TBR, the college system of Tennessee, provides training programs, guidelines, and a certification to help institutions within their system better support student veterans’ academic success. Our team is evaluating the original strategies presented by the Veterans Education Task Force to identify whether state policy actions have adequately addressed barriers to student veteran access and completion at TBR community colleges and colleges of applied technology. These efforts include an inventory filled out by representatives of each TBR institution, surveys of staff/faculty and students, and focus groups with students.

Veteran Reconnect Grant Researching Student Veteran Academic Success

This project evaluated three separate programs within the ENVSC’s “Welcome Home Initiative”: The Welcome Home Kit program, the Focus Grant program, and the Emergency Assistance Fund, as part of the ENVSC’s Better Business Bureau accreditation requirements. Each program is designed to assist veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The evaluation team conducted interviews with Elks members and community partners, a survey of Elks members, and a thorough review of existing data surrounding the program. Deliverables included both a full report and 10-page visual report detailing findings and recommendations for the initiative.

The Mission Continues provides veterans a way to continue their service within their communities through their service platoons, mass deployments, and leadership programs. The evaluation team reviewed and provided recommendations for the various surveys used by The Mission Continues to collect data throughout the year. Additionally, the team wrote a job description for a new evaluation position, including where this could sit within the existing organizational chart and tips for the hiring process.

The work of Travis Manion Foundation (TMF) is rooted in the belief that veterans and families of the fallen are among America’s greatest civic assets, and that the path toward bridging the civilian-military divide and uniting our communities begins by empowering our military community. TMF seeks to build a nation of strong, character-driven individuals whose service ensures that our families, communities, and country thrive. IVMF worked with TMF to study the effectiveness of TMF initiatives on improving the level of thriving and well-being among TMF members’, including veterans, families of the fallen, and civilians. Using a mix-methods approach, IVMF found that people who participated in more TMF programs experienced greater thriving and TMF members felt more connected to one another and their community which led to improvements in their mental and physical health, and ultimately greater well-being and thriving.

Impact of TMF Initiatives on Thriving and Well-Being

2021 Veteran Wellness Case Study

The Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs (WDVA) Vet Corps program is funded by AmeriCorps. Started in 2005, the program stations individuals, referred to as Vet Corps Members (VCMs), at colleges, universities, and community organizations throughout Washington. IVMF conducted two evaluations with WDVA from 2019 – 2023 and found the Vet Corps program had a positive impact on student veterans that seek assistance from Vet Corps Members (VCM), student veterans on campuses with Vet Corps Members, and on the Vet Corps Members themselves. We found higher GPAs for veterans on campuses with Vet Corps members, compared to student veterans without a VCM on campus. Additionally, we found higher graduation rates for student veterans that seek assistance from VCMs and student veterans on campuses with VCMs compared to student veterans without a VCM on campus. We also found lower dropout rates for student veterans that seek assistance from VCMs compared to student veterans without a VCM on campus. Additionally, VCMs strengthened their leadership skills, felt more employable, had a stronger sense of purpose, reported increased likeliness to engage in community service and had improved well-being.

The primary goal of the project with Warrior Scholar Project (WSP), which provides veteran-specific academic preparatory courses for individuals transitioning from the military to higher education, was to equip the organization with a foundation of evidence, theory, and data to support and improve its programs as well as to communicate its impact on WSP program alumni. After an initial discovery phase and requirements gathering, the project was divided into three distinct but converging workstreams: Evidence, consisting of a literature review and landscape analysis of similar programs; Theory, a reevaluation of program purpose, approach, and goals; and Data, the assessment of program surveys, current data analysis, and analysis of alumni survey data.

Examining the Evidence Base and Assessing Outcomes for Warrior-Scholar Project