SECond Mission VISTA Student Veteran Success Assistant - Pikes Peak Community College

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SECond Mission VISTA AmeriCorps Program

The SECond Mission VISTA AmeriCorps Program focuses on building the capacity of member campuses and community-based Veteran Serving Organizations to support veterans’ access to and persistence in higher education and their successful transition to the civilian workforce.

Pikes Peak Community College

Pikes Peak Community College is the largest resident college or university in the state of Colorado supporting veterans and the 9th largest supporter nationwide. Approximately 25% of the student population is supported financially by VA or military education benefits, and roughly 500 new military connected students enroll each term. Given the growing military-connected student population on campus, we need to develop methods to track and report data on this population.

Position Goals and Objectives

The primary goal of the VISTA at PPCC will be to assist the Department of Military and Veterans Programs (MVP) Veteran Student Success Coordinator with the institutional effort of student-veteran support from initial enrollment to graduation through intentional tracking, advising, early alert, and targeted intervention. The VISTA member will serve in an institutional research role tasked with identifying avenues for data collection, reporting, and tracking progress of military connected students. This objective is critically important as the PPCC MVP has grown significantly and is offering new programs and support mechanisms that need better tracking. Through developing more sophisticated student tracking systems and providing actionable metrics on the effectiveness of programs, college staff can implement data-driven decision making and allocate resources effectively.

The secondary goal of this project is to continue management of our peer mentor program. This program provides our military-connected students with the one-on-one academic assistance that is necessary as most of this population are far removed from their previous secondary or post-secondary educational experiences. In this role, the VISTA will also recruit, train and organize peer mentoring cohorts.

Development of Tracking/Report Models

Working with the PPCC MVP staff, the VISTA will create models to track and report data related to military-connected students. Examples of data reporting includes; a) military connected student retention rates, b) military connected student graduation rates, c) student veteran success center usage and effect on success, d) tracking of students beyond enrollment (graduation, transfer, or withdrawals), and e) orientation data

Member Activities:
1. Research current data and tracking models, particularly those related to veteran needs.
2. Identify gaps in the current military connected student tracking and address those gaps.
3. Work with partner offices (Registrar, Institutional Research) to access data and assist in identifying pertinent data collection strategies.
4. Develop means of assessing the PPCC programs utilizing multiple methods of data collection
a. Exit surveys/interviews with student veterans
b. Data reporting via student information systems
5. Complete program documentation and disseminate results
a. Develop program manual/binder for program sustainability and transfer to other institutions
b. Prepare conference abstract for presentation and dissemination
c. Prepare written project results for publication via online periodicals, journals, national associations, etc.
6. Work with the MVP, Admissions, and Retention units to develop strategies for supporting student veterans from admission to graduation.

Management of Mentoring Program

The VISTA will manage the program for our department and work directly with military-connected students that serve as mentors. The VISTA will refine our program based on best practices and availability of campus resources. The VISTA will complete an assessment each semester of how the program has impacted those identified (or self-identified) as at-risk students who are mentees.

Member Activities:
1. Manage peer mentoring program and determine resources available
2. Recruit, train and support qualified students to work as mentors
3. Recruit and support students that are selected as mentees
4. Track participation and develop measures for success; assess effectiveness