• Background
• 2008-09 Roster
• Charges for Working Groups

Background

Honoring the CSU mission to provide access to multiple and diverse constituencies across California, the Chancellor’s Office has encouraged all CSU campuses to provide enhanced programs and services for veterans and their dependents through the Troops to College Program. The importance of this commitment has increased over the last several years as a result of the increased demands on U. S. military resources following the post 9-11 environment. More than half a million veterans enrolled in a college or university in 2007 and the numbers are expected to increase significantly.

In early 2007, separate discussions about meeting the need for increased veterans outreach and services occurred among different constituents across campus. The Office of Governmental Affairs and the Office of Admissions and Outreach began formulation of a strategy to respond to this need. During the same period, the Enrollment Management Advisory Council created a Veterans Outreach and Services Subcommittee to assess veterans needs, best practices of other institutions, and make recommendations regarding an organizational structure that would be appropriate for the Cal Poly Pomona campus.

In April 2008, interest was expressed by external donors in supporting the Troops to College initiative. In addition, the College of Science began exploring online testing and assessment for veterans as a means of expediting academic progress for those with appropriate military backgrounds of training and experience.

These discussions evolved into the realization that an institutional collaborative effort is essential to effectively respond to the breadth of needs and opportunities of this particular constituency.

Charge to the Campus

The President has established a campus-wide Veterans Services Initiative to integrate and coordinate these campus efforts.

This initiative will focus on specific aspects of serving veterans and their families in their pursuit of a Cal Poly Pomona education. Issues related to veterans as Cal Poly Pomona employees will be included in the scope of these efforts.

The initiative will include an Executive Group and small working groups (six to eight members) which will focus on these basic themes: Admissions and Pre-Enrollment, Enrollment Services, Support Services, Academic Support and Advising, and Resource Development.

The majority of the work initially will be with coordinating and communicating existing services and practices rather than creating new services and practices.

The Veterans Services Initiative Executive Group will provide oversight and coordination of the work of the working groups and responsibilities will include the following:

• Oversee and coordinate the direction and progress of the Initiative and its working groups
• Meet periodically to review the progress of the working groups, take action on recommendations, address obstacles, and identify needed resources
• Ensure regular communication and collaboration among the working groups
• Communicate with and engage the campus community through progress reports and recommendations to the campus leadership, including the President’s Cabinet, the Deans Council, the Associate Deans, Department Chairs and the Academic Senate

The 2008/09 Executive Group includes:

Co-Chair: Dr. Marten denBoer, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Co-Chair: Dr. Doug Freer, Vice President for Student Affairs
Member: Ms. Deborah Brandon, Executive Director, Office of Admissions and Outreach
Member: Doug Glaeser, Director of Governmental & External Affairs
Member: Sunny Lee, Director, Office of Student Life and Cultural Centers
Member: Dr. Donald Straney, Dean of the College of Science
Member: Ms. Kathleen Street, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services
Administrative Support: Ms. Daisy Thompson, Exectuive Asst. to the Vice President for Student Affairs

The cross-divisional Veteran Services Working Groups will be comprised of interested faculty, staff and students as well as representatives from departments who are involved in providing the specific services assigned to each group.

Campus Implementation

The President will lead the initiative and send a call out to the community for campus constituents to express their interest in participating in this initiative. The working groups will be established by the end of February 2009, and progress reports are expected at the end of both the winter and spring quarters.