Work in progress — Connecting veterans to customized engineering education at the University of San Diego

In 2008, the Post-9/11 GI Bill was passed to improve the educational opportunities available for military veterans. Along with increased financial support, the Yellow Ribbon Program was created to make it easier for veterans to afford private colleges and universities. At the same time, the National Science Foundation and other agencies are recognizing a critical shortage of engineers. This paper describes the measures being taken at USD to provide customized undergraduate engineering education opportunities for Post-9/11 veterans. The immediate goals of the project are 1) to develop strategies for recruiting veterans into engineering fields, 2) to determine how military experiences and education can be recognized by the university, 3) to identify the unique support services needed to best assure veteran student success, and 4) to identify internship and summer research experiences that can provide additional financial support to the students. The scope of the project requires collaboration from across campus including academic faculty and staff and supporting administrative areas ranging from the Registrar, to Counseling, to Housing. The results of this project will help other universities attract veterans as new students, and graduate them as engineers.