19). GI Bill Benefits Comparison Tool. Retrieved from http://www.benefits.va.gov/GIBILL/docs/job_aids/ComparisonToolData.xlsx

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2016, January 27). Veteran Population. Retrieved from National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics: http://www.va.gov/vetdata/Veteran_Population.asp

Who are student veterans?

27% are women

46% have children

80% are over age 25

83% attend a public institution