UNCP offers benefits to veteran students
By Christopher Kimball
Staff Writer
UNCP is pursuing an effort to establish a Veterans Education and Transition Office on campus to more efficiently address the growing veteran population on campus, according to Aubrey Swett, veterans' campus coordinator.
"We began an initiative to work with veterans in 2009," Swett said. "The school recognized there were changes how veterans received benefits in 2009, and how it made achieving a higher education more affordable and attractive."
As of June 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website, the Post-9/11 GI Bill will pay veterans' tuition cost, a basic allowance for housing and a $1,000 stipend annually for books. The benefits can also be transferred to veterans' dependents.
Currently, veterans can receive assistance with registering for classes, counseling, financial aid and military disability services through the Veterans' Assistance Team, VETA, located in Lumbee Hall Suite 242.
"VETA is a service created to assist veterans to achieve their education but also recognizes that there is a transition from military life and life on a college campus," Swett said. "Some of the challenges veterans may have are adjusting from the rigid structure of the military to a liberal arts environment which is more open and accepting."
He said VETA holds two sessions annually to communicate with veterans on campus.
One session is during welcome week where VETA can introduce themselves to incoming veterans. The other session, a Veterans Benefits Forum held in January, allows veterans to meet with VETA and other departments on campus to include financial and student counseling.
There is currently a Student Veterans Association chapter on campus, although the chapter is going through a transition period. Many of the chapter's officers either graduated or have been stationed overseas. The current president of the chapter is Rebecca Howell.
For the past two years, UNCP has held a veterans' appreciation dinner Nov. 10 in coordination with Pembroke Pointe apartments, Swett said. He hopes that the school can continue to hold the dinner annually.
UNCP currently has over 300 veterans registered receiving benefits attending this semester. Typically the veteran population in the UNC system is 2 percent of the total student population, but at UNCP veterans are double that number at a little over 4 percent.
People who need information about veteran services on campus can refer to the UNCP website or call the Veteran Campus Representative, Lee Townsend, at 910-775-4438.
