Photo courtesy of: Veterans and Military Student Services CenterLanding Zone
The Ohio University Veterans and Military Students Faculty/Staff Awareness-Training Program, known as “Landing Zone,” enters its second full year of offerings.
The program, which was started thanks to an Ohio University 1804 grant, began development during Academic Year 2016-17 and was fully implemented in 2017-18. It has produced more than 100 veteran advocates across the Athens and Chillicothe campuses.
The purpose of creating our Landing Zone Training is to assist individuals who are committed to providing resources and aid to veteran students across campus. Landing Zone training seeks to provide its participants with an understanding of the unique challenges faced by veteran students, GI Bill ® implications on course selection, discussion of PTSD and TBI impacts on learning, and resources to assist this special student population.
The training is five hours in duration, broken down into five, one-hour blocks, to facilitate college or departmental scheduling. Each training session, named Zones, build upon each other. The descriptions of each Zone training follows:
Zone 1: Military 101 - looks at various military terms, rank structure, differences in military culture and academic culture, and dispels common myths about veterans.
Zone 2: OUr Veterans in Transition - breaks out national veteran student characteristics, Ohio University veteran characteristics, Ohio University student veteran transition experiences, and highlights a veteran student panel Q&A session.
Zone 3: The GI Bill ® – details the Department of Veterans Affairs organizational structure, student veteran success programs, differentiating types of VA educational benefits, VA regulation implications/challenges for students.
Zone 4: PTSD & TBI - provides an understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury effects on student veterans, discussion of potential signs and how to assist student veterans with each.
Zone 5: Resources 4 Vets – highlights internal and external resources available to veterans, provides web based assistance, and answers any additional questions regarding student veterans still unanswered.
Spring semester 2019 sessions are outlined below. If your college, department or regional campus would like to schedule specific training dates, please contact Terry St. Peter in the Ohio University Veterans Center at 1-740-566-VETS (8387).
All training times are noon to 1 p.m. The sessions will be conducted as Brown Bag lunch sessions.
Zone 1 – Feb. 5, 2019 – BUC 239 or March 19, 2019 – BUC 239
Zone 2 – Feb. 12, 2019 – BUC 231 or March 26, 2019 – BUC 239
Zone 3 – Feb. 19, 2019 – BUC 239 or April 2, 2019 – BUC 239
Zone 4 – Feb. 26, 2019 – BUC 239 or April 9, 2019 – BUC 239
Zone 5 – March 5, 2019 – BUC 239 or April 16, 2019 – BUC 239
We hope to see you show your support for veterans by attending these training sessions to help enhance your understanding of veteran students and impact their educational experience.