Serving Wounded Warriors: Current Practices in Postsecondary Education.

Abstract

From September to October 2009 the Association on Higher Education and Disabilities (AHEAD) invited anonymous voluntary responses from 2,500 members and affiliates to complete a 29-question online survey on current practices in postsecondary education for serving veterans with disabilities (wounded warriors). Two hundred and thirty seven complete surveys were received. Survey results provide the numbers and types of disabilities served and type of accommodations provided to wounded warriors. Respondents indicated that identifying an institution point person to assist with the reintegration of veterans from military to classroom was a priority for improving services. Vance, Miller; Wounded Warriors 19 with wounded warriors. The letter acknowledged that institutions have been working on changes that while originally intended for students with disabilities, have improved the college experience for all students. This was a positive observation, given that unlike traditional students with a history of disabilities entering colleges, wounded warriors do not necessarily have a similar history of receiving disability-based accommodations in high school. Therefore, the traditional forms of providing accommodation may not be as effective with today’s veteran population since most colleges and universities have not had a great deal of experience in accommodating students with the types of disabilities common among wounded warriors. The OCR expressed their commitment that under their new Wounded Warriors Initiative they would work “... with institutions and service providers wanting to know how best to support students with disabilities and encourage institutions to adopt innovative approaches to serve this important population” (OCR, 2008). Per the July 25, 2008 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, cost and convenience help determine which institutions veterans will eventually attend. The article noted that a growing number of veterans are choosing to attend for-profi t institutions based on the conveniences they provide, or community colleges for their affordability, and further noted that veterans tend to prefer community colleges located near military bases as they are apt to be more helpful about assisting veterans with accessing fi nancial, academic, and disability accommodations. In addition, the article identifi ed institutions providing “veteranoriented” services having higher credibility among the veterans by profi ling UC Berkeley as one of the campuses providing special orientation programs and priority enrollment for all veterans, a service normally associated for athletes or students with documented disabilities (Field, 2008). Who Are Wounded Warriors? For the purpose of this study, the term “wounded warriors” refers specifi cally to students enrolled at postsecondary institutions that served active duty in the Middle East wars, specifi cally Iraq, Afghanistan, or Kuwait (Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Desert Storm). These are veterans who may or may not have self-identifi ed some form of disability and or need for disability accommodation (whether or not offi cially recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs as being a servicerelated disability). The term wounded warrior has strong military and government connections. In 2004, the U.S. Marines had a wounded warrior barracks at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and in 2007 offi cially established a Wounded Warrior Regiment (WWR, 2008). In November of 2005, the U.S. Army changed the name of its’ Disabled Soldier Support System (DS3) to the Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2), (Army Reserve Family Program, 2008). The offi cial web site of the U.S. Air Force profi les Air Force Wounded Warrior (AFW2) initiatives (AFW2, 2008). In 2007, the Dignifi ed Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act was incorporated into the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (2008 NDAA) and signed into law on January 28, 2008. Section 16 of the 2008 NDAA (FIR 1538-110th Congress, 2007) directs the Secretaries of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Defense to jointly develop and implement a comprehensive policy on the care and management of members of the Armed Forces who are undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, are in medical hold or holdover status, or are otherwise on the temporary disability retired list for a serious injury or illness. Moreover, in the 2008 State of the Union Address, President Bush employed the term, stating: We must keep faith with all who have risked life and limb so that we might live in freedom and peace....we must reform our veterans system to meet the needs of a new war and a new generation....so we can improve the system of care for our wounded warriors and help them build lives of hope and promise and dignity (p. 1). Disability Service Role in Serving Wounded Warriors Given the multiple challenges that wounded warriors could present, the question of how disability professionals could help make a campus more accommodating to the veteran arises. It also raises the greater question as to whether disability professionals ought to do anything more than wait for the wounded warriors to self-identify their needs. Traditionally, the standard practice at institutions put responsibility for self-identifying disabilities on the students. To date, there are no published works related to the extent postsecondary education disability professionals’ levels of involvement should be with wounded warriors. At minimum, in order to assist with the development of a holistic Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, Vol. 22, No. 1; 2009 20 and coordinated approach toward serving the wounded warriors, disability offi ces need to be involved in the institutions’ discussions related to veterans (DiRamio, Ackerman, & Mitchell, 2008). Therefore, the intent of this study was to learn what role Disability Service Offi ces (DSO) in postsecondary education played in the provision of services to wounded warriors. Additionally, we sought to determine what existing campus services and accommodations wounded warriors received. The results of this study provide increased understanding of current practices regarding wounded warriors at the postsecondary level.

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