1. Supporting Veterans’ Success
Developing a program to serve
Veterans'
reading/writing/math needs
Karen Lemke, Ed.S
Director of College Readiness Programs
Adams State University

2. We want higher education institutions
to serve our whole population.
– 10% of San Luis Valley Colorado residents are
Veterans (according to former Alamosa mayor
Kathy Rogers at Veteran Coalition meeting
7/15/14)
– Approx 53% of Alamosa residents are Hispanic
(according to http://www.city-
data.com/city/Alamosa-Colorado.html)

3. Being intentional about targeting
supports to student populations
• “Weak institutions are those that expect
students to engage themselves” (Harper &
Quaye, 2009, p 6).
• We must put intentional effort into programs
to support student success, especially for
underrepresented populations.

4. Veterans are an important and growing
population attending our colleges, especially in
Southern Colorado. I am a Veteran, and I am
honored to be helping returning service
members in their transition to higher education.

5. ASC’s Graduating Class May 2011

6. ASC’s Graduating Class May 2011, circles indicating
student who wouldn’t have graduated without
Developmental Coursework: 30.66%
88 of the 287 would not have
had the opportunity to graduate.

7. Profile of ASU students who require
remediation
Student Characteristic Percent
Hispanic 54%
Ethnic Minority 70.2%
First Generation 63.4%
Low Income (Pell Eligible) 74%
2011 ASU STAY Program Enrollees

8. Profile of ASU Graduates
Spring Graduation % non-White, Ethnic minority
2011 28%
2012 38%
2013 39%
2014 44%
Source: ASU Institutional Reporting, July 22, 2014

9. The profile of the students entering
our institution should look like the
profile of the students graduating from
our institutions. Adams State does
better than many institutions, but we
could do better.

10. Two Paradigm shifts in Developmental
Education
• Centralized Dev Ed programmingPrograms
customized to specific populations
• ExclusivityInclusivity

11. Delivery of Developmental Education
• One-size-fits-all model
• “Silver Bullet”
– Traditional 16 week,
tuition-funded, face-to-
face, classroom-based
course
– May take as many as 5
semesters
– 12, 15 or more FTE in
non-credit course
• Programs customized to
unique populations
• “Silver Buckshot”
– On-line
– Cohort-based learning
– Supplemental Academic
Instruction
– Boot camp
– College @ HS

12. Exclusivity Inclusivity
• Historically, Higher Ed has
prided itself on its claims
to its “exclusivity”
– Students with high test
scores
– Faculty from Ivy League
Schools
– # of Valedictorians
matriculated
– High stakes courses which
“weed out” the unworthy
• Today, we should instead
focus on INCLUSIVITY
– How can we support the
most students achieving
their academic and
professional goals?
– How do we create
supportive environments
which keep students IN
and ENGAGED?
(Hirt, 2006) (Harper & Quaye, 2009)

13. Discussion: Constructivist Listening
Dyad
• Take a few minutes to discuss these paradigm
shifts and their implications for your work with
students.
• Dyad rules:
– 2 minutes per speaker
– Listener honors the speaker by not speaking or
interjecting—just creating space for speech, silence
and reflection.
– Confidentiality is maintained.
– The talker does not complain about mutual colleagues
during their time.
Source: NSRF Harmony http://www.nsrfharmony.org/system/files/protocols/dyad_1.pdf

14. Report out
• What were some ideas which came to you
about these paradigm shifts?
• Comment on your own comments/insights—
your partners are free to keep their thoughts
to themselves or to share them if they wish.

15. The New Model
• Use Qualitative Research to discover traits of
target populations we wish to serve.
• Identify best practices to serve those
populations.
• Conduct focus groups with the target
population to confirm best interventions for
their success.
• Pilot/implement supports catered to their
unique traits/needs.

16. Proposed Veteran Program
• Work with Veteran Support Organizations and
research existing literature about traits of
Veteran students. Veteran traits include:
– ASSETS: Highly motivated, Goal-oriented,
organized, mission-focused, Leadership skills,
Work well in diverse teams, buddy oriented, see
‘the big picture’, have ethic of “No man left
behind”, may have already completed college
credits
– RISKS: Reluctant to self-identify or ask for help
Source from Colorado Veteran Higher Education Summit, August 1, 2014

17. Proposed Veteran program
(continued)
• Best practices for these traits:
– Peer-learning teams
– Entering class is a ‘unit’ with a ‘mission’; some students may
need additional supports with math or English, but are enrolled
together as a team in the same college-level coursework and
assigned a peer-buddy for academic support. Everyone finishes
the college-level course together.
– Offer accelerated online programming for motivated students to
work through before the beginning of the semester, while they
are still in their duty station.
– Peer tutoring is the expectation, not something one opts into
partway through the semester.
– Partner with Veterans Upward Bound at regional campuses
(Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver)

18. References
• Abbas, I. (2014, August 1). Personal Communication at Colorado Veteran
Higher Education Summit.
• Alamosa, Colorado, 81101. (2014, August 8). Retrieved from
http://www.city-data.com/city/Alamosa-Colorado.html
• Bryson, P. (2014, July 22). Personal Communication of ASU Institutional
Reporting Data.
• Harper, S. & Quaye, S. (2009). Student engagement in higher education:
Theoretical perspectives and practical approaches for diverse populations.
New York, NY: Routledge.
• Hirt, J. B. (2006). Where you work matters: Student affairs administration
at different types of institutions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• NSRF Harmony
http://www.nsrfharmony.org/system/files/protocols/dyad_1.pdf
• Rogers, K. (July 15, 2014). Personal Communication at Veteran Coalition
meeting in Alamosa, CO.