How Excelsior University aids veterans facing job hurdles

WASHINGTON (TND) — As we reflect on this Memorial Day, our military heroes and veterans often face new obstacles when they come home, especially as they transition out of service and into the civilian workforce.

Around 200,000 people leave the armed forces every year, but the Pew Research Center says only one in four has a job lined up.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation says 53% are unemployed for four months or longer after leaving the military.

Excelsior University President Dr. David Schejbal joined The National Desk to speak on veterans' struggles and how schools like Excelsior are working to help.

At Excelsior, roughly half of the student body is comprised of veterans or active service members.

"There are really three main components to serving military students well. One is flexibility, understanding that they're often deployed in various parts of the world. The other is providing credit for military experience. And the third is providing military students with dedicated experts who understand their needs. Just having that understanding is so important," Schejbal said.

The GI Bill provides educational assistance to servicemembers, veterans, and their dependents.

Schejbal discussed improvements he'd like to see for veterans and active military members when it comes to action taken by Congress and universities.

"Well, on the part of Congress and frankly, the Department of Defense is an increase in the tuition that the Department of Defense pays for active military tuition assistance. Today, the average price of a credit of tuition is $477. So the military reimbursement is just about half of that. To make matters worse, the maximum that students can be reimbursed in a year is only $4,500," Schejbal explained. "Both Congress and the Department of Defense should do a better job at supporting tuition assistance for military students."

As far as what higher education can do. Most schools do not do what I just described Excelsior does. They don't provide credit for military education. They do not have experts who support military students and who really understand their needs. And they don't have the kind of flexibilities that military students need."

Many veterans and active military members speak of the importance of finding their community or a group with shared experiences. Schejbal explained how that works for Excelsior students completing courses online.

"Military students, of course, have common experiences simply because they've served. Providing online chats, forums, opportunities for military students to engage with other military students, to engage with faculty who understand military needs or advisors who understand military needs is really, really important."

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