Abstract A case study was conducted at a private institution of higher education to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that support student veterans, a nontraditional student demographic in a private institution of higher education. The article explains the interplay and relationship between what nontraditional students bring to the academic experience, the role of educators, and factors contributing to or detracting from their success in higher education. Analysis of key issues related to combat student veterans in higher education revealed common themes and contextual information from which the lessons learned were developed. The results of the study indicate that the quality of support services, caliber and characteristics of faculty and staff, and distinctive personal factors of student veterans were most supportive of their success in higher education. This study also yielded data indicating a need for a veteran-specific orientation session or course, and for targeted training for staff and faculty at institutions of higher education.
Fazzina et al. (Wed,) studied this question.