Weaving the threads of identity: mapping the veteran experience across the student life cycle

ABSTRACT

Research shows that higher education can help veterans build a new sense of identity, purpose and belonging after leaving the military. There are critical gaps, however, in our understanding of student veterans in the Australian context. This article aims to map the experiences of Australian veterans across the student life cycle to improve our understanding of this unique group. We systematically address the higher education stages of pre-access, access, participation, and attainment. Fourteen autobiographical interviews were conducted to obtain detailed and nuanced personal reflections. Findings demonstrate that veterans often make exemplary students who are motivated to pursue altruistic careers. However, transitions between the military and higher education can be difficult to navigate. We argue the need for a structured pathway between the military and higher education and increased support for veterans across the student life cycle. We recommend a range of initiatives to prepare veterans to thrive in higher education.

KEYWORDS:

• Veterans
• military
• transition
• student life cycle
• Australia

Introduction

Almost half a million living Australians have formerly served in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022). The Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) broadly defines a veteran as any individual who has served in uniform in the ADF full-time for at least one day (Ashcroft, 2014). Each year, approximately 6,000 personnel discharge from the ADF and re-enter civilian life (Department of Veterans’ Affairs, 2018). Veterans can have a difficult time transitioning out of the military because they face losing their sense of community, identity, and purpose (Bichrest, 2013; Livingston et al., 2011). Veterans often experience challenges across the domains of education, employment, health, and social integration (Albertson, 2019; Bergman et al., 2014). Higher education offers one pathway that can help veterans navigate the transition into civilian life and prepare for their future careers.

Much of the research about veterans in higher education comes from the United States. These studies show that student veterans can bring a range of strengths into higher education, including discipline, respect, leadership, maturity, focus, and persistence (Blackwell-Starnes, 2018; Boldway et al., 2023; Rausch & Buning, 2022). Student veterans can also face a distinct set of challenges, however, including financial stress; mental and physical health issues; feelings of alienation on campus; misconceptions about the military experience; and a lack of veteran-specific campus support (Clary & Byrne, 2023; Hornor & Brooks, 2023). Data from the United States also shows that almost two-thirds of student veterans are first-generation students whose parents did not complete a college or university degree, which can be a risk factor for degree non-completion (Rausch & Buning, 2022; United States Department of Veterans’ Affairs, 2023).

In the United States, Schlossberg’s transition model has been influential in examining how student veterans manage transitions (Griffin & Gilbert, 2015; Wheeler, 2012). The theory describes transitions as cycles of moving in, moving through, and moving out of different environments. The success of a transition depends on four factors – the context (situation), personal characteristics (self), the assistance available (support), and coping mechanisms (strategies).

There is a small but emerging body of research into student veterans in Australian higher education. One clear finding from this research is that veterans seeking to enter higher education in Australia can find that the pathway is complicated to navigate (Harvey et al., 2018, 2020; Wadham et al., 2021, 2022). Australian research also confirms that, without adequate preparation, veterans can face difficulties adjusting to the differences between military life and student life. Studies suggests that some Australian student veterans can feel isolated and hesitant to reveal their veteran status for fear of being stigmatised and stereotyped (Harvey et al., 2018, 2020; Wadham et al., forthcoming). Wadham et al. (2021) found that some veterans face the same barriers to higher education as traditional equity groups, such as students from low socio-economic status backgrounds. In Australia, however, no national data are available on student veterans, such as their demographics, wellbeing, or completion rates. As outlined by Wadham et al. (2022), the range of governmental and institutional support for student veterans in Australia is narrow and limited compared to nations such as the United States.

While existing research sheds some light on the challenges faced by student veterans in Australian higher education, there remains a need for a deeper understanding that can only be gained via the personal reflections of student veterans themselves. It is important to reflect on experiences before military service, during service, and after service, and give particular attention to times of transition (Thompson et al., 2019). Mobley et al. (2019) highlight the need for qualitative research to accurately capture the complex pathways between the military and higher education and allow nuanced narratives to emerge.

This article addresses critical gaps in the understanding of the Australian student veteran experience via fourteen life history interviews (Brannen, 2013; Connell, 1991; Wadham, 2007; Wadham et al., 2023). Our overarching research questions were:

• What are the experiences of Australian veterans across the student life cycle?

• What measures are needed to support the success of Australian veterans across the student life cycle?

To our knowledge, this article is the first to use the student life cycle model to explore the experiences of Australian military veterans. We present our findings framed around the student life cycle model and highlight the need to cement the pathway between military service and higher education in Australia. Finally, we discuss the implications of our research and present recommendations for higher education policy and practice.

Student life cycle model

The student life cycle model represents an integrated and effective way of examining and addressing disadvantage in the Australian higher education sector. Research focussed on the student life cycle considers student experiences prior to entering university, upon entering university, while persisting at university, and after university. At each stage of the trajectory, factors have been identified that influence student preparation, choice, success, wellbeing, and outcomes (Bennett et al., 2015; Naylor et al., 2013).

The Critical Interventions Framework effectively categorises and defines four domains of the student life cycle: pre-access, access, participation, and attainment/transition out (Bennett et al., 2015; Naylor et al., 2013). Pre-access covers prior learning, aspirations, and outreach activities that aim to increase awareness of higher education options. Access encompasses pathway programmes and admission processes and includes enabling courses (e.g., university preparation courses). Participation covers student transition, engagement, and progress. Finally, the attainment and transition out stage focuses on career support and employability.

An emerging number of studies have used the student life cycle model to consider how best to support a range of student groups, including students from low socio-economic backgrounds (Tomaszewski et al., 2022), students with parenting responsibilities (Andrewartha et al., 2023), and individuals studying during the COVID-19 pandemic (O’Shea et al., 2021). In this article, the student life cycle provides a coherent and logical structure for understanding the pathways and experiences of veterans leaving the military and entering university.

Method

Between 2020 and 2023, fourteen life history interviews were conducted with Australian student veterans. Life history interviews use narrative inquiry to facilitate the generation of a ‘spontaneous autobiographical narration which is not structured by questions posed by the interviewer, but by the narrator’s structures of relevance’ (Apitzsch & Siouti, 2007, p. 9). This approach was chosen as a method to disrupt the divide between the researcher and the researched and generate deep contextual knowledge of journeys through military service and higher education.

Ethics approval for this research was granted by the Departments of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs Human Research Ethics Committee (139-19) and the Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee at Flinders University (8363). Informed consent was obtained prior to participation. Recruitment for the interviews primarily occurred via advertisements on social media and via university communication channels. All participants had transitioned out of the ADF and were currently studying at one Australian public university.

Participants were eligible to participate if they had served in the ADF and were using higher education as a transition pathway. Importantly, the research team included a principal investigator (BW) who had lived experience serving in, and transitioning out of, the military. This lived experience was essential for understanding the specifics of military culture, language, and structures.

Interviews lasted between 60 to 90 minutes and were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Interview content was de-identified and analysed thematically. Names were replaced with pseudonyms. Two coders independently analysed the interview transcripts using a manual process. One of the coders had a military background and one did not, which brought a level of balance and objectivity to the data interpretation process. The analysis was deductive in nature and guided by the student life cycle framework. This approach resulted in a joint understanding of the main themes.

Findings

Participant characteristics

Fourteen student veterans were interviewed, including seven who identified as men, five who identified as women, and two where gender was not explicitly identified. The majority of participants were aged in their twenties and thirties (n = 11), and many had discharged from the ADF between 2014 and 2019 (n = 8). The average length of military service was 8 years. One participant had served in the Navy, one in the Air Force, and all others had served in the Army. One interviewee was a commissioned officer who held the rank of Major. All of the other interviewees had discharged as non-commissioned officers, referred to as other ranks.

Through analysis of the life history interviews, a heuristic model was created to illustrate the integrated military life cycle and student life cycle (see Figure 1). This approach was adopted because it complemented the life course, social determinants approach of the research.

Figure 1. Heuristic model of the integrated military life cycle (dashed line) and student life cycle (dotted line).

Pre-access: ‘no, diggers don’t go to uni’

Veterans faced distinct challenges at the pre-access stage of the student life cycle, which spanned the time before enlisting in the military, while serving, and during the transition out of service.

Prior to military service

Participants had varied levels of educational attainment prior to enlisting. Approximately half of the interview participants had completed Year 12, which is the final year of secondary school in Australia, while the other half left school early at around Year 10. It was common for participants to report that they had not enjoyed secondary school, had not been confident in their ability to study, and had not been academically motivated during their school years. Several participants recalled not focussing on their studies because they had already made the decision to join the military.

I always look back on how poorly I did at school and thought there’s no way that I’d be able to do university. (Harry)

Most participants did not view higher education as a preferred pathway after secondary school. Often, there was no experience of university within families and this option had not been encouraged by those around them. Only three participants commenced university study before enlisting, all of whom were women. Alison discontinued her initial degree before enlisting, Leah completed her nursing degree prior to enlisting, and Erica continued to study for her psychology degree while serving.

Reasons for enlisting in the ADF included seeking adventure and following the example of family members who had served. Rachel was unique in that she explicitly stated that she joined the Army because it would pay for her to study for a Diploma of Nursing through TAFE.

Serving in the military

Participants described a specific teaching style in the military, which was different to the approach they later encountered in higher education. The military teaching style was characterised as punitive, black and white, and focussed on the learning needs of the team rather than the individual. In a pedagogical sense, military training was transmissional, where learners primarily received knowledge from teachers or instructors. Teaching frequently entailed a one-way flow of information in which students were passive absorbers of knowledge and the teacher was authoritative:

The military has its way of teaching and it’s a very different way of teaching. That’s a very, very old school way of teaching … a punitive way of learning. (Oliver)

Participants described how new skills were taught one step at a time, and condensed ‘in a small little package’, and how extra support and ‘hand holding’ was given to team members who were struggling.

… it’s taught in such a way that it’s essentially foolproof really … they teach you everything step by step … it’s very hard to get left behind in the military training sense. You do all work together as a team and if there’s one person that’s falling short then that gets picked up on very quickly. (Harry)

The interview participants experienced a shift in curriculum and pedagogy from heavily transmission based approaches to university adult learning pedagogies.

While there were opportunities to study at higher education level while serving, participants perceived different levels of access between the officer and non-officer ranks. Further, approval to study often depended on the support of senior individuals. Erica was unique in that she was the only participant to have studied a university degree while in the military, however she did not feel supported in this pursuit.

Erica described a ‘catch 22’ situation, where she had to ‘take a financial hit’ to study. She was required to take leave without pay to study, but this automatically left her ineligible for the Defence Assisted Study Scheme (DASS), which would have given her the financial support she needed to study.

Participants also reported that completion of tertiary education while serving was not encouraged as it opened up career opportunities outside of service and put the ADF’s retention rates at risk. While Rachel studied at TAFE and achieved a Diploma of Nursing and a Diploma of Paramedicine through the military, she felt that these achievements were discouraged.

They’re against it because they think that if you have qualifications, the Defence won’t have retention, because you have a job to go to. (Rachel)

Leaving the military

Eight participants had medically discharged due to physical and psychological injuries, three had discharged voluntarily because the military no longer met their career needs, while three individuals did not specify their type of discharge. Common to all accounts was the lack of focus on higher education as a pathway out of the military. The transition seminars provided by Defence did not meet the needs of those considering higher education.

They ran a transitions seminar which was a two-day course. That was just information on this is how to organise your Medicare card, this is how to organise insurance, basically how to do basic life skills. In terms of job hunting, and things like that, nothing really. (Harry)

Five participants made specific reference to the Career Transition Assistance Scheme (CTAS) provided by the Department of Defence (Mark, Rachel, Oliver, Drew, Ken). Prior to 2020, the CTAS provided some capacity to fund study, but had a focus on short courses as preparation for re-entry into the work force. Both Mark and Ken, for example, spoke of being encouraged to obtain a forklift licence. Access to CTAS was variable and dependent on individual agency and the attitude of senior officers. Participants described receiving little information about the scheme and having difficulties obtaining approval for study at higher education level. After initial rejections and much negotiation, four of the five participants eventually received approval to use CTAS to support university study as part of the transition process.

I said, ‘this is what I want to do, for this reason, and this is my path’, and they said ‘no’… It was super tricky, but I got it in the end … they didn’t see engineering as a thing within my capability. (Mark)

Despite being eligible, one participant described not knowing how to use CTAS towards higher education.

I was entitled to CTAS, but didn’t really understand it or know how to use it … If I could have used my CTAS towards uni, that would have been the most helpful thing that I could have had in my transition process. (Rachel)

It should be noted that, in 2020, CTAS was replaced with the Defence Force Transition Program (DFTP). This program is depicted as broader and more versatile yet remains centred on securing employment after discharge rather than gaining higher education qualifications (Department of Defence, 2022).

Participants offered specific suggestions for improving Defence’s transition support. These suggestions included designing a structured educational pathway that outlines the specific steps required to enter higher education, provides access to dedicated peer mentors who are knowledgeable about study options and entitlements, especially university preparation programmes and study leave, as well as organises a specific area for personnel who are likely to discharge and/or have medical issues that is separate from unit structures and commanders.

You could complete MAPP [Military Academic Pathway Program at Flinders University] in this time, with this amount of study leave, at which point you can do x, y, and z. Just informing people about those things … a structured pathway would be fantastic. (Oliver)

It was also specifically suggested that universities deliver more outreach programmes and activities on military bases to increase awareness of higher education as a viable pathway.

After leaving the ADF, several participants were in receipt of permanent or temporary incapacity payments from DVA for their service-related injuries. DVA can also provide financial support for higher education for veterans who have service-related injuries and who are assessed as suitable to undertake higher education as part of a vocational rehabilitation plan. Participants described the DVA’s complex system of assessments and approvals, however, and the emphasis on the job market and ensuring study choices lead to clear employment outcomes. Several participants described how higher education was not adequately supported within the DVA system and instead was discouraged and devalued.

They’re like ‘No, diggers don’t go to uni, you’re the only one … we’re not offering support in any way’ … They seem very political, very convoluted. (Mark)

Only two participants, Oliver, and Alison, described successfully receiving support from DVA for higher education studies under a vocational rehabilitation plan.

After discharge from the military

It was common for participants to struggle with the transition out of the military, particularly when dealing with trauma and managing rehabilitation processes. Those who had not entered university directly after leaving the military had trouble envisioning a future – they described ‘aimlessly wandering’, feeling ‘broken’, and needing to ‘fill a void’. Participants felt the need to replace the strong sense of purpose they previously had in the military.

When I was in the Army for 26 years I was doing some really, really important stuff. It was giving me a lot of purpose … So until I get some type of high level purpose it’s not going to work. (Ken)

Higher education restored a sense of purpose, provided a clear goal to work towards, and offered a welcome distraction from difficulties.

I think university instilled curiosity back into me and made me want to just keep learning more. I think that was a really healthy distraction … it gave me an outlet where I can actually focus and channel my energy. (Jack)

Partners and families played an important role in boosting confidence and drive to pursue academic study, particularly among the participants who had no previous exposure to higher education.

Access: ‘as long as I commit to it, I can do it’

University preparation courses

Only four participants had completed a university preparation course immediately prior to entering higher education. Specifically, two participants completed a general bridging/foundation course (Mark and Oliver) and two completed the Military Academic Pathway Program (MAPP) course (Harry and Drew). All four of these participants had displayed high levels of individual agency by taking control of their own discharges and developing their own pathway into higher education. Mark explained:

I could feel my back injury’s going to stop me from being a soldier, so I started designing an exit strategy and I thought I would go into engineering … Then when I got locked up in the guard room, I’d just bring in all my bridging course work and start doing it there … and then I just planned it out logically.

The MAPP at Flinders University had evidently played a major role in building confidence for higher education study, clarifying academic expectations, and building familiarity with the university setting. The MAPP, which was first piloted in 2019, prepares military veterans for university while simultaneously providing an entry pathway to a range of undergraduate degrees.

So up until the [MAPP] course I thought that I can’t do uni because I couldn’t do school … Then by doing the course I was like, actually my mind had changed, my mental attitude had change, my learning ability had changed. You know, this is something that, as long as I commit to it, I can do. Yeah, it definitely gave me insight into how uni is different from school as well. (Harry)

Participation: ‘It’s been an adjustment’

Adjusting to academic culture

Participants described the challenges in adjusting to a university culture of teaching and learning that contrasted to military education. There was a shift from team learning to individualised learning, and from an authoritarian approach to an autonomous approach. Student veterans described the challenges of a learning environment which appeared undisciplined and disrespectful compared to the military. Student veterans consistently met deadlines for assignments, showed up early for lectures, and were quiet and respectful in class. It was frustrating to see their non-veteran peers ‘talking in lectures and being on their phones’, ‘throwing stuff across the classroom’, and acting as if ‘uni was like a zoo’. Harry explained:

People were rocking up late for lectures or acting up before the lecture’s done … if you’d done that in the Army they’d have ripped your arms off. [laughs]

The veterans initially had trouble forging meaningful connections with other students:

I just didn’t really connect with anyone, didn’t feel like I had anything in common, and just felt very different. (Rachel)

Some participants described how they had to adjust their ways of thinking and behaving, with specific examples including toning down overtly masculine behaviour and being careful to avoid swearing. Ken reflected:

Being in a very alpha male environment, we behave in certain ways. It’s just how I do business. I do that in the classroom now and I’ve got people looking at me funny.

University was perceived as having a predominantly left-leaning political culture and comprising idealistic students who often lacked life experience. Some participants initially struggled when working with students who did not share their values. For example, two participants found that their views about refugees had caused disagreements with their non-veteran peers (Mark and Will). Will explained:

I had many arguments about refugees … I now don’t bring up polarising topics. A lot of social work is left leaning. A lot of students and staff seemed to me to be naïve to the world.

Identifying as a veteran

Generally, participants did not actively promote their veteran status but broached the topic cautiously with both students and academic staff. This hesitancy was due to the lack of understanding of military life among the university community and the potential to be stigmatised and stereotyped:

I’m definitely very proud of who I am and what I’ve done but I don’t advertise it … It’s a very unique experience and I think people can empathise and sympathise, if you want to call it that, but no one can understand. (Jack)

Veterans commented that they did not want to be treated differently to other students, although they did want their military background to be better understood and respected:

We’ve got different needs especially to the 19 year old kid that’s sitting next to me … We want the same opportunities, but more understanding and more empathy is needed. (Nina)

Support on campus

Student veterans who entered university prior to 2019 had experienced a lack of veteran-specific support on campus. In addition, many participants started their degrees with little awareness of the mainstream support services available to them. Nina noted the evolution of veteran support at university:

There’s a lot more [support] out there now with MAPP being advertised a lot more, but when I started in 2015 it wasn’t spoken about…So, it was really hard not knowing what was available, but then when I found out about the health services and the counselling that made life a lot easier.

Nina described the pivotal role that specific individuals had played in helping her navigate university support systems:

My honours could have been derailed very easily, but I had a great supervisor, and I was his first veteran … He knows the policies and procedures at Flinders and just knew how I could use them …

The importance of peer support in helping students feel connected and easing the transition to university life was often emphasised:

Luckily, I actually, I made a really good friend, and she’s a Reservist … and that helped me significantly to transition to uni life. (Rachel)

Some participants described how having a chapter of the Australian Student Veterans Association on campus provided vital peer support:

… it gives us a decompression zone away from that … where they can whinge and vent it a bit without being completely misunderstood. (Mark)

Recommendations for improving support on campus included providing education for academic staff about the strengths and needs of student veterans and introducing more veteran scholarships programmes.

Attainment: ‘something I want to do is help people’

Strengths and achievements

Student veterans were able to recognise that the strengths and skills they had developed in the military subsequently helped them perform well at university. Specific assets included time management, discipline, confidence, respect, and adaptability.

[Military personnel] are disciplined, they’re articulate, they’re confident. They know about time management. They know about responsibility … We’re able to meet deadlines. We get the job done nine times out of ten. (Will)

The student veteran narratives provided evidence of attainment and success in higher education. Notably, one participant had obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology and criminology and progressed to honours level (Erica). Another participant had attained two bachelor’s degrees, progressed to honours level, and was currently studying for a PhD (Nina). A third participant had achieved a bachelor’s degree in commerce, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), and was currently studying another degree at master’s level (Jack).

Career aspirations

Generally, participants had career aspirations that reflected the skill sets and interests they had developed in the military and a desire to ‘make a difference’:

I want to almost start my own business in sustainable housing … I feel like it delves back into my experience in Defence of seeing the Afghanis build their houses. (Mark)

One clear trend was the desire to enter one of the ‘helping’ professions, such as psychology, social work, paramedicine, and physiotherapy:

I thought that’s something I want to do is help people and I thought it was something I’d be good at. I started studying psych with a major in disability as well. (Oliver)

For some participants, the desire to help others directly stemmed from personal experiences with service-related mental and physical health issues:

I started to see from my own experience and a couple of my friends, a lot of mental health issues and whatnot … I lost a couple of friends to suicide … Essentially where I want to head with my social work degree, and I’ve asked, for my placement, to be placed at DVA or something like that. (Will)

Motivations to produce change within Defence were common. For many, their career choices reflected the desire to achieve something positive from their negative experiences.

I want to make Defence better. I’m not done. I’m done with Army. I’m done with being in the uniform. But I’m not done with the purpose that I joined, which is to protect people, but also help those that have had something really bad happen to them… I’m going to go back to university and I’m going to find a way back to this organisation. (Alison)

Discussion

By analysing narratives through the lens of the student life cycle, we were able to systematically consider the factors important to the success of student veterans in higher education. While every student veteran had their own journey, there were notable commonalities in their experiences of studying at university after serving in the ADF. On the whole, the findings suggest the need to expand support for student veterans in Australia and strengthen the links between the Defence sector and the higher education sector to improve the post-military lives of veterans. We recommend a multi-pronged approach to supporting student veterans that covers the four factors outlined in Schlossberg’s transition model. As Carpenter and Silberman (2020) explained, it is important to ensure student veterans know that they belong in higher education (situation), are valued (self), are safe (support), and can thrive (strategies).

Pre-access

A large proportion of the sample had medically discharged from the ADF due to physical and/or psychological injuries and were motivated to pursue higher education to regain a sense of purpose and pursue a new career. Most participants had no prior experience of higher education and were unfamiliar with study options and university processes. Participants recalled how higher education study had not been encouraged or financially supported while they were actively serving in, or transitioning out of, the military. Instead, the educational focus was on short-term courses leading directly to employment. Studying higher education through programmes such as the Defence Assisted Study Scheme (DASS) or Career Transition Assistance Scheme (CTAS) was hampered by a lack of information and bureaucratic hurdles.

To counter these challenges, student veterans recommended that Defence provide veterans with a structured educational pathway, where the specific steps involved in entering higher education are outlined and detailed information is given about the range of study options and entitlements available. More specifically, veterans would benefit from increased financial support for higher education. Lessons could be taken from the United States, where there is a range of financial support available for student veterans through the GI Bill (United States Department of Veterans’ Affairs, 2017). To encourage enrolment, and ease the financial stress associated with studying, universities could consider veteran-specific scholarships, tuition fee waivers, and cost-of-living bursaries.

Working with the Defence sector, universities could also deliver more outreach activities on local military bases to increase awareness of higher education as an option. Outreach events could also be used to introduce veterans to university staff who can provide practical assistance with university admission processes, including recognition of prior learning. In the United States, for example, a non-profit organisation called Service 2 School connects veterans and service members with ambassadors who assist with college applications. The organisation also runs the VetLink programme which provides direct connections to college admissions teams at 30 partner colleges and universities who have committed to expand access for student veterans (Service 2 School, 2023).

Access

Most participants entered higher education after an extended gap in engagement with the education sector. Despite this trend, few participants had completed a university preparation programme. Only two participants had completed a generic university preparation course, and two participants had completed the MAPP, which is the veteran-specific university preparation programme at Flinders University. The MAPP was particularly helpful in improving confidence and increasing familiarity with university expectations and requirements. During this four-week intensive programme, students learn academic skills, are informed about relevant support services, and are linked with a student veteran peer mentor who was already attending the university. Furthermore, students who continue onto an undergraduate degree can apply to have their professional military qualifications recognised as course credit (Flinders University, 2023).

Given most veterans experienced difficulties adjusting to university life, there is clear justification to expand veteran-specific preparation programmes such as the MAPP. The capacity to scale-up such programmes is evident in the United States, where one notable preparation programme is the Warrior-Scholar Project. This programme has partnerships with 17 universities and has delivered academic boot camps to more than 2000 student veterans. As part of this programme, the student veterans live in campus dorms for one-to-two weeks, interact with successful student veterans, and are taught by academic staff (Warrior-Scholar Project, 2023).

Participation

While studying at university, student veterans often experienced difficulties adjusting to academic culture, felt disconnected from student peers, and were initially reluctant to disclose their veteran status. These findings suggest that increased peer support is needed to foster connection, belonging, and camaraderie and help veterans feel safe and supported when discussing their military pasts. In the United States, the Student Veterans of America (SVA) offers peer support, research, and advocacy for student veterans across almost 1600 campuses (Student Veterans of America SVA, 2023). Similar programmes in Australia, such as Australian Student Veterans Association (ASVA), could benefit from further support and expansion.

One well-established peer support programme in the United States is the Peer Advisors for Veteran Education program (PAVE), which offers a successful model that could be adopted in Australia. The programme, which operates across 46 campuses, matches incoming student veterans with student veterans who are trained peer advisors. Since the programme’s inception, over 2000 peer advisors have been trained through PAVE. The programme incorporates a dedicated online management platform, and is structured around team leaders, veteran service coordinators, and university champions (University of Michigan, 2023).

Participants encountered a lack of understanding of military experiences among the university community, as well as a lack of awareness of relevant campus support services. To increase understanding and awareness, best practice from the United States recommends establishing a professional development programme for academic and professional staff (Dillard & Yu, 2016, 2018). This training could cover topics such as military culture and teaching techniques, deployments, mental and physical health risks, and relevant campus resources and could be delivered in collaboration with community veteran organisations. Colleges and universities in the United States have successfully introduced such training, as part of the Green Zone Program, with minimal resource expenditure (Dillard & Yu, 2018). An important component of this programme is the development of a highly visible network of trained staff to whom student veterans can go for assistance. The 8 Keys to Veterans’ Success Program also recommends professional development and has the support of more than 2000 colleges and universities across the United States (United States Department of Education, 2013).

Attainment

Shaped by their military experience, student veterans proved to be disciplined, respectful, adaptable, and successful students. Participants displayed altruistic drives towards careers where they could improve the lives of others, including the lives of fellow veterans, in a practical and meaningful way. Several veterans expressed a specific desire to work with the Department of Defence and Department of Veterans’ Affairs to assist other veterans. This finding highlights an opportunity for the Defence sector and higher education sector to work together to match student veterans to jobs that match their interests and skill sets. Potential joint initiatives could include career expos, work-integrated learning activities, and professional mentoring programmes. Lessons could be taken from the Australian Defence Force Academy, which is a partnership between the ADF and the University of New South Wales where military training is combined with university study (Commonwealth of Australia, 2024; Smith, 1974).

Conclusion

In this article, we analysed a collection of powerful stories from veterans using the student life cycle model and generated clear implications for policy and practice. Veterans proved to be capable students despite contending with structural challenges, disjointed systems, and inadequate support. We found an evident need to strengthen the pathway between military service and higher education and boost the profile of student veterans in Australia.

There were several limitations to the present study. The sample was small (n = 14) and drawn from one public university, which limits generalisability. Further, most were currently studying at bachelor’s degree level, and thus in the same stage of the student life cycle. However, the sample predominantly comprised non-commissioned officers, which provided a valuable insight because higher education has historically been a privilege exclusive to the officer class. Finally, given that just over half of our sample had medically discharged, our findings might be particularly relevant to this subgroup of student veterans as opposed to those who had discharged voluntarily.

Future research could adopt a longitudinal approach to track changes over the full student life cycle. Student veterans could be followed from the early stages of considering university as a pathway, through their degrees and graduation, and into their post-university lives. Future studies could also use a larger and more representative sample to examine the impact of variables such as gender, age, socio-economic status, cultural background, disability status, relationship status, degree level, (former) military rank, and (former) military branch. As noted by Morris et al. (2023), disability status might be a particularly relevant variable given some service-related injuries have been found to be interfere with learning, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Finally, the scope of future research could be broadened to include the families of veterans, since research has highlighted the vital role that families play in the choices and wellbeing of veterans (Waddell et al., 2023). More research and support is critical to guide veterans into higher education and into rewarding post-military lives and careers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This article is based on selected findings from a project funded by the Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs.