Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) 1 - Access and Integration

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lauren Dinse, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, The Capital College; Vahid Motevalli, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, The Capital College

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

. Dinse 1 and Vahid Motevalli 2,3 Penn State HarrisburgAbstractAt Penn State Harrisburg, veterans and military personnel constitute between 3-6% of studentenrollment. About 26% of these students are enrolled in engineering majors and another 8% areenrolled in other STEM fields. To serve this population with intentionality and purpose, as wellas enhance student success, we find it essential to explore the social and academic gaps for ourstudents, and what types of programming could best address those needs. Past and currentsurveys of this student body have proven to be effective due to a higher than usual response rate.Questions assessed a range of topics, including recruitment pathways, experiences with a

Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) 1 - Access and Integration

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alyson Grace Eggleston, Pennsylvania State University; Ronald W. Welch P.E., The Citadel

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

duty members who face similar, and often times, different challenges than traditionalstudents. Student Veterans confront many misperceptions and stereotypes from faculty, staff,fellow students, often exacerbated by media. Some perceptions may paint the Student Veteranspositively, while some perceptions over-simplify them negatively.This paper is part of a larger study of faculty and staff (mis)perceptions towards StudentVeterans and various factors that can neutralize these misperceptions. Using a counter balanced,quantitative survey instrument across several institutions (TABLE 1), GZT was found to have aneutralizing effect on some of the perceptions, but also found to statistically reinforce others. Thesurvey questions compare the agreement

Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) 1 - Access and Integration

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Noah Pointer, Biologically Inspired Design for Resilience(BID4R) lab.; Julianna Gesun, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach; Bryan Watson, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

, EngineeringThriving. Engineering Thriving is defined as the process by which engineering programs facilitatethe environments for students to develop optimal functioning in engineering programs [1]. Thesignificance of this study lies in the need to identify physical indicators or biomarkers that correlatewith a student’s subjective psychological experience, and, if such indicators exist, to answer ourresearch question regarding the key indicators of thriving. Although survey tools have beendeveloped to assess thriving in undergraduate engineering students [2], physical indicators arenecessary for students who may be less likely to engage with survey tools. For this work-in-progress, we choose to focus on Veteran students, who are less connected to the student

Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) 1 - Access and Integration

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Benjamin Pederson, Air Force Institute of Technology; Mark Reith, Air Force Institute of Technology; David Long, Air Force Institute of Technology; Ralucca A. Gera, Naval Postgraduate School; Edward D White, Air Force Institute of Technology; Jonathan Zemmer, Air Force Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

research question (RQ):RQ1: What is the value proposition of digital badges in the military? Figure 1. This figure illustrates the research methodology. The methodology starts fromthe upper left and proceeds sequentially following the arrows. Orange rectangles represent majormilestones with supportive green rectangle sub-tasks. Blue rectangles represent intermediateobjectives. Purple circles represent the start and end of the research. The graphic in Figure 1 shows the overall methodology of this research. Beginning at theupper left corner of the diagram, the ``Define'' item represents the clarification of the purpose,scope, and objectives of this research. The researchers define the problem domain of thisresearch as military talent

Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) 2 - Becoming Engineering Professionals

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bradley Joseph Sottile, The Pennsylvania State University; Alyson Grace Eggleston, The Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

research advisors, andadministrators alike to help inform policy, student support, and best practices.Keywords: veterans, GI Bill, graduate students, diversity, exploratory factor analysis.IntroductionEnacted in the 1940s, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act and its successors—commonlyreferred to as to the GI Bill—increased student veteran enrollments in college and contributed toincreased diversity, perspectives, programs on campus [1]. Since then, the succession of GI Billsenacted since 1944 has facilitated over one million veterans attending college [1] and contributedsubstantially to the development of the U.S. skilled technical workforce. Despite historicallyhigh military student enrollments in college today [1], student veterans and service

Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) 3 - Moving Beyond the Uniform

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ronald W. Welch, The Citadel; Alyson Grace Eggleston, Pennsylvania State University; Robert J. Rabb P.E., The Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

versus veteran students is intentionalto ensure the focus on students who happen to be veterans rather than on veterans who happen tobe students. However, the existing biases and perceptions by faculty and students to include theveterans themselves can affect the interaction with veterans within the classroom, and eventuallyhow prepared they are to enter the civil workforce (learning outcomes). As presented in recentpapers, the generalized perceptions can be either positive or negative without a desire to do sowith intent [1]. Informing faculty of these possible perceptions is critical based on the highnumbers of current and future student veterans due to the Post 9/11 GI Bill and the veterans’desire to pursue their educational goals once they

Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) 2 - Becoming Engineering Professionals

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hyunju Oh, University of Florida; Rui Guo, University of Florida; Wanli Xing, University of Florida; Sandip Ray, University of Florida

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

this foundational level can compromise the integrity of entire systems [1],potentially causing to catastrophic consequences, especially in critical applications such asmilitary and commercial cyberinfrastructure.Unlike software and network security, which have been extensively analyzed and deployed,hardware security is a relatively new field. Historically, there has been a flawed assumption thathardware is inherently secure and trustworthy, making it immune to cyber threats [2]. However,experts have increasingly highlighted vulnerabilities in hardware and embedded systems,pointing out significant risks posed by malicious actors exploiting complex and distributedsemiconductor supply chains. Consequently, this misconception has led to a critical

Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) 3 - Moving Beyond the Uniform

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hannah Wilkinson, Utah State University; Angela Minichiello P.E., Utah State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

militarystudents in a plethora of ways. Other institutions have limited or no access to similar levels andvariety of resources for military students. Still others experience difficulties justifying fundingallocations to support military students, among competing priorities, considering their oftencomparatively low, and sometimes hidden, enrollment levels. For these latter types ofinstitutions, our prior work suggests that one viable strategy for supporting military studentsacross a range of higher education institutional contexts is to provide institutional-level andcollege-level (i.e., engineering college) programs that serve military students through theirintersectional identities as post-traditional students [1]. For the purposes of this study, we

Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) 3 - Moving Beyond the Uniform

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Samuel Shaw, Utah State University; Angela Minichiello P.E., Utah State University; Hannah Wilkinson, Utah State University; Allison Miles, Utah State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

aheterogeneous group comprising prior enlisted military veterans (i.e., those who have served inthe enlisted ranks of the U.S. military but no longer serve) and those who concurrently serve asenlisted service members such as in the Armed Forces Reserves or National Guard whileattending college [1]. Compared to their civilian counterparts, SVSM have a strong potential tobring intersectional diversity [2], along with matured technical skills and teamwork andleadership experience.While institutional support has been shown to positively influence student success andexperience [3], the efficacy of targeted support for SVSM in college has fluctuated due to a lackof standardized best practices within and across institutions [4]. Improving programs for SVSMin

Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) 2 - Becoming Engineering Professionals

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Radana Dvorak, Saint Martin's University; Adam W.K. Takata, Saint Martin's University; David H. Olwell, Saint Martin's University

Tagged Divisions

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

access to education and career developmentopportunities. Building on the foundation of the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy(MSSA) [1], [2], designed, developed, and piloted at Saint Martin’s University in partnershipwith Microsoft (2013–2020), the Washington Veterans to Technology (WaV2T) programadvances these ACTS objectives through a comprehensive academic model that facilitates entryinto high-demand technology careers. WaV2T integrates rigorous technical training withstructured career development support, aligning with the VOW Act's objectives to enhanceveteran employability [6], [7].This program provides specialized certification pathways in Server & Cloud Application, CloudApplication Development, and Cybersecurity Administration

Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) 3 - Moving Beyond the Uniform

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David M. Feinauer P.E., Virginia Military Institute; Jerry Lynn Dahlberg Jr, University of Tennessee, Space Institute; Alyson Grace Eggleston, The Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

members as they pursue higher education. With less than one percent of theU.S. population serving in the active duty military, even after twenty years of conflict, only about6% of the U.S. adults are veterans [1]. This marks a significant drop since the 1980s and is thelowest percentage since WW2; it can be challenging for civilians to understand a veteran’sexperience [2] and this lack of understanding often leads to negative perceptions.After twenty years as a nation at war, veterans face many challenges in reintegrating back intothe population. Many veterans choose to pursue higher education for a variety of reasons butoften face negative perceptions from faculty and staff who may not have any personal connectionto veterans. Perceptions and

Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) 2 - Becoming Engineering Professionals

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Paul Harvie, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide; John K Wilson, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide; Kimberly A Luthi, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide; Monica Surrency, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

(IUSE) program, seeks to investigate the effectiveness of peer-led team learning (PLTL) in an online campus environment at Embry-Riddle AeronauticalUniversity Worldwide campus. PLTL is an intervention where a fellow student who has alreadyachieved success in the course facilitates active learning sessions with a small group of students.The sessions are designed to reinforce and clarify student understanding of specific topics in thecourse [1] [2] [3]. In the traditional classroom environment, PLTL has been a successfulintervention in STEM education [4] [5]. The purpose of this research is to investigate theeffectiveness of PLTL in an asynchronous, online classroom environment.The student population of this online campus is primarily adult