Date
11-2019
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Joseph Fontanella
Keywords
Retention, Student Satisfaction, Transition, Veteran Services
Disciplines
Education | Educational Leadership
Recommended Citation
Hammac, William Alton, "The Relationship between Academic and Social Satisfaction among Post-9/11 Veterans in Higher Education" (2019). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 2236.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/2236
Abstract
This study examined reintegration of Post-9/11 military veterans into higher education as measured by their satisfaction with a private southeastern university. This research was accomplished through the study of the potential relationship between the academic satisfaction and social satisfaction of Post-9/11 military veterans attending a private southeastern university and how they felt about their overall educational experience. The research questions were derived from the Ruffalo Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory which was administered by the university, surveying the quality of student life, and serving as a national benchmark comparison for educational institutions nationwide. This research was a non-experimental, ex post facto correlational design that utilized preexisting data with a total sample size of 86 military veterans who are seeking a degree at the university in this study. The study found student-veterans transitioned from military service with a good degree of satisfaction with their academic educational experiences. This correlates with the happy-productive student theory by Cotton, Dollard, and De Jonge (2002) showing satisfaction with the learning environment can influence performance. However, student-veterans were less satisfied with their social experiences as they transitioned into the civilian educational institution which is explained through the Schlossberg’s transitional theory where student affairs were better prepared to transition traditional students, however less so for servicemembers who may be suffering from wartime physical or psychological trauma. This study provides data that support the importance for a professional military affairs department that is available to evaluate and assist student-veterans succeed in their pursuit of higher education.
