ASSESSING VETERANS SERVICES AND PROGRAMS

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ASSESSING VETERANS

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2 / ASSESSING VETERANS SERVICES AND PROGRAMS

Executive summary ...

1 Introduction ...

3 Which programs on the UW’s three campuses serve veterans? ...

4 How can we support veterans better? ...

9 How are we currently serving active duty

military personnel and their families on bases? ...

13 How can the University partner with military bases to

support active duty military personnel and their families? ...

16 Appendix A — Catalyst survey...

18 Appendix B — Veterans focus group feedback...

20 Appendix C — Student veterans groups ...

22 Appendix D — Best practices and resources ...

22 Appendix E — Master contact list ...

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The Office of External Affairs would like to thank the following people for their time and assistance in creating this document: Norman Arkans, Isaiah Berg, Sarah Castro, Wanda Curtis, Shelby Edwards, Lt. Melissa Ford, Jean Hayes,Lisa Hoffman, Jordan Houghton, Thomas Jenkins, Tim McCoy, Megan Lewis, Rosa Lundborg, Major Brett Rubio, Joe Shadwick, David Sundine, Jamie Swenson, Mike Thom, Michael Wark, Carlos Williams, Tim Wold and Li Chang Wong.

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1 / UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON This report provides a formative and broad-based

assessment of the programs, services and activities relevant to veterans and military personnel at the University of Washington’s (UW) three campuses and on the state’s military instillations. The findings are based on interviews with more than 30 stakeholders who work with veterans, a focus group with veteran students and a survey sent to 1,340 department heads, deans and people in leadership positions across the UW’s three campuses. Recommendations are primarily derived from stakeholder feedback. This report is organized to provide answers to the following four questions:

1. Which programs on the UW’s three campuses serve veterans?

2. How can we support veterans better?

3. How are we currently serving active duty military personnel and their families on bases?

4. How can the University partner with military bases to support active duty military personnel and their families?

1. Which programs on the UW’s three

campuses serve veterans?

There are more than 30 programs across the UW’s three campuses relevant to veterans and their families. Many of these programs are ad hoc, informally administered and department-specific with very little cross-campus communication or coordination. Campus programs serv-ing veterans can be broadly categorized into one of the following types:

• Administration and coordination: This is the work of referring veterans to other services, attending veterans-related committee meetings and process-ing benefits paperwork or managprocess-ing internships with the Department of Veterans Affairs. • Advising and counseling: This can be academic,

career, benefits, financial aid or legal counseling. • Recruitment and outreach: This is departmental

outreach to off-campus veterans for academic programs and UW employment. It also involves promoting services to veterans in the community and on military bases.

• Academic research: Academic research on veteran populations, which has important implications for veterans and the military.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. How can we support veterans better?

Based on feedback collected through interviews, a focus group with veterans and the survey, the following four recommendations address the most commonly cited suggestions for improvement:

• Improve coordination of veterans programs and services across the three campuses. A consistent

theme heard throughout stakeholder interviews and survey responses was the need for better coordination among programs serving veterans. The inability to easily connect people, resources and information on veterans’ issues limits the potential support the UW has to offer them. This was the most widely reported and agreed upon issue.

Coordination could be improved by the following: – Create a new position, veterans and military

affairs coordinator. This person should be a

veteran and tasked with coordination, outreach and community building. He or she should also work to increase communication and coordination across all three campuses.

– Create a cross-campus working group at UW Seattle as well as a tri-campus working group for veterans services providers. In addition to

participation by veteran students, these groups should have significant faculty involvement. Faculty and instructor support is essential for developing a strong and inclusive culture toward veterans on campus. These groups could be bolstered by creating a Listserv to share veteran-related information and by updating online content across the UW’s websites. The Seattle group could be asked to create a value statement to guide veterans services on campus.

• Connect veterans with veterans. Veteran students

reported that they have a difficult time network-ing and connectnetwork-ing with their peers. This could be improved by creating a peer-to-peer mentor position at Veterans Centers or student veteran associations. It would help to create separate gathering spaces for veterans at all three campuses. Veteran students also expressed interest in connect-ing with alumni and outside groups for professional mentoring. This could be achieved by partnering with the UW Alumni Association (UWAA) and pro-moting career fairs.

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2 / ASSESSING VETERANS SERVICES AND PROGRAMS • Work toward improving awareness of veterans

and a culture of inclusiveness at UW Seattle. This

issue was a top concern from many stakeholders and the Student Veteran Association at UW Seattle. This can be attributed, in part, to the unique cultural and political environment in Seattle, and change will be challenging. Although classes like “Welcoming All Students: Teaching Veteran Students” help to improve awareness, stronger administrative encouragement for faculty to attend would make this effort more effective. It would also help to regularly highlight veterans issues in UW communications.

• Improve the collection and reporting of institu-tional data on veteran students. Although veteran

status is now being collected through admissions appli-cations, there is poor institutional-level data available on veteran students. This deficiency makes outreach and program evaluation difficult. The University can improve data collection by working with the Rules Coordination Office and Office of Institutional Research to develop policies for data collection and analyze trends for veteran students.

3. How are we currently serving active duty

military personnel and their families on bases?

UW Tacoma has fostered a strong relationship with Joint Base Lewis–McChord (JBLM). This evolving partnership has exposed many active duty military personnel to the UW system, benefiting both UW Tacoma and the military. Beyond the UW Tacoma–JBLM partnership, there are only a few examples of UW service on other military bases across the state. These include collaboration around leadership, sexual assault, lean process improvement and research activity. Many of these have been ad hoc in nature.

4. How can the University partner with military

bases to support active duty military personnel

and their families?

In an effort to find new ways for the University to support active duty personnel, the Office of External Affairs reached out to military commanders at each of the state’s military installations to explore opportunities for partnership. Because of the similarities in population at the University and military bases, work on sexual assault and suicide pre-vention may be natural areas for collaboration. Work to set up meetings with base commanders is ongoing. Based on the complexity of the UW Tacoma–JBLM relationship, the University should anticipate that it would take some time to develop similar partnerships with other military bases. Feedback from stakeholder interviews and the survey also generated the following suggestions for improving the

University’s service to active duty military personnel: • Create a tri-campus value statement that

clari-fies the UW’s position and interest in engaging the state of Washington’s military bases. A

base-line understanding about the value of a two-way exchange with military bases is needed to guide fac-ulty and staff as they encounter military personnel at bases or as they respond to ad hoc opportunities for partnership. The tri-campus veterans working group could be asked to develop this statement. • Evaluate opportunities to support the military

community through online education and courses directly on bases. The University should

identify programs best suited for active duty military personnel and follow up with base com-manders and education centers to determine their needs. This should be done in partnership with UW Tacoma, based on their experiences working with JBLM.

• Improve the sharing of information about people and programs working on bases across the University. This could be achieved through

a Listserv or through the tri-campus working group. Specific guidance should be developed for University personnel who wish to work with military bases.

• Create a “dream project” for active duty military personnel. Connecting military personnel with

current veteran students could make them feel more comfortable with the idea of attending the University. This also creates opportunities for cur-rent students to connect with other veterans.

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3 /UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

INTRODUCTION

This report was conducted by the Office of External Affairs at the request of UW

Provost Ana Mari Cauce. It is designed to inform UW leadership with a systematic

review of the many programs, services and projects related to veterans and the

people and departments engaged in veteran-related work. This report is not an

evaluation of the UW’s veterans services delivery or of any one department’s

effec-tiveness. Rather, this report seeks to address

four questions:

1) Which programs on the UW’s three campuses serve veterans?

2) How can we support veterans better?

3) How are we currently serving active duty military personnel and their

families on bases?

4) How can the University partner with military bases to support active

duty military personnel and their families?

The recent military force reduction after the Iraq drawdown has dramatically

increased the number of personnel transitioning out of the military. The Washington

Military Transition Council estimates that 40 percent of the 6,000 military personnel

projected to leave Washington State military bases this year are planning to attend

college. Based on this, the University should be prepared to meet the needs of

more veteran students. Veterans are a diverse population whose experiences bring

strengths and challenges unique from other student population groups and other

special status groups. This is because veterans are not easily categorized by race,

disability status or socioeconomic class. There are around 1,800 students across the

University who served in the armed forces. Many UW faculty members and staff are

also veterans. Most of the programs and services available to veterans on campus

are designed to meet the needs of all veterans, while some are designed to reach a

particular subgroup. Our goal is to make recommendations for how to serve better

all veterans and military personnel on campus and at bases.

Throughout this report, the term “veterans” is used to be synonymous with

active duty military personnel, reservists, the National Guard and veterans who

have previously served in the military.

In some cases, programs for veterans also

support their dependents.

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Which programs on the UW’s

three campuses serve veterans?

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5 /UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

UW Seattle programs that serve veterans

UW VETERANS CENTER

The UW Veterans Center is the most prominent focal point for veterans at the UW. Staff members are trained in both financial aid and counseling services, making the Veterans Center the most important place for referrals to other services around campus. Unlike those at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma, many veterans services at UW Seattle are decentralized. This can make referrals to these services and information sharing more difficult. The Veterans Center is located in the Husky Union Building and is also the primary point of contact for vet-erans to receive education benefits. The Center evolved from an effort within the Office of Financial Aid to pro-vide exemplary service and help to veteran students. The Veterans Center is also a portal for veterans to access the Career Center, the Counseling Center and more at the UW. The site and counselors give guidance on veterans benefits and refer veterans to disability resources, health clinics, peer groups and financial aid benefits.

UW CAREER CENTER

The UW Career Center provides resume-building work-shops and occasionally coordinates veterans hiring fairs. The Career Center is an active participant in Veterans Appreciation Week and has a resources webpage for student and alumni veterans: careers.washington.edu/ Students/Veterans. Many of the staff members have

experience working with resumes and placing veterans into internships.

DORIS DUKE CONSERVATION SCHOLARS PROGRAM

The College of the Environment currently recruits veterans for placement in the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program. This is a competitive, national

three-year summer immersion program that aims to build the next generation of conservation leaders.

STUDENT FISCAL SERVICES

Student Fiscal Services (SFS) works closely with the Veterans Center at UW Seattle and school-certifying officials across all three campuses to process tuition payments received from the Department of Veterans Affairs. SFS also invoices the Department of Defense and other agencies that provide tuition assistance.

VETERANS LAW CLINIC

The UW School of Law has been asked to establish a vet-erans law clinic in partnership with the Northwest Justice Project (NJP). This clinic would address legal needs in areas of veteran administration and mental health, housing, consumer issues and family law. Volunteers at the UW School of Law also held an estate planning and legal document writing clinic for veterans in October.

THE FOSTER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, MBA PROGRAM

The Foster School has a relatively active student veteran group. Currently, this group’s priority is coordinating hiring fairs and gaining commitments from businesses to hire veterans. The Foster School’s admissions depart-ment recruits veterans both online at MilitaryMBA.net and at recruitment fairs. The amount of effort put into veteran recruitment is noteworthy at the University.

UW SCHOOL OF NURSING, OFFICE OF STUDENT AND ACADEMIC SERVICES

Many nursing students are veterans or in the ROTC. The School of Nursing’s Office of Student and Academic Services spends time coordinating with the ROTC, students and the different military services to get proper paperwork filled out. There are also a number of research projects funded by the National Institutes In order to collect information about the programs serving veterans, the UW Office of External Affairs conducted an email survey and interviewed stakeholders across the University’s three campuses.

In June 2014, a Catalyst survey was sent to 1,340 department heads, deans and people in leadership positions across the UW’s three campuses. The list was generated from an established mailing list of presidents, deans, directors and chairs at the UW. The primary goal of the survey was to identify previously unknown programs and services relevant to veterans and to gather suggestions and recommendations from a wide variety of sources. The survey helped to identify people for follow-up interviews and to map where different types of programs and services are provided. In addition, the Office of External Affairs conducted over 30 interviews with key people serving veterans across the UW’s three campuses and met with representatives from the veterans student associations at UW campuses in Seattle, Tacoma and Bothell. A focus group made up of 19 veteran students and alumni from across the three cam-puses was used to gather information and suggestions.

There are more than 30 programs across the UW’s three campuses that serve veterans and their dependents.

There is a range of programs and services for veterans on the three campuses, from full-scale programs with a formal budget and staff to small-scale, ad hoc projects. For the purposes of this assessment, we categorized all of these as “programs.” The following sections summarize these programs by campus.

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6 / ASSESSING VETERANS SERVICES AND PROGRAMS of Health that deal with pain management at Madigan

Army Medical Center at JBLM.

VETERANS APPRECIATION WEEK

In partnership with the UW Alumni Association, Veterans Appreciation Week is a series of more than ten events across all three campuses leading up to the annual Veterans Day celebration on November 11. Events include a history lecture, an employer panel titled “How to Translate Your Military Experience to the Civilian Workplace,” a presentation of the Distinguished Alumni Veteran Award, a teaching veterans workshop and a reception.

THE TILLMAN MILITARY SCHOLARS PROGRAM

A campus-wide scholarship committee helps nominate veteran candidates for the prestigious Tillman Military Scholarship. In 2013, eight students were nominated and three students were selected nationally. In 2014, 12 students were nominated and one student was selected.

CENTER FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

The College of Engineering incorporated veteran status into its exhaustive climate survey of 33 majors across the UW. This survey and data analysis provide a unique look at issues and trends for veterans in the classroom. One key finding was that veteran students are less likely to attend office hours than other students.

UW EMPLOYEE VETERAN RECRUITMENT INITIATIVE

UW Human Resource Operations has made outreach to the military community a significant part of their recruit-ing strategy. They have participated in a number of military job fairs and employer panels on military bases.

UW AND VETERANS AFFAIRS PARTNERSHIP

Many graduate students in the School of Public Health, the School of Social Work and the School of Medicine work at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and in the community as residents, interns and researchers. This partnership is not managed by any one person; rather, each department around campus has its own working relationship with the Veterans Administration.

PEARLS RESEARCH PROJECT

The UW Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has an ongoing mental health research program aimed at helping elderly people with depression. This national program has been expanded to target older veterans in King County and is funded by the King County Veterans and Human Services Levy. This is a levy renewed in 2011 to help veterans, military personnel and their families. Services from the Veterans Training Support Center in Edmonds were used by researchers to gain a better understanding of veteran populations.

UW SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND VETERANS AFFAIRS PARTNERSHIP

The UW School of Medicine and School of Dentistry have more than 160 resident positions serving veterans at regional hospitals. UW physicians provide medical services through 24 separate contracts at VA hospitals, totaling $3.6 million. This is in addition to the many ongoing research projects being done at the state’s veterans hospitals.

PRINCIPLES OF EXCELLENCE / 8 KEYS TO VETERANS’ SUCCESS

In September 2014, the UW affirmed support for the Department of Education’s 8 Keys to Veterans’ Success initiative. The 8 Keys, a voluntary initiative through the Departments of Education and Veterans Affairs, high-light specific ways that colleges and universities can support veterans as they pursue their education and employment goals. These include:

1. Create a culture of trust and connectedness across the campus community to promote well-being and success for veterans.

2. Ensure consistent and sustained support from campus leadership.

3. Implement an early alert system to ensure all vet-erans receive academic, career and financial advice before challenges become overwhelming.

4. Coordinate and centralize campus efforts for all veterans, together with the creation of a desig-nated space for them (even if limited in size). 5. Collaborate with local communities and

organiza-tions, including government agencies, to align and coordinate various services for veterans.

6. Utilize a uniform set of data tools to collect and track information on veterans, including demo-graphics, retention and degree completion. 7. Provide comprehensive professional

develop-ment for faculty and staff on issues and challenges unique to veterans.

8. Develop systems that ensure sustainability of effec-tive practices for veterans.

UW Bothell programs that serve veterans

UW Bothell veterans services are fully integrated within the Student Success Center. This center performs the dual roles of certifying official for Veterans Affairs benefits and disability resources for students. The office is the central coordinator for the 200 veteran students at UW Bothell and staff are able to personally meet with most of them. The office maintains a Listserv for

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7 / UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON veterans and routinely sends out information about

career fairs, academic advising and campus events. UW Bothell has a strong veteran community that tends to have a higher average than that at the campuses in Seattle and Tacoma. There is a large number of Navy veterans at UW Bothell, in part, because of its proximity to Naval Station Everett.

TRANSITION COURSE

A transition course to assist veterans in understanding academic culture has recently been developed, pro-viding resources and helping veterans navigate their experiences on campus. This course has received posi-tive feedback from veteran students.

CHALLENGE COIN

The UW Bothell Student Veterans Association presents a challenge coin to graduating veterans each quarter to acknowledge their service and achievement. This practice is common in the military and at smaller college campuses.

VETERANS ARCHWAY

The Veterans Archway for all veterans was unveiled and dedicated in May 2014 at UW Bothell. The Student Veterans Association worked with UW Bothell to find a suitable place and funding for this project.

VET CORPS

The national Vet Corps Navigator Program was brought to UW Bothell last year as a resource to veterans on campus and in the community. This is in conjunction with AmeriCorps.

WORK-STUDY

Three VA work-study students are employed to assist the veterans services manager with certifications for benefits. They are available for questions and needs of veterans on a daily basis.

CAMPUS SPACE

Discussions are underway to create a new private space on campus dedicated to veterans. This is a top priority for the Student Veterans Association, and funding is still being explored.

STUDENT VETERANS ASSOCIATION

The Student Veterans Association at UW Bothell has focused on policy issues of importance to veterans on campus and in the state. Connecting with lawmakers and pushing specific higher education legislation have been a top priority.

GRADUATION RECOGNITION

Veterans wore stoles with UW colors and their branch of service for the first time at the 2014 graduation exercises. The UW Bothell Student Veterans Association leadership created the design with input from other veterans. UW Bothell is trying to ensure that the stoles are free for veteran students and would like to encour-age the other UW campuses to do the same.

UW Tacoma programs that serve veterans

UW Tacoma has developed a strong reputation for being a campus that serves veterans and active duty military personnel through Joint Base Lewis–McChord (JBLM), which is located close to the campus. Around 11 percent (478 students) of the UW Tacoma student population is currently receiving veteran benefits, and campus also has a sizeable proportion of veteran family members who are students. UW Tacoma actively engages military personnel on campus, in the greater South Puget Sound community and on JBLM. UW Tacoma has an extensive and robust veterans coordination committee, comprised of 28 faculty and staff who meet regularly to exchange information and ideas regarding veterans issues and projects. Of the three campuses, UW Tacoma has the newest Student Veteran Association, which formed in 2013. Perhaps the most noteworthy activity at UW Tacoma is the strong relationship with JBLM command leadership and the many programs on base.

VETERANS INCUBATOR FOR BETTER ENTREPRENEURSHIP

UW Tacoma launched the Veterans Incubator for Better Entrepreneurship (VIBE) in 2013. VIBE selects veterans with entrepreneurial talent and engages them in an early stage business incubator experience while they earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree. The first program of its kind in the nation, VIBE focuses on developing entrepreneurial talent, making business development as important as the pursuit of a college or graduate degree. Recognizing that military duty imparts a unique set of skills and life experiences that are conducive to entre-preneurial pursuits, UW Tacoma will position veterans to start their own businesses and serve as job creators. Drawing on leaders in the regional business community to serve as mentors and supporters for its students, VIBE will contribute to a more robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in the South Puget Sound as these veterans graduate and build their businesses.

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PREPARING VETERANS AND MILITARY PERSONNEL FOR LEADERSHIP IN CYBERSECURITY

This year, the Institute of Technology, in partnership with the UW Tacoma Milgard School of Business, launched a new Master‘s in Cybersecurity and Leadership degree designed to serve active duty personnel, reservists and veterans. The degree was developed at the request of Air National Guard airmen at Camp Murray who serve in the cybersecurity unit composed of more than 100 military personnel. This program complements the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Systems degree with a focus on information assurance. UW Tacoma is also serving as the organizational hub of cybersecurity for the South Puget Sound, hosting discussions with local, state and federal government, industry and public utilities representatives, and related industry experts to participate and share expertise as an industry cluster. In discussion now is the development of a bachelor’s degree program that focuses primarily on preparing veteran students for work in cyber operations, a rapidly growing field. In collaboration with the Center for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity, a tri-cam-pus UW initiative, these degrees incorporate curricular elements necessary for students to earn Information Systems Security (INFOSEC) Professionals NSTISSI No. 4011 certification and meet other Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) National Training Standards. There is a strong consensus among policy

makers in our nation’s capital that veterans are ideal candidates to fill the void of qualified workers needed in the cybersecurity field.

ENHANCING HUMAN SERVICES PROFESSIONALS’ CAPACITY TO SERVE VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES

The UW Tacoma Social Work program offered a one-day conference in March 2014 to help human services professionals in the South Puget Sound region better support veterans and their families. The conference shared best practices for addressing common chal-lenges veterans face in work and family life, as well as recent advances in dealing with the effects of PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.

STUDENT SUCCESS SERVICES FOR VETERANS

The UW Tacoma Office of Veteran and Military Services provides a welcoming place for veteran students and provides services to help them access GI Bill and related veterans’ benefits and tuition waivers. The Vet Corps navigator, a full-time volunteer supported by AmeriCorps funding and the state Department of Veterans Affairs, provides support for veteran students and coordinates veteran-focused activities. A veterans working group composed of staff, faculty and students has been charged with finding ways to further support military students and enhance their educational experi-ences on an ongoing basis.

Which programs on the UW’s three campuses serve veterans?

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How can we support veterans better?

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How can we support veterans better?

1) The University could do a better job sharing infor-mation about programs for veterans. This includes both sharing information with veterans and between those who serve them.

People who work with veterans need better informa-tion about other programs and providers of services so that they can direct veterans to those services when appropriate. Sharing information about these programs could be accomplished by creating a central website of veterans programs, through a Listserv and in person. At UW Seattle, student veterans need more information about where to get help and resources on campus. A lack of capacity at the Veterans Center makes it difficult to reach out to veterans across campus. As a result, this work is often done by the Husky United Military Veterans (HUMV), which has limited resources and experience for this role.

Data from a recent College of Engineering student climate survey demonstrates that veterans at the UW are less likely to seek out help from professors and academic advisors than their peers. So, a core need for this community is doing outreach about courses offered to help veterans. Programs for veterans often struggle to get started because they lack exposure to the veteran students who would use them. On two separate occa-sions, a group of instructors, advocates and students at the UW attempted to launch a transition course to help veterans adjust to college life. Low interest in this program was attributed to a lack of coordination and outreach to veteran students.

Career fairs, resource information sessions and net-working events are often not promoted adequately. While some veterans do not want to participate in these programs, many veterans have expressed interest in attending these events but often do not hear about events available to them. Such events are inconsistently advertised on the all three campuses. This causes low enrollment and reinforces the idea that veterans (espe-cially at UW Seattle) are not involved and do not need or want these types of programs.

The University currently has an incomplete picture of its veteran student population. This year, the University added a veteran identification question to the UW appli-cation, but there is no current system in place to track veterans who self-identify. Improved data collection is needed to connect these students to services and better understand what they need.

Potential steps for improvement:

• Create a new position, veterans and military affairs coordinator. This position would be

respon-sible for connecting veterans to services as well as doing outreach and coordination across the entire UW system. This person would also help to build a veterans community through a peer-to-peer men-toring program and website content improvement. Preference should be given to hiring a veteran for this position. This outreach role is a common practice at peer institutions, such as UCLA and Ohio State University.

• Create a cross-campus working group for veter-ans services providers at UW Seattle. In addition

to participation by veteran students, this group should have significant faculty involvement. Many stakeholders point to faculty involvement on veter-ans issues as a key factor for improving perceptions and inclusion for veterans. Faculty members serve as key departmental resources to veterans, but their influence is limited by their capacity to bridge resources and information across departments and campuses. This working group should be appointed and meet at least biannually. One of its first tasks could be to create a value statement to guide veter-ans services on campus.

• Create a tri-campus veterans work group so that programs can be promoted and coordinated across the entire University system. This group

could also work to set uniform policies to support veterans across all three campuses.

The UW Office of External Affairs conducted interviews with over 30 veterans services stakeholders, held a focus group with veteran students and sent an email survey to 1,340 UW leaders to collect information about the services provided to veterans on all three campuses. A consistent question asked of all the people was, “How can we support veterans better?” The following recommendations come directly from those stakeholders and veterans. There

are four broad areas where the University could make improvements and a number of specific recommendations for each area.

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11 /UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON • Add information about veterans programs

and streamline current information across the UW’s website. In addition, add new content

to the Veterans Center website including videos, student biographies and an updated resource list. Technology should also be used to increase the impact and reach of current programs.

• The Rules Coordination Office should also look at the variety of policies under which the UW currently directs the affairs of veterans, military members and their families to see if a compre-hensive, single policy is in order.

2) The University should better connect veterans with veterans. Veteran students reported that they have a difficult time networking and connecting with their peers. Best practices for veteran-supportive cam-puses call for peer-to-peer mentoring from a trusted source. These sources could include the Veterans Center, the campus Student Veterans Association or fellow veterans. One way to facilitate this is to create a separate gathering space for veterans on campus. Some veteran students, particularly at UW Bothell, mentioned this as a high priority. While students at UW Seattle already have a designated space, some thought that it lacked privacy. One survey respondent indicated the need to “develop a Center for Veterans at UW Tacoma,” commenting, “I am excited that we are provided priority registration — but I think creating a sense of community is critical.” Many veterans echoed this and said they would like opportuni-ties to create peer-to-peer mentoring and connect with their fellow veterans across campus.

Veteran students also were interested in more opportu-nities for professional mentoring and networking. This might include career fairs and coordinated events with the Alumni Association and outside veterans groups. A need for administrative support and access to mentors during orientation was a top concern. Veterans-related networking and career fairs that happen on one campus should be promoted on the other two campuses.

• Develop peer-to-peer mentoring program options. These could include a work-study veteran,

a Veteran Corps representative or a veteran ambas-sador program.

• Establish a separate veterans community space on each campus. UW Bothell and Tacoma currently

lack these spaces. While UW Seattle has space in the HUB, this is primarily administrative in nature and could be improved to increase privacy and build community.

• Increase veterans outreach and awareness through new student orientation. In addition to

connecting with veteran students, this would also raise broader awareness of veterans on campus. • Create more professional mentoring

oppor-tunities by partnering with the UW Alumni Association and holding more career fairs. The

Alumni Association could work to connect veteran alumni with current students. There is also a need for more career fairs, but these need to be well advertised so that veteran students are aware they are being held.

3) Strengthen the campus climate for veteran students. Some people on campus may not have experience working with or teaching veterans. Several students at UW Seattle and some survey respondents mentioned a perceived bias against veterans on campus. There may be opportunities to educate people about veterans and change this perception. One survey respondent suggested “training for staff working with students on how to support veterans effectively, as well as programming that brings groups of veterans together with key people from across each campus.”

Another way to improve the campus climate for veter-ans is to raise awareness across the campus. This can be achieved by highlighting services and events for veter-ans year-round through regular communications with the campus community. One survey respondent noted, “There aren’t a lot of announcements about military focused activities or supported activities that seem to come through on our general UW updates, daily UW Today reports, etc. It would great if we could somehow promote participation in events that support military or military-supported events to volunteer for.

• Offer “Welcoming All Students: Teaching Veteran Students” year-round. This class is already offered

during Veterans Appreciation Week and could be expanded. Consider recruiting veteran students, fac-ulty and staff to help present this program. Stronger support from the administration to encourage faculty and staff participation in this class would make this effort more effective.

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12 /ASSESSING VETERANS SERVICES AND PROGRAMS • Highlight veterans services and activities on

a regular basis in UW communications with campus, alumni and surrounding community.

This could be one of the duties of the veterans liaison position. UW Marketing & Communications and the UW Alumni Association could also help find regular opportunities to promote veterans issues throughout the year.

4) The University needs better data about veteran students on campus. The University currently has an incomplete picture of its veteran student population. This year, the University added a veteran identification question to the UW admissions application, but there is no current system in place across the three campuses to track veterans who self-identify.

Improved data would help the University connect with veteran students and direct them to support services. It would also enable the University to track the progress of veteran students and evaluate the effectiveness of programs that serve them. Better data supports the University’s research mission, furthering the study of veteran student issues and sharing the results with outside organizations. Data is also important for track-ing alumni in order to connect them with events like Veterans Appreciation Week and create mentor relation-ships with current veteran students.

As the University develops better data on its veteran students, there are a few issues that could be consid-ered. First, there could be an institutional policy that guides when this data will be collected and how it will be used. This would help create uniform standards so that everyone uses the same metrics when talking about veterans or reaching out to veteran students. Second, some veteran students may not want to self-identify. The University will need to be sensitive to this issue as it strives to improve data collection and analysis. Last, student veteran groups would like to get contact lists so they can connect with fellow veterans on campus. However, FERPA and other privacy con-cerns have limited access to this data. The University could work to increase access to these lists while respecting student privacy.

• The UW Rules Coordination Office should develop a policy to govern the collection and use of data on military personnel and find a path toward sharing veteran email lists in accordance with FERPA. • The UW Office of Institutional Research should

undertake a comprehensive analysis of veteran demographics, program enrollment and percep-tions on campus.

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How are we currently

serving active duty military

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Military spouse programs

UW Tacoma is responding to a top priority of JBLM lead-ership to better serve military spouses with educational programs and career support designed for their needs. An advisory group of senior military spouses at JBLM has been formed to advise development of these programs. Options include training in entrepreneurship, teaching and innova-tive online teaching and learning programs. UW Tacoma also partnered with the Military Officers Association of America to provide a major education and career event on campus last year to target needs of local spouses.

Red Badge Project

UW Tacoma has partnered with the Red Badge Project, a nonprofit that supports wounded veterans as they journey to reconstruct their individual sense of purpose and understanding of self-worth through a process that involves discovering and giving voice to their unique stories. Co-founded by actor Tom Skerritt, an Air Force veteran, and his neighbor Evan Bailey, a former Army captain, the Red Badge Project teaches soldiers in the Warrior Transition Battalion to express themselves through photography, filmmaking and creative writ-ing. The battalion is comprised of active duty, National Guard and reserve soldiers diagnosed with PTSD and other injuries. UW English professor Shawn Wong is one of four instructors volunteering with the Red Badge Project, which launched at JBLM and moved its meetings this summer to UW Tacoma to immerse its students in a university environment. Through the partnership with UW Tacoma, students can apply to receive a minimum of two college credits, which they can apply toward mili-tary promotion points or as a start to their path toward higher learning. Soldiers who volunteer to take part in the program meet four hours a day during a three-week session. The program has been so successful that over a third of the soldiers continue attending classes or serve as volunteers after their term.

Raising awareness and understanding in the

community through events and symposia

UW Tacoma is collaborating with JBLM and veterans orga-nizations to raise awareness and understanding about the important role JBLM and veterans play in our region.

For example, UW Tacoma is partnering with I Corps and others on “Views on the Pacific,” a series of symposia that examine the impact of the U.S. strategic rebalance in the Asia-Pacific region, placing JBLM and the Puget Sound community at center stage in such areas as trade and investment, social and economic development, military partnerships and alliances, and cultural exchange. JBLM leadership, academic experts and international dignitaries have been featured. The News Tribune is a sponsor of the series. Another recent event featured a film documentary about how women veterans are adapting to life after war. The event also staged a panel that included the director of the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs. UW Tacoma plans to continue this kind of programming.

Internships

Civilian student interns have been working in several JBLM departments, including headquarters, over the last two years. After the first quarter of receiving student help, the base requested more interns. Internships serve to build valuable links between faculty and organizations like JBLM. Internship placements will be ongoing.

Lean training

Last year, a group of 50 military officers, mostly from Naval Station Kitsap and the Washington Department of Military, toured the UW Lean Center and were given Lean training. This training was well received and also attended by UW ROTC staff members. There may be additional opportuni-ties to partner with bases on Lean process improvement.

MEDEX Tacoma

MEDEX Northwest, the UW School of Medicine’s Physician Assistant Training Program, opened its newest site with 28 students at UW Tacoma this academic year. This new satellite location was selected because of its proximity to JBLM and joins existing MEDEX sites located in Seattle, Spokane and Anchorage. Launched with $887,301 in federal funding, the opening is part of a national initiative to increase educational and employment opportunities for returning military veterans and to boost the primary care workforce in rural and underserved areas. Madigan Army Medical Center, located on JBLM, will be one of the practi-cum sites for MEDEX students. Fourteen class members come from military medical occupations.

The majority of UW programs that serve active duty military personnel on military bases operate under the UW Tacoma–JBLM. This partnership was a priority of the late UW Tacoma Chancellor Debra Friedman. Its continued suc-cess is a testament to her leadership on this issue.

There are a number of other smaller projects and programs operated from UW campuses in Seattle and Bothell that engage military bases, but these are not centrally coordinated and are often created because of the connec-tions between personnel on those bases and members of the University community. This report also includes some programs that do not actually take place on bases but serve active duty military personnel working on bases.

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15 / UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

Focus on transition

As an urban-serving university, UW Tacoma works in partnership with JBLM to support the military and veterans community to transition from active military to college and university life. Higher education is a critical component of the services and support provided to vet-erans through the Department of Defense, the Vetvet-erans Administration and other federal agencies, as well as through many nonprofit and community organizations in our region.

Air Force and Army Career and Alumni

Program Transition Service Center

UW Tacoma is partnering with the Air Force and Army Career and Alumni Program (AACAP) Center at JBLM to provide career counseling and academic advising focused on raising awareness about all public col-lege and university programs available in the state of Washington. The program is designed to enhance advis-ing for the large number of veterans who separate from service and stay in our region each year. A faculty-led research project will measure the effectiveness of the program and further guide its development.

Piloting campus tours

UW Tacoma partnered with the education centers at JBLM to develop a pilot for a campus tour program designed to help veterans find assistance with getting a post-service college education. The tours are designed to help military personnel envision themselves as students and ease their transition into higher educa-tion. The pilot program began in November 2014. Other colleges and universities are expected to offer tours on their campuses as the program gears up to serve hundreds of military personnel per month who are preparing to transition out of the military. The tours are modeled after a successful program offered through Fort Carson in collaboration with the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

Washington State Military Transition Council

UW Tacoma participates in the Washington State Military Transition Council, established through executive order by Governor Jay Inslee and led by Senator Patty Murray, Col. Charles Hodges, garrison commander of JBLM and Alfie Alvarado-Ramos, director of the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs. The council supports collaboration between federal, state and local agen-cies, and private and nonprofit organizations that share responsibility for and interest in providing transition assistance to military personnel and their families. UW Tacoma is participating in the Higher Education Working Group, which is identifying challenges that may be addressed through broad-based collaborative efforts.

Speaking civilian

A doctoral student in the UW English department in Seattle has created a course, syllabus and pedagogy for teaching military personnel how to change their language in order to better transition into civilian jobs and college settings. The training was developed as part of the stu-dent’s dissertation on rhetorical discourses and could be packaged for future use through an online media offering or by funding another graduate student to continue this work.

Military substance abuse intervention study

The School of Social Work is in the final year of a sub-stance abuse intervention study at JBLM. A total of 242 active duty soldiers with substance abuse problems were recruited, but over 700 calls from other military personnel were answered. A Department of Defense grant funded the study.

Subject matter expertise on the Middle East

The Middle East Center at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies has provided faculty expertise to JBLM leadership. This non-formal partnership is in addi-tion to the “Views on the Pacific” symposium series or the newer research fellowship position proposed by UW Tacoma.

Naval engineering graduate research

The Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering has a project that takes six to eight military and ROTC stu-dents every year to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Keyport, WA. The program helps graduate students interface with Navy engineers on research projects. This program is a partnership with the Naval Engineering Education Center and has a budget of around

$125,000 annually.

Leadership in public speaking workshop

The Institute of Translational Health Services (ITHS) offered a leadership in public speaking workshop funded by NIH. This workshop has been attended by personnel from Madigan Hospital at JBLM. The Seattle VA has recently shown interest in using ITHS for Veterans Affairs research-ers. Many ITHS resources are free on the web and available to medical staff at military bases.

Sexual assault training with the USS Stennis

Staff from UW Student Life and experts on Title IX compli-ance were asked to give training to Navy leadership on the USS Stennis. Naval leadership initiated this exchange after they became aware of the UW’s Task Force on Sexual Assault Prevention and Response in 2013. This two-way dialog benefited both naval officers and UW staff.

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How can the University

partner with military bases to

support active duty military personnel

and their families?

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17 / UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON 1) Work toward a cross-campus value statement that

clarifies the UW’s position and interest for engag-ing military bases. A baseline understandengag-ing about

the value of a two-way exchange with military bases is needed to guide faculty and staff as they encounter military personnel at bases or as they respond to ad hoc opportunities for partnerships. One person inter-viewed thought that a value statement describing the University’s position at bases would help the three campuses better coordinate interactions with bases. If formed, a tri-campus working group should draft this value statement as one of its first actions.

2) Evaluate new opportunities to serve the edu-cational needs of the military community on-site at military bases and through online education. A

few survey respondents suggested that the University should offer academic courses directly on bases. One suggested that the University provide online academic offerings and that “hybrid, synchronized delivery would be helpful.” It should be noted that serving our military community in this way is complicated by federal- and instillation-level memorandums of understanding that govern how educational institutions can serve active duty personnel on base. These requirements are not insurmountable but may require a deliberate and sus-tained effort to become a reality.

Another survey respondent suggested establishing someone “at JBLM, Whidbey Naval Air Station, and Bremerton Naval Base, who could advise soldiers, sailors, and Marines leaving the service (or even just considering whether to leave or re-enlist) about their educational options.” This is already happening through the UW Tacoma–JBLM partnership, but the University may consider expanding it elsewhere, if possible. The UW should systematically evaluate what academic

programs are best suited to transitioning military per-sonnel across all three campuses and whether there are opportunities to adapt these programs to better serve them.

3) Institutionalize the sharing of information for stakeholders working on veterans-related projects throughout the UW. A number of stakeholders and

survey respondents suggested expanding programs to serve active duty personnel on military bases (such as JBLM), but seemed unaware of the existing UW Tacoma–JBLM partnership or the Memorandum of Understanding that will regulate what the University can do there. The University could foster greater understanding of programs that serve military bases by establishing a tri-campus Listserv for veterans service providers. In addition, the formation of a tri-campus veterans services group (as suggested previously) would help to connect people working on military bases. Broader UW participation in the Washington Military Transition Council would also increase knowledge about opportunities to serve active duty personnel across the state.

4) Create a “dream project” for active duty military personnel. For some military personnel, attending

the UW may seem out of reach, or they may feel like they won’t fit into a traditional college environment. Partnering them with current UW veteran students may help to clear any misconceptions they have about attending the University, and make them more comfort-able with the idea. This would also support the desire by current veteran students to connect with and support other veterans. A program like this would be unique and would take some time to develop. It may be a logical extension of the pilot program at JBLM to offer campus tours at UW Tacoma.

The partnership between UW Tacoma and JBLM represents the most significant way the University serves active duty personnel in Washington State. This partnership has carefully evolved over many years with strong support from UW Tacoma leadership. While the UW campuses in Seattle and Bothell can do more to support this partner-ship, it should be primarily managed and fostered by UW Tacoma.

A systematic approach is needed to identify ways the University can build new partnerships with military bases across the state. Given the similarities in population at the University and military bases, sexual assault and sui-cide prevention training may be natural areas for collaboration. The partnership with JBLM may be something the University can replicate at other military bases.

The UW Office of External Affairs has requested meetings with military base commanders to discuss ways the UW can better support them. Based on the experience building a partnership between UW Tacoma and JBLM, the University should anticipate that these new partnerships might take a long time to develop. The University will need to be sensitive to military etiquette and customs as it moves forward with these partnerships. There may also need to be separate Memorandums of Understanding developed for each base.

The following recommendations are long-term strategies to effectively identify and support partnership opportuni-ties at military bases. These recommendations are drawn from interviews with stakeholders and the Catalyst survey sent to University leadership.

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18 / ASSESSING VETERANS SERVICES AND PROGRAMS In June 2014, a Catalyst survey was sent to 1,340

depart-ment heads, deans and people in leadership positions across UW’s three campuses. The responses from this survey have been summarized and integrated into the previous sections of this report.

The list was generated from an established mailing list of presidents, deans, directors and chairs at UW. The primary goal of the survey was to identify previously unknown programs and services relevant to veterans and to gather suggestions and recommendations from a wide variety of sources. The survey was designed in consultation with several key stakeholders including Tim Wold (UW Seattle) and Lisa Hoffman (UW Tacoma). The overall response rate of the survey was 115 responses, or 9 percent of the people surveyed. This relatively low response rate was likely due, in part, to the summer timing of the survey. A number of programs and services on campus were not reported directly through the survey, but were reported through other channels. This survey should be viewed as a comple-ment to the stakeholder interviews and not as an exhaustive list of every program or service at UW. Many programs are integrated across departments and at times the responsibility for providing a service to vet-erans is informally shared between two or more people. An example of this trend is with academic advising for veterans. There are dedicated staff members who advise veterans at Veterans Centers at all three UW campuses. In addition, staff members who are not formal veterans advisers will sometimes develop specialized expertise in advising veterans within their departments.

The survey was designed to identify many important, yet informal, services that would be difficult to uncover solely through interviewing known veterans services stakeholders. Since one of our goals was to uncover programs previously unreported, we did not explicitly define what a program or service was in the survey. This helped us avoid any bias around definitions and allowed us to identify themes across departments, schools and organizations regardless of how a person or department defined these activities.

The following is a list of survey questions followed by a summary of responses to each:

1) Does your school/department/office have any programs or projects that serve active duty military personnel, reservists, the National Guard or veter-ans on any of the three University of Washington campuses? After accounting for duplicate responses,

47 respondents indicated that they had a program

that served veterans. Thirty-six of these respondents were located on the Seattle campus and the remaining responses were from the Tacoma campus.

2) If yes, please describe each of these programs or projects. While most responses covered one unique

program, some of the responses covered multiple projects together. An example of this is the School of Medicine, the School of Social Work and the School of Public Health, which each listed multiple health-related research projects, usually with the VA. Examples include:

• Central HR Employment has made outreach to the Military community a significant part of our recruit-ing strategy. This includes participation in a number of military job fairs and involvement in base-run employer panels.

• In partnership with Undergraduate Academic Advising, we are conducting a Vet Transitions seminar for students in their first or second quarter - taught by Adviser who is Vet and TA’d by vets. • The Counseling Center provides a dedicated online

resource for veterans. Additionally they have organized support groups for the families and loved ones of veterans or those on active duty.

• One example from this past year includes one of our Leadership Firesides, where a retired army general came to speak to a group of students to share lessons learned about leadership. A number of veteran students attended this event and enjoyed hearing from this speaker’s perspective.

• Veterans Incubator for Better Entrepreneurship – VIBE provides co-location space and prepares student veterans to launch successful startups using a mentor-led approach in cooperation with business leaders and angel investors in the South Sound. 3) What is the budget for each of these programs?

Most respondents said they did not have a budget for their program and that the service was part of another budget. A total of nine respondents were able to pro-vide this level of detail. A total of $295,000 was reported. Those projects with dedicated Department of Defense, VA or NIH funding were most likely to provide this level of detail.

4) How many individuals does each program serve? Similar to question 3, most respondents were unable to enumerate a precise number of people served in each program. A total of 31 respondents were able to

provide this level of detail. They reported serving a total of 5,396 veterans through their programs.

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19 /UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON 5) Does your school/department/office have any

programs or projects where you work directly with military bases or military personnel at bases (such as JBLM, Naval Station Everett, Yakima Training Center, etc.)? Twenty-three respondents answered yes to this

question. Analysis found that many of these responses were duplicates or involved active-duty military not at bases. Follow-up interviews and phone calls helped establish 14 unique programs.

6) If yes, please describe each of these programs or projects. Some of the programs listed included:

• Medical students do clinical rotations at the Naval Base Hospital in Bremerton and at Madigan. • Master of Social Work practicum placements

at JBLM (Warrior Transition Battalion and Army Substance Abuse Program) and with VA Puget Sound (both American Lake and Seattle campuses). • The Middle East Center, Jackson School, provides

faculty area-experts to JBLM on subjects requested by the base commander.

7) What is the budget for each of these programs and sources of funding? No specific budget was listed for

any of these programs. Some respondents referred to DOD funding or a UW budget number.

8) If applicable, how many people does each of these programs involve? Most respondents could not provide

an estimate. For the five who answered this question, they served more than 1,400 active duty members on bases.

9) Do you have recommendations for how the University can more effectively and efficiently deliver services to veterans, military members and their families across all three campuses? 61

respon-dents had at least one suggestion. While many of these suggestions were program-specific general suggestions, they usually fit into one of three broad areas: 1) A need for better coordination, 2) a need for better data, or 3) A need for training or campus approach toward creating a more inclusive culture for veterans. Some of the specific recommendations included:

• Better outreach to veterans who are faculty, stu-dents and staff - there are a lot of veterans at UW who could be part of a mentoring network that the UW offers to active and separating military personnel.

• Provide orientation for faculty teaching

military--there are differences they should accom-modate--they need awareness training.

• As a hiring manager I would like to have access to potential job candidates who are veterans or who will soon be leaving the armed forces.

• Change academic attitudes toward the military. Increase respect among academics for those who serve our country.

• One central office on the main campus that could serve as a clearinghouse of comprehensive informa-tion and resources for them and those who work with and support them (i.e. UW researchers, area social service agencies, research studies conducted and courses/degrees offered for those who want to support or work with this population).

10) Do you have recommendations for how the University of Washington can expand or improve programs and services for military members and their dependents at our state’s military installations?

Thirty-one respondents had at least one suggestion, though many of these suggestions were aimed at campus programs rather than programs at military installations. Some of the suggestions included:

• Having the ability to offer classes on the military installations would be ideal - including noncredit professional education. Not every military member and dependent wants to take a course online. • Provide family service offices and transition offices

information about UW employment opportunities, and how to navigate the UW hiring process.

• If the University were to offer courses on base, that would be helpful to servicemen. Also, providing academic offerings online--hybrid, synchronized delivery, would be helpful.

• Improve outreach; establish partnerships and presences on the facilities where these potential customers frequent. We need to go to them, not expect them to come to us.

• Might we consider having a “transition” officer (in the military, the term would be “Redeployment”) at JBLM, Whidbey Naval Air Station, and Bremerton Naval Base, who could advise soldiers, sailors, and Marines leaving the service (or even just considering whether to leave or re-enlist) about their educa-tional options?

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Background

A focus group of veterans at UW Seattle and UW Bothell was held on September 22, 2014. The focus group was held in the Presentation Place in the Allen Library at UW Seattle. The goal of this was to get a wide variety of views from a diverse set of veterans across departments and campuses about their perceptions about veterans services at UW. The group was comprised of 19 people; 3 were active duty, 2 were staff member veterans and 3 were alumni. The four questions asked were:

1. What were your expectations when you came to UW and how have they been met?

2. What resources do you use and how did you find them?

3. What services at UW work well? 4. What could be improved?

Expectations for coming to UW

Some paraphrased comments:

“As a drill reservist, I was expecting faculty to understand the law related to military training. And, once it became a problem, I was expecting the problem to be solved quicker than it was.” (Bothell)

APPENDIX B — VETERANS FOCUS GROUP FEEDBACK

11. What is your name? 111 out of 115 respondents

provided their names.

12. What is your school, department or office? 111 out

of 115 respondents included their school department or office. Some of these included:

• UW Tacoma Social Work Program • UW Seattle Political Science • UW Seattle School of Medicine • UW Bothell MBA Program

• UW Alumni and Constituent Relations • UW Seattle Career Center

• UW Seattle Foster School of Business • UW Seattle Arts & Sciences

• UW Seattle First Year Programs

13. Which campus do you work at? The majority of

respondents work on the UW campus in Seattle.

14. What is your work email address? 109 respondents

included their email address.

15. What is your phone number? 104 respondents

included a contact phone number.

UW Seattle UW Bothell UW Tacoma Other

“The expectation is that we as vets should be driving pro-ductive conversation and to influence student vet policy both on and off campus.” (Bothell and Seattle)

“I did not expect it to be so hard to find a UW counselor who was a veteran; there is a lack of vet staff on campus.” (Seattle)

“I thought there would be a vet navigator or staff member to engage vets on campus and build community.”

(Seattle)

“I had a really hard time finding student housing for my family in Seattle. It would have been really helpful if someone had helped me early on.” (Seattle)

Things that are going well on campus

Staff from the Veterans Center at UW Seattle were mentioned as valuable resources. One veteran high-lighted Student Fiscal Services saying, “I have had really positive experiences with staff there.” There was a mixed response on the question of paperwork. One person responded, “Paperwork gets done in a reasonable time,” but another person said, “Certificates of enrollment take too long.” It was not clear if this was referring to delays from the Veterans Affairs or the UW. Access to leadership at UW Bothell was mentioned. One veteran said, “We always have access to UW Bothell Campus Leadership; there is an open door policy.”

ASSESSING VETERANS SERVICES AND PROGRAMS