Military veterans seeking to attend college or university after their service face a surprising challenge: lack of on-campus housing, according to a survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and Corvias, which partners with higher education and government institutions to solve systemic problems.
“There is clearly a need for more on-campus housing for our brave military veterans who are returning home from service, looking to resume their college education,” said John Picerne, founder of Corvias, a national partner of universities, including the first systemwide partnership with the University System of Georgia across its nine campuses. “Many of them have spouses and families and can’t be expected to move into the typical college residence hall, nor are they able to afford the expense of an off-campus apartment. On-campus housing for our veterans and their families could be more of a priority among college and university officials.”
NACUBO reached out to 730 institutions and asked whether they had housing on campus for military veterans and whether they intended to increase it. A total of 131 colleges and universities responded.
Of those responding, 95% said they did not have on-campus housing for military veterans, and 97% said they had no plans to expand military veteran housing. A total of four schools, comprising 3% of the respondents, said they planned to expand, but only two would in the next two years. The other two schools said they did not yet have plans or a timetable for construction.
Higher education institutions can better serve this growing population through existing military-focused programming and through increased opportunities for military-affiliated housing options on campus. Military-affiliated students (veterans, service members, or military spouses and children) have access to significant higher education benefits through the GI Bill and related programs (referred to as Chapter 33, 34, and 35), including approximately $25,000 per year in benefits to attend a higher education institution and between $1,800 to $2,700 per month in housing benefits, depending on location.
