New IUPUI Website to Improve Services for Veterans

IUPUI’s Office for Veterans and Military Personnel (OVMP) will use a $15,000 grant to develop a robust website that will enable students who are in the military or are veterans to access critical information anytime from anywhere.

The veterans' website will make it clear to the student what steps are necessary for application to IUPUI, transfer of military credits, and application for federal and state educational benefits, said Susan Richards, manager of OVMP.

“Through this website, we can quickly address some of the needs and concerns veterans identified to the campus regarding our current services and support for this group,” Richards said.

IUPUI, with at least 1,300 students who are veterans, has the largest number of enrolled veterans and military personnel of any campus in Indiana. The campus ranks 43rd nationally in the total number of veterans, guard, and reservists students enrolled at brick-and-mortar institutions.

The grant was awarded through Operation Diploma, an initiative of the Military Family Research Institution on the campus of Purdue University with a $5.8 million gift from the Lilly Endowment. Operation Diploma empowers Indiana’s higher education institutions and student veterans’ organizations to better serve student service members, veterans entering college for the first time, and those re-entering college after extended service or deployment.

Twenty-one colleges and universities in Indiana received grants totaling $270,000 through Operation Diploma, based on a competitive process.

Addressing common complaints, the website will be easy to find and navigate with all relevant information in one location, Richards said. The site will house on-line student forums, a variety of informational podcasts and student veterans describing their personal experiences. It will host a chat client feature allowing veteran services staff to respond to questions immediately.

A key feature will be an educational benefit decision making tree, which will help guide a student in selecting an appropriate federal or state benefit and demystify the many benefits and services available to veterans and military personnel, Richards noted. “IUPUI considers this an opportunity to not only share this decision-making tree model with other higher education institutions, but hopefully create a national best practice in the area of veteran education.”

“We recognized that our lack of ability to communicate in a consistent, clear and easily accessible manner is an impediment to success for applicants, current students and military dependents,” Richards said. “IUPUI wants to eliminate this obstacle to ensure that service members, veterans and their families experience a low-stress, high satisfaction experience in gaining entry to IUPUI and completing their education on our campus. Ultimately, we want to ensure that our students focus on academic success and reintegration into civilian and student life, not on administrative burdens and challenges.”

The OVMP serves as the single institutional point of contact for students with any type of military affiliation (veterans, service personnel, and their dependents who receive benefits). It also coordinates services for veterans from across the campus, provides advice, creates programming, and advocates for students with issues related to their military experiences and student status.