From Service Member to Student: Can Associations Between Failure to Attend and Retention Help Identify at Risk Student Veterans?

Abstract

Student veterans are a unique population on college/university campuses who may face numerous obstacles associated with transitioning from service member to student. One of the most daunting challenges these student veterans face occurs when they earn a grade for Failure for Nonattendance (FA). The GI Bill ®/Post 9/11 benefits that student veterans receive is closely associated with their attendance and completion of classes each semester. Student veterans who stop attending class during a given term are required to pay back the funds associated with the class(es) they were enrolled in during a semester. This funding also includes the housing allowance that is part of the benefits package that some student veterans receive. This added financial burden that many student veterans then face, retention becomes a question for many colleges and universities. The purpose of this study aimed to determine if there was a link between student veteran retention and frequency of earning a grade of FA during the 2015-2016 to 2018-2020 cohorts. While using retrospective data provided by a regional university in Tennessee, chi-square analyses were performed to analyze, age, race, and frequency of earning a grade of Failure for Nonattendance (FA) variables to determine if there was an impact on student retention. Although the results of the Cramer’s V test indicated a moderate association with only one test performed, conclusion could be drawn that would help to identify student veterans potentially at risk of not being retained. Future research involving an expansion of independent variables such as sex, number of hours enrolled, additional age categories, and adding more qualitative data using a mixed method approach are recommended to better understand factors that may impact students not being retained. Additionally, further research based on student veterans and the challenges they face during their transition from service member to student should be continued so that stakeholders involved in higher education can better understand and support them in their academic journey including retention and eventual completion.