Running head: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 1

Annotated Bibliography:

Persistence and Retention in Military Veteran Affairs

Roosa Yloenen

The University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1301

Dr. Vierra

March 27, 2019

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Research Questions

While focusing on the post-9/11 GI Bill, some of the questions that could be asked are:

1. What forms of support does the government offer to student-veterans?

2. What are some of the challenges student-veterans face on campus?

3. How are these challenges being addressed at UTEP?

4. How has the GI Bill evolved throughout time?

5. How have the student-veteran graduation rates evolved throughout time?

New research questions:

1. What kind of discrepancies are there in the drop-out or graduation rates?

2. How has the student-veteran population changed at UTEP and in the whole country in

recent years?
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Annotated Bibliography

Monographs

Frydl, K.J. (2009). The GI Bill. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

The GI Bill is an excellent source of motivation for students to join the armed forces to get a

degree, and to also get a future that otherwise could’ve been out of grasp. Frydl (2009)

acknowledged that “the iconic status of the GI Bill is well-deserved” (p. 1), because it has

undoubtedly made a material difference in the lives of millions of veterans. However, the

Bill isn’t all flawless and picture-perfect. Just like in any large government project, inside it

lies tragedies among its triumphs (p. 15), such as covered-up PTSD’s, high dropout rates

and extensive misuse. Frydl also pointed out deep-rooted racial injustice that limited black

veterans’ opportunities in the south (p. 253).

Frydl, K.J. (2009). The GI Bill. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

The GI Bill has had an undeniably enormous effect on today’s United States. According to

Frydl (2009), “of the 2.25 million veterans who went to college – – 450,000 of them

wouldn’t have attended if it weren’t for the GI Bill” (p. 306). The Bill created more

opportunities for the veterans returning from the war by covering their tuitions, amongst

other benefits. The author also notes how the GI Bill diversified certain professions that had

previously been the “preserve of Protestant America” (p. 308). This way hundreds of

thousands of veterans regardless of their creed were able to get access to a whole new future

and change the course of the country.

Essays

Haerens, M., & Chapman, S. (2011). The United States does not need an advanced GI Bill.

In Veterans: opposing viewpoints. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Original work published

2007)
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The current GI Bill offers more than enough benefits for veterans. The current soldiers are

voluntarily doing their military service and for that they receive a significantly higher salary

and a more diverse array of benefits than the World War II veterans, those whom the

original GI Bill was designed for. On top of that, the “current GI Bill offers some $38,000

for college” (Chapman 2007, p. 223) with an option for additional aid that can “nearly

double that amount” (p. 223). Having a revised GI Bill that covers both the whole tuition

and living expenses would then most likely attract more recruits who don’t possess the true

sources of motivation to join the military – patriotism and honor.

Haerens, M., & Obama, B. (2011). The United States needs an advanced GI Bill. In Veterans:

opposing viewpoints. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Original work published 2009)

An efficient GI Bill is an investment for the future. After the World War II nearly 8 million

veterans took advantage of the bill. This, according to President Obama (2009/2011, p. 216),

ultimately produced “three presidents, 14 Nobel Prize winners – – and most importantly,

hundreds of thousands of scientists and engineers, doctors and nurses – the backbone of the

largest middle-class in history”. The GI Bill made access to higher education possible for

the many veterans with humble backgrounds. From an economical perspective, the original

Bill “paid for itself many times over through the increased revenue that came from a

generation of men and women who received the skills needed to create their own wealth” (p.

219). What seems to be a significant investment on the paper will eventually repay itself in

the long run. That is the very least we can do to thank our veterans for their bravery.

Haerens, M., & Shinseki, E. (2011). Veterans are offered a wide range of benefits and services to

help them in civilian life. In Veterans: opposing viewpoints. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

(Original work published 2009)

The government has the widest range of benefits in history to offer to its veterans, yet

hundreds of thousands don’t take advantage of them. According to Shinseki (2009), it is

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estimated that as many as 131,000 veterans are homeless (p. 36). Many homeless veterans

suffer from substance abuse, mental health issues and unemployment. To break the cycle,

the government must support them with proper medical care, job opportunities and

education.

Journals

Fox Garrity, B. (2017). A quantitative analysis of the relationship among sources of aid and

predictors of student veteran graduation and persistence. Journal of veterans studies, 2(2),

76–90. DOI: http://doi.org/10.21061/jvs.17

The GI Bill must focus on supporting student-veterans also in ways other than financial in

order for it to be effective. Fox Garrity (2017) points out different ways of support that

would have a positive impact on veterans’ persistence in the classroom, such as supportive

“leave and return” policies, encouragement to complete summer classes and providing

support services for ill-performing students (p. 10). A well-functioning support net will

eventually result in a higher graduation rate.

Kirchner, M. J. (2015). Supporting Student Veteran Transition to College and Academic Success.

Adult Learning, 26(3), 116–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/1045159515583813

Universities must also take action in order to provide a supportive system for student-

veterans. Kirchner (2015) suggests that faculty needs proper training to know more about

the military experience and what the returning veterans are currently going through (p. 119).

This way they can identify and help those struggling, as well as understand some strange

characteristics they might have. When student-veterans feel like they are being understood,

they feel safe in the new environment and consequently adapt there better.

Radford, A. W., Bentz, A., Dekker, R., Paslov, J. (2016). After the post-9/11 GI Bill: a profile of

military service members and veterans enrolled in undergraduate and graduate education.

Stats in brief. NCES 2016-435. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from
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http://0-

search.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED568400&site=e

ds-live&scope=site

The improved GI Bill has managed to increase military students’ enrollment rate. According

to Radford, Bentz, Dekker & Pavlov (2016), the growth from 2007 to 2012 was 0.4

percentage points higher than the overall enrollment growth in the nation (p. 4). The

veterans’ education benefits were altered between 2007 and 2012: amounts awarded “rose

from $5,800 to $7,900 for undergraduates and from $5,600 to $8,200 for graduate students”

(p. 4). The heavy increasement has therefore had a significant impact on student-veterans’

persistence in school.

Vacchi, D. T. (2012). Considering student veterans on the twenty-first-century college

campus. About campus, 17(2), 15–21. Retrieved from http://0-

search.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ970001&site=e

ds-live&scope=site

New student-veterans can face difficulties in leaping from the military bases to classrooms.

Vacchi (2012) states that one of the greatest changes is that “the campus is not the highly

structured, team-based environment of the military” (p. 18), which can come as a shock to

some. Other elements causing trouble is the individualistic culture on campus. Veterans

returning from combat were dependent on each other and “responsible for life-and-death

decisions affecting their fellow service members” (p. 18). Being thrown onto a campus with

no-one to rely on can be frustrating to new veteran students and therefore decrease

persistence.

Websites

US Department of Veteran Affairs (2013, November 21). Education and training: history and

timeline. Retrieved from https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/history.asp

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The GI Bill faced strong headwind in its early days in the post-World War II United States.

According to the US Department of Veteran Affairs, many thought that paying unemployed

veterans a weekly allowance would “diminish their incentive to look for work”. Many were

also afraid of sending these “Average-Joe” veterans to colleges, because higher education

was considered as “a privilege then reserved for the rich”. Those arguments were quickly

banished, and the GI Bill passed. The results were extensive and shaped the course of the

whole country for good.

University of Texas at El Paso. Military student success center. Retrieved from

https://www.utep.edu/student-affairs/mssc/

UTEP provides a wide array of tools of support to their student-veterans. According to the

UTEP Military Student Success Center, military-affiliated students are eligible for priority

registrations. The MSSC also provides counseling for those struggling with for example

academic or mental issues. Access to these assets helps student-veterans adapt to the

classroom and therefore improves their persistence.

Primary sources

Hyde, B. D. (January 19, 1946). Riding course GI fee is paid by government. The Prospector, pp. 1.

The GI Bill covers a veteran’s tuition based on their service time. In 1946 however, it could

also cover the student-veteran’s horseback riding course at UTEP (Hyde, 1946, p. 1). The

Bill presumably wouldn’t pay for any riding lessons in 2019, but it still does offer veterans

an opportunity to seek for a university degree at the government’s expense, and furthermore

a chance for a completely different future.

Perez, S. E. (December 6, 2007). Fort Bliss expansion to increase student enrollment. The

Prospector, pp. 4.

UTEP supports their veterans on campus through a variety of ways. While in active duty,

soldiers can take classes at Fort Bliss that are taught by UTEP professors (Perez, 2007, p. 4).
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After their service the credits can be transferred to university (p. 4). One of the greatest

difficulties that negatively affect student-veterans’ persistence in higher education is their

credits not transferring. By taking down this stressful obstacle, their college career gets a

head-start, giving a significant boost to their motivation.

Tertiary sources