California's Troops to College initiative was announced by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in March 2006 to provide educational opportunities and assistance to active duty service members and veterans by the state’s premier education segments and related agencies. He specifically targeted increased instructional opportunities to men and women on active duty, the National Guard and the Reserves.
As part of this effort, the California Community College System Office has been working with numbers of stakeholders and its campuses throughout the state to expand its outreach programs, academic advising, and financial aid advising to both veterans and service members on active duty. The System Office has identified models of best practices among campuses and military services that support education for veterans in California public universities and is working with many colleges to implement these practices in order to reach out more effectively to active duty and veterans. This support is conducted through myriad approaches -- education fairs on military installations, veterans support teams to assist "soldiers" to transition to becoming students, campus outreach programs that include participation in job and education fairs, campus veterans support teams, and web sites.
For example, the "Boots to Books" program developed at Citrus College is designed to help veterans transition to civilian life and the college environment. It is the first of its kind in the nation to provide a positive transition step for combat veterans. Taught by a VA counselor who is a combat veteran, all veterans and their families may enroll in this course which is about combat stress, post traumatic stress disorders, and other issues affecting veterans returning to civilian life. The curriculum is specifically designed to increase the student veteran's academic, work, and social success. The class provides participants instruction in interpersonal skills, methods of adapting to civilian life and work careers, and techniques for managing military operational stress.
Sixteen thousand of the 21,000 veterans and their dependents using GI Bill benefits at California public colleges and universities are in the California Community College system, which provides academic as well as career-technical training among its 109 campuses. Eight of the top 10 public California colleges, in terms of GI benefit recipients are community colleges.
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