IBM Aids Returning Veterans

Posted by Paul McDougall on July 22, 2009 12:04 PM

IBM has teamed up with American Corporate Partners to provide career development and mentoring services for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's a laudable effort in its own right, and makes a lot of sense given the hi-tech nature of today's military.

Under the plan, IBM will provide mentoring services in five cities—New York, Washington, Raleigh/Durham, Denver, and San Francisco. IBM has engaged On Demand Community to provide additional, online resources. ODC operates Web sites that offer training, skills assessment, and other educational content.
The program matches up mentors with their protégés on a one-to-one basis in particular cities. The pairs are encouraged to spend about 4 hours per month together for a year discussing the practical aspects of business and career development.

Spouses of vets who were killed or severely wounded in action are also eligible to participate.
"This will be a real boost to our program because IBM employees are innovators and role models in the business world who have community service in their DNA," says ACP founder Sid Goodfriend.
IBM should benefit too. Many veterans have received superior training in hi-tech fields such as communications, computer programming, logistics, and electronics. And, of course, these men and women know a thing or two about performing under stress. Put it altogether and you have some excellent job candidates.

"The addition of American Corporate Partners gives IBM volunteers another opportunity to share their wisdom," says Gary Ambrose, IBM's VP for the U.S. Department of Defense. Ambrose is a retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General.

ACP is run by retired generals and political figures, including George Shultz, Paul Wolfowitz, and Bob Dole. Vets can apply to participate in the program at the organization's Web site. http://www.acp-usa.org/

Kind regards, Bobbi Park, Northern California RepresentativeCalifornia Statewide Collaborative for our Military and their Families
916-409-0462 or 530-388-8074

What can a student veteran association do for you?

All college and university campuses should begin preparing for the increased number of student Veterans that will be attending their schools in the future.
As these men and women return to campus they are going to need a support system to help them succeed. One of the most successful support systems for these students is a Student Veteran Association on campus. This is just one way of helping them to succeed and bring them one step closer to a college education.
Does your campus have a Student Veteran Association? If not, below are a few reasons why a Student Veteran Association should be set up on your campus:

1. Peer-to-peer support for the returning Veterans on campus. This creates a tight knit community on campus for all returning Veterans. There is no better way for students to adjust to campus than with students who have recently experienced combat as they have. These Veterans need to be surrounded by people who understand what they have encountered in the past.

2. Main point of contact for all student Veterans. This point of contact should be either a faculty member or a member of administration who oversees all operations associated with the Veteran services at the University/College. This point of contact will be working closely with all student Veterans on campus. They will work with admissions, disability services, financial aid, housing, the counseling center, and the registrar's office to help these students better adjust to their life on campus.

3. A Freshmen Vet-Orientation should be set up specifically for returning Veterans. The Student Veteran Association should arrange for an Orientation program that helps this student population to become familiar with the Veteran-specific resources on campus, to get to know the staff who is most educated and understanding of their needs, and perhaps, most importantly, to allow them to recognize other Veteran students.

4. Proper awareness training should be provided for all faculty members and staff. The faculty members and staff need to be aware of the issues that these student Veterans are facing as well. Training needs to be put in place so they know how to reach out to their students and give them the support they need.

5. Increased awareness of Veteran-specific resources available to them on campus. For example, given that returning Veterans are usually in their early or mid-twenties, they typically do not want to be living with those freshmen who are 18 or 19 years old and right out of high school. So, this will help them find housing where other student Veterans live and consider grouping them together or nearby one another when requesting housing on campus.

It is very important for returning Veterans to have a strong support system in place when they return to school. Every University/College wants their students to succeed by graduating and having a Student Veteran Association in place will help them get one step closer towards their goal of graduating.

It is also important for their classmates to understand what these Veteran students are going through. It would be a good idea to have a key note speaker talk about his/her experiences while in combat with several guest students giving their insights on their experiences. Many students at the age of 18 haven't made executive decisions, experienced cultural differences, or gone out of the country and they don't understand what these Veterans have encountered. The student Veterans shouldn't feel alienated and by all means they should not be treated any different than other students on campus.

Help your student Veterans adjust to their life on campus by starting a Student Veteran Association. Remember, listen to the veterans and learn what works best from your students. The Aurora Foundation is working to help provide more support for those student Veterans on campus.

Suzanne Jackson
The Aurora Foundation

Obama Administration and the State of California Fix Post 9/11 GI Bill Tuition Glitch

Obama Administration and the State of California Fix Post 9/11 GI Bill Tuition Glitch

Veterans Will Now Have Standardized Access to Private, Graduate and Out-of State Schools in California Under Yellow Ribbon Program

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced today a joint solution has been reached between the State of California and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) concerning how tuition and fees are determined. The new definition will allow for standardized application under the new Post 9/11 GI Bill and the accompanying Yellow Ribbon program.
“The Post-9/11 GI Bill is an important part of fulfilling our promise to the men and women who have served our country so honorably,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said. “This solution will allow all Veterans who want to attend a California school the same benefits as any other Veteran across the nation.”
The Post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefit authorizes VA to pay the actual tuition and fees charged by a university up to the maximum in-state tuition and fees charged by the most expensive public university in the state.
In interpreting the statute in its implementing regulation, VA determined that it must set separate state maximums for tuition and fees, as opposed to a single combined total.
In California, public schools have traditionally charged no tuition but relatively high fees. Thus a student attending private school in California would receive much less of a basic tuition benefit under the Post 9/11 GI Bill Yellow Ribbon program than students at private schools in other states.
Recently, California’s public universities introduced a new billing line item, “Educational Fee/Tuition.” VA has determined that, under its existing regulations, the Department can consider this new billing line item as “tuition” for the purposes of calculating the state’s maximum payments.
“As a result of this interpretation, the maximum basic benefit VA can pay in California will increase, dramatically reducing the “gap” to be made up by California schools under the Yellow Ribbon agreement,” added Under Secretary for Benefits Patrick W. Dunne.
In California alone, approximately 80 schools have entered into more than 235 agreements for the 2009-2010 school year. The new maximum, in-state tuition amount for California public institutions is now $287 per credit hour.
Over 1,100 colleges, universities and schools across the country have entered into more than 3,400 “Yellow Ribbon” program agreements with VA to improve financial aid for Veterans participating in the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The Yellow Ribbon program, a provision of the new Post-9/11 GI Bill, funds tuition expenses that exceed the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition rate. Institutions can contribute up to 50 percent of those expenses, and VA will match this additional funding for eligible students.
The Yellow Ribbon program is reserved for Veterans eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill at the 100 percent benefit level. This includes those who served at least 36 months on active duty or served at least 30 continuous days and were discharged due to a service-related injury.