Marc CB Maxwell, an education services specialist, explains GI Bill benefits in 2019 in Ansbach, Germany. A Senate bill has been introduced that would force the Department of Veterans Affairs to fix problems that have prevented payment of educational benefits for an estimated 3,000 U.S. veterans enrolled in overseas academic institutions. (Amy Stork/U.S. Army)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bill Brown, a retired U.S. Army officer, is executive director of Military Education at ECPI University, a private, for-profit university headquartered in Virginia Beach, Va.
More than 80 years after it was first established at the end of World War II, and nearly 25 years after it was expanded following 9/11, the GI Bill remains one of the most powerful drivers of educational opportunity in the United States. More than 900,000 veterans and military-connected students now use the benefits to pursue higher education. But getting students in the door is only half the job. It’s up to institutions to ensure they can finish. Just half of student veterans complete a degree within six years.
Military-connected students rank among the most capable in the classroom. They bring valuable experience shaped by the structure, accountability and high expectations found in military service. At the same time, they are navigating systems that were not designed with them in mind. Many of these students balance coursework with jobs, family responsibilities or continued service.
As a veteran and now executive director of military education at a university, I know firsthand how quickly a single bureaucratic issue can knock someone off course. I often tell students: Bring me a problem I haven’t seen before, and I’ll buy you a beverage of your choice. Here are some of the biggest challenges I see students face.
Bureaucracy can break momentum.
Student veterans spend too much time navigating benefit requirements, rather than focusing on their coursework. Certification delays, unclear instructions and inconsistent communication interrupt housing allowances or tuition payments with little warning. When that happens, many military-connected learners lose their path forward. What might seem like a simple box to check for student affairs professionals can be the one thing that derails a student’s education.
Colleges can reduce that friction by treating military education benefits as a core function. Schools should provide trained staff who understand Department of Veterans Affairs processes, communicate clearly about timelines and requirements, and resolve issues quickly. Many institutions already partner directly with the VA or host on-campus counselors to help students manage benefits. That kind of access to support and resources should be the standard, not the exception.
Schedules are built for a different kind of student.
Most military-connected students balance school with work, family responsibilities, or continued service. About three in five student veterans are employed, for example, working an average of 35 hours per week. Nearly half have one or more children. Traditional academic schedules assume a level of flexibility that many of these students simply do not have.
Beyond logistics, there’s something to be said for how military-connected students learn. They’re accustomed to focused, high-intensity training — not passive instruction spread across a long semester. Accelerated formats, applied degree programs, and hands-on coursework can replicate that kind of engagement, keeping students invested in ways that traditional schedules simply don’t.
Institutions should design programs that reflect the busy, often unpredictable lives of military-connected learners. Online and hybrid options give students more control over when and how they fit coursework into their lives. Year-round scheduling, meanwhile, means students aren’t locked into rigid semester- or term-based timelines that can extend their time to degree.
The campus experience can feel isolating.
Student veterans often enter classrooms where few people share their background or experiences. Many are older than their peers and carry with them experiences and responsibilities that set them apart. Without support, that gap can turn into feelings of isolation that can derail progress just as much as any academic or bureaucratic hurdle. Colleges should connect these students to each other and to the broader campus community early and consistently.
Dedicated advisers, peer networks, and low-barrier social events can help bridge the gap between military-connected students and the wider campus. At my institution, for example, our Student Veterans Association chapter hosts an annual Super Bowl Chili Cookoff. Events like these work because they don’t force students to talk about their challenges or sit through formal programming. They just have to bring good chili, and connection flows from there.
The barriers student veterans face are real, but they are not insurmountable. Institutions that treat military-connected learners as a priority, not an afterthought, can make a measurable difference. That means streamlining benefits administration, building flexible academic pathways, and cultivating communities where student veterans feel they belong. These are not expensive interventions. They are choices about where to direct attention and resources. The institutions that make those choices will be the ones that can honestly say they kept their promise to the men and women who served.
Access without completion is a half-kept promise to our veterans and service members. Without investing in the kinds of support that help them persist — strong advising, flexible pathways, and communities where they feel they belong — too many will continue to stall out before they reach the finish line. College leaders and policymakers have spent decades getting student veterans in the door. It’s time to put the same energy into making sure they finish.
