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Monday, Nov. 09, 2009

UK center assists veterans

The University of Kentucky is seeing its own "troop surge" among veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Veterans' enrollment is rising at UK and the University of Louisville so much so that they, like colleges across the country, have set up student centers just for veterans and dedicated resources to smoothing the way for incoming students.

Anthony Dotson, coordinator of UK's Veterans Resource Center, said his office was set up in January to handle the expected influx of veterans taking advantage of new federal benefits that took effect this fall.

"We've been pretty busy. I know we've talked to close to 250 individuals — either veterans or dependents of veterans — about coming to UK, transferring, asking about benefits," Dotson said. He estimates UK has 350 student veterans, with more at the adjacent Bluegrass Community & Technical College campus.

The University of Louisville has more than 755 veteran students, said Joe Dablow of the school's Office of Enrollment Management. He said the university is on track to have more than 1,000 by next fall.

Former Marine Nathan Noble said the services have been invaluable. Noble, a UK freshman studying social work, is president of the UK Military Veterans of America, a student organization with 172 members.

"The center gives student vets a common place to come and be in your comfort zone," said Noble, a Woodford County native who served from September 2002 to December 2006. "When a student veteran comes in the resource center, you don't have to explain a lot of things. You don't have to talk about what it's like to be in the Marines or the Army."

And, he said, other vets understand the challenge of re-entering the classroom.

"A lot of times, as a veteran, you're at least 22 to 23 years old," he said, "getting off active duty, you haven't been in school in years, and you have your reservations: How am I going to be able to keep up with it?"

The center has helped to get some fees waived, established rolling admissions and simplified transferring of military credits. Many vets like to start with smaller classes at BCTC, then transfer to UK, he said. That way, they get their feet under them and get back in the classroom groove.

"These veterans don't need to be taught about time management, responsibility, showing up to work on time," Noble said. "If you put a veteran in a class, he or she is going to do whatever it takes to pass or do well in that class."