Veterans' Transitions to Community College: A Case Study

Veterans on college campuses are not new; however, the recent influx of veterans returning home from war-time service present challenges to the colleges they attend. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the transition process experienced by veterans leaving military service and attending community college for the first time. This study sought to understand the process veterans experience as they leave overseas deployment in support of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and negotiate the various changes such a transition entails. Using Schlossberg's (1984) Theory of Adult Transitions as the guiding framework, three themes emerged regarding how veterans manage this transition: academic experiences, personal relationships and connections, and benefit bureaucracy. These findings could be used to help community colleges better serve this special population.