Realizing federal policy outcomes of the post-9/11 GI Bill: Veterans' and active duty/reservist perceptions

C h a p te r I: I n t r o d u c t i o n . 1 Statem ent o f th e Research Problem, Background & C ontext. 4 Research Q u estion s. 10 Significance of the S tu dy . 11 Definition o f Term s.12 A ssum ptions. 13 Overview o f Literature Review, Theoretical Framework, & M ethod ology. 13 Limitations and Delimitations.14 C onclusion.15 C h a p te r II: L i t e r a t u r e R e v i e w . 1 6 History and Implementation o f the 1944 GI Bill. 17 1944 Gl B ill.17 Korean War, Vietnam War, and VEAP/M ontgomery. 22 Post-9/11 Gl Bill.28 Policy im plem entation problems with th e Post 9 /1 1 Gl Bill. 30 Policy Goals for the Six Gl Bills. 32 Public Sentim ent and Policy Changes for th e six Gl Bills.35 Downsizing, Recruitment, Retention, and Rewarding Service M em bers.38 Recruitment. 40 Retention. 41 R eward.42 The Community College: Platform for th e student veteran & their Gl Bill b en efits . 43 C h a p te r III: M e t h o d o l o g y . 4 7 Target Population.52 Data C ollection . 56 Survey D evelop m en t.57 Education Internal Review Committee (EDIRC). 59 Data A nalysis. 60 Summary. 61 C h a p te r IV: D a ta C o l le c t io n a n d A n a l y s i s . 6 3 TNCC Pilot T e s t . 63 TCC Survey R esu lts. 66 Population Statistics and Dem ographics.67 Have Federal Policy Goals Been M et? 70 Reasons for Use of Post-9/11 Gl Bill Benefits. 74 Eligible N on-user. 77 Correlation Analysis. 78 Pilot Test Comparison to Live Survey R esults.88 Limitations to th e Data Analysis.88 C h a p te r V: C o n c lu s io n s a n d R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s . 9 1 Research Question A . 92 Research Question B. 96 Research Question C. 98 Implications for Practice.100 Areas for Future R esearch.103 Conclusions. 105 R eferences.107 Appendix A: Introduction Excerpt of Senate Hearing 110 S. 22.116 Appendix B: Email Cover Letter to Student Survey. 118 Appendix C: Perceptions of the Post-9/11 Gi Bill Student Survey. 120 Appendix D: Linking Survey Questions to Research Requirements and Statistical Method Employed. 130 Acknowledgements I started my quest over eight years ago. My goal was to just get the 30 graduate credits I needed to qualify for my promotion to full professor. I never intended to attempt or even successfully complete a dissertation. Most of the credit for pushing me beyond my laziness goes to my father, Dr. Hal Vogel, for his assistance in helping me choose a topic that was interesting and attainable, and to my advisor, Dr. Pamela Eddy, for her constant nudging, advice and encouragement through the long, oftentimes mentally painful process. I would also like to thank the other members of my committee: Dr. Chris Widmer, a fellow accounting professor at Tidewater Community College, for his bits of wisdom and insight, and also for enduring the long car rides home with me from one or two deflating meetings in Williamsburg. Thank you to Dr. Jim Barber, for stepping in midway through the process, at about the low point, where I really felt it was time to quit. Dr. Dorothy Finnegan also was instrumental in redirecting and fine tuning several important aspects of my dissertation. Of course, I would like to express my love and appreciation to my family who had to endure bouts of “I’m not doing this anymore! ” to “Leave me alone, I’m working on my dissertation! ” Then, there was the “Do you think I can do this? ” and, finally the wonderment of “I think I might be almost done. ” This last comment goes out to my husband and his multiple home improvement projects that are also “almost done. ” Thank you, Jeff, for