by Elijah Morlett
Veterans who have been out of school for several years can gain the needed help to continue their education. Veteran’s Upward Bound, a U.S. Department of Education TRIO program, aims to help prior service members move forward with post-military careers.
Forty-seven locations nationwide offer the program and East Central University operates Cameron University’s program. Although the program is from ECU, local veterans are able to request needed help to enroll in Cameron, Platt College, another online school or at the Great Plains Technology Center.
Susan Pease, the VUB Academic Counselor assigned to the Cameron office, said that the program gives veterans a good start on pursing higher education.
“We brief the veterans coming out of the military on post to help them get a start,” Pease said. “We start their education process by doing skill assessments, helping them apply for school and setting up their placement tests.”
VUB helps veterans in the program by utilizing an online remedial tutoring program, assisting with finding financial aid and walking through enrollment procedures, among other methods.
According to Pease, the remedial program offers aid in subjects such as math, reading, science, writing and computer skills.
“Our overall goal is to use our remedial program to ensure that they will not have to take remedial classes,” Pease said. “This way they aren’t using their benefits for classes that do not count for their degree.”
If other documentation is necessary, such as getting high school or college transcripts, the program can help the veterans get the items so they can proceed with enrollment.
The program, in conjunction with the other Veterans Affairs offices on campus, helps veterans begin using the earned education benefits, such as the Post 9-11 and Montgomery GI Bills.
VUB also has a computer lab on campus for veterans use. The lab provides student access to the Internet and to a printer for the tutoring program and other personal education needs.
Pease said that the VUB office would try to help as many veterans as possible, regardless what education benefits they choose to use.
“Any veteran that has any type of discharge other than dishonorable can use our resources,” Pease said. “If the veteran needs help, we will help find a resource.”
Pease said that help is available to veterans beyond that which the VUB program provides.
“Once the veterans finish our program, we will look at sending them to Student Support Services and see how we can assist them during college,” Pease said. “If any other counsel is needed, such as medically, we will try to redirect to the resources we have come across to try and get the veterans taken care of.”
The VUB office and computer lab are located on the third floor of South Shepler and are open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.