The Veteran Supported Education Service Treatment Manual: VetSEd

ainstorm together all the resources that might be useful. You can then share this
information with the Veteran. The other major reason for collecting this information is
that Veterans are likely to have multiple goals in several areas. Having an open
conversation about these other goals and their relative priority will help to clarify the
amount of time and effort the Veteran will be able to devote to developing the
educational plan. These other goals may influence how quickly and how directly
education goals are pursued. Creating a realistic educational plan that addresses the
Veteran‘s attention to basic needs, in addition to short and long term goals, is essential to
the success of this process. For example, if the Veteran has an immediate need for
housing, it may be necessary for the Veteran to be referred to VA and other community
providers who can assist with this immediate need before the Veteran feels comfortable
focusing on an educational goal. For other Veterans, their need for housing and money to
pay bills may be a primary reason for their pursuing education at the current time. Thus,
understanding the relationship between the Veteran‘s educational goals and other goals
and priorities in their life allows you to better connect them to needed resources and
support them on their education journey.
B. Preparing Veterans to Start School
This section covers academic readiness and placement exams; two important topics in
preparing the Veteran to start school.
i. Academic Readiness
Understandably, many Veterans are worried about meeting the demands of the academic
environment after being away from school for a period of time. The Department of
Education defines a student who is ―at risk‖ of dropping out of college as one who ―has
been out of high school or dropped out of a program of postsecondary education for five
years or more.‖ A majority of Veterans qualify as ―at-risk‖ students just because of the
length of time they have been out of the classroom. However, when that risk is
compounded by PTSD, TBI or multiple health problems, the Veteran can have a severely
reduced ability to learn and/or retain knowledge. It is important to recognize that many
Veterans may be hesitant to identify themselves as an ―at-risk student‖ or understand the
role of academic supports provided within colleges. Veterans with mental health
disorders, substance abuse disorders, and/or trauma-related disorders, may have a history
of negative school experiences or, if they had positive experiences, they may feel like
they no longer have the same skills and abilities to succeed in school. The place to start
the conversation of academic readiness is to explore the experience a Veteran had in high
school or college prior to military service is the first. See Worksheet #1a: Intake:
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