Charge- Expediting the education of military Veterans at all Rutgers University campuses

Examine obstacles preventing military Veterans from expediting their education at all Rutgers Campus’s.  If deemed appropriate, recommend policy and process changes that would promote growth of inter-campus collaboration.  Refer to student caucus proposal for this charge when deliberating.  Identify issues to be further considered by the Instruction, curricula and Advising Committee, if necessary. 

Rational for Charge to be submitted by Student Caucus

“A number of obstacles currently prevent military Veterans across all Rutgers campuses from expediting their education in order for them to graduate faster and cheaper and compete in the societal job market.  One such obstacle is the administrative difficulty of transferring the maximum amount of course credit from military SMART transcripts to academic course credit in order to accelerate the educational process at both the undergraduate and graduate level.   Another is the administrative difficulties of considering whether or not all Rutgers campuses and academic departments will enable college credit for training and experience with respect to a military Veterans time and grade within a military occupational specialty.  The Student Affair Committee shall look at these obstacles, as well as others not enumerated in this charge but which the Committee may find relevant in the course of discussion, and investigate changes the University can make to promote and encourage the growth of inter-campus collaboration on the part of students.  This includes not only changes to current policies which may inhibit such activity, but also affirmative steps the University may take to promote an enhanced educational pathway for military Veterans.  Military Veterans at all Rutgers campuses are actively discouraged and frustrated that much of their federal and state level professional military educational  courses and SMART transcripts are not taken into consideration as college course credit within their academic departments.  Various administrative and academic barriers both at the University and department level disincentivize Military Veterans from graduating faster and cheaper which prevents them from returning to society sooner and competing in the job market.  It is unconscionable for Rutgers, through administrative and academic negligence, to continue erecting additional barriers or exacerbating the natural ones further for their military Veterans.  It is a direct contradiction of our professed commitment to the principal of “One Rutgers,” our desire to enhance the opportunity of our American military Veterans and as an academic institution named after Colonel Henry Rutgers, whom was a Revolutionary War hero.  As long as our actions and our words differ in this regard, feelings of mutual disappointment, distrust and frustration will continue to characterize the relationship with all Rutgers campuses and their military Veterans.  If we are to truly consider ourselves an academic institution that enhances the educational opportunities of our military Veterans so that they can quickly return to society in an effort to utilize their skills for its improvement, it is incumbent on us to seek to mitigate these barriers as much as we can.”