RESULTS: How important are veteran services at UHCL?

Each week The Signal will pose a question related to one of the current issue’s articles. Answer the question via the Google Form link in our emailed newsletter and see the full results the following week.

The question of the week for issue #5 of the fall 2018 semester asks, “How important are veteran services ?”

*NOTE: Some responders chose to be anonymous by only stating which group within the UHCL community they belong to.

QUESTION: How important are veteran services at UHCL?

Scale: 1 is Not Important and 5 is Very Important

92.3 percent said 5

7.7 percent said 3

Veteran services is crucial to helping the veteran student body in dealing with VA and helping with tuttion. Without this vital service, the veteran population would decrease.

– Lisa, biolocial science major and clinical laboratory sciences graduate student

As the wife of a 100 percent disabled veteran, I experienced first-hand the struggles that vets and their families go through. The VA does not want to give the veteran his or her just due, and that is wrong. We served, we’ve earned it: they (the VA) owe us!

– D. Pinkney, criminology major

The staff makes sure all my paperwork is sent in a timly manner, they answer any questions I might have thoughput the semester, and they are always friendly. It’s a great place for us Veterans to hang out with great comradery, talk about past military stories, and help each other transition to civilian life.

– John Jaramillo, interdisciplinary studies major with core subjects EC-6 with ESL supplemental certification

As a veteran, it is important to have resources that understand some of the difficulties you have that will be different than a non-veteran student. Some of us deal with mental health issues and talking with another vet helps deal with the struggles because we can commiserate.

– Xavier Arroyo, computer science major

They keep veterans in school and enable them to utilize the benefits they served to earn.

– Staff

Because I worked hard for veteran benefits.

– Jim, legal studies major

I heavily depend on receiving accurate information about my Education benefits coverage at UHCL. The staff there are diligent in processing each student they serve as quickly as possible. I have never received my tuition on their end past the first day of courses each semester.

– Victoria Mandujano, interdisciplinary studies with core subjects 4-8

Its a place where veterans can get help from others who’ve gone before. Be it going through the paperwork for school or just transitioning back to civilian life.

– Student

Questions are almost always answered. They know all about the veteran college benefits and other services that will help out veterans. The staff is great and friendly. Its a great environment they have in the office too.

– Jerald, mechanical engineering major

It is important to support Veterans in their educational goals and having a dedicated office for their particular needs is essential. Without a staff to support them and the educational loan forms, UHCL could severely be diservicing them.

– Staff

They have always taken care of my questions promptly.

– Carla Richards, student

As mentioned in the article, veterans and children of veterans (such as myself), have a lot more paperwork and headache to deal with than most people realize. Sure, we’re students like everyone else, but having someone that SPECIFICALLY knows which documents you’re supposed to have and WHEN you need them turned in makes a huge difference when dealing with all the technicalities of the GI Bill, Hazelwood Act, etc. And it’s even better when that help is a veteran themselves, such as how my experience when Jay Hernandez was still working at UHCL was. My dad is retired Air Force and of my 23 years of dealing with active duty and retirement environments/situations, Jay helping my sister and I make sure we were able to use the education benefits my dad earned by sacrificing his life for his country meant the utmost importance to us and he didn’t disappoint. Even though Jay couldn’t spend much time with my sister and I, as mentioned in the article about the problem with one-on-one meetings, he did his absolute best EVERY TIME we had a question/problem/concern and did so with a smile on his face and a great attitude despite how overwhelmed he was. While I had different reasons for choosing UHCL, one of the factors was that they actually had a service specifically put together for veterans and children of veterans; which some other colleges deem unnecessary/irrelevant. It is a little disheartening though that I had attended UHCL for two full years before they really started to advertise that they even had Veteran Services. Of course I knew they did, but how were other people/potential students supposed to know? I definitely feel like they need a huge overhaul so that every new student veteran/child of a veteran can get the help they need.

– Tiffany Ferris, alumna

There is a big veteran and veteran dependent population at the school and the veteran services are the most helpful to these students trying to make it in school.

– Erika Ferris, human factors/ergonomics certificate

Google Form Response Total: 13 (as of Nov. 13)

76.9 percent identify as students

15.4 percent identify as staff

7.7 percent identify as alumni

Also published on Medium.