Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Agricultural and Extension Education and Evaluation

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

A large number of veterans leave the military each year, hoping to reacclimate successfully to civilian society while utilizing the knowledge and skills they acquired in the military to assist in their pursuit of gainful employment. Many wish to enhance this process by earning a college degree. Unfortunately, various barriers and other random personal hurdles can impede the progress of the now-veteran student toward degree completion. The lack of knowledge about these barriers and the factors that support a veteran student’s persistence to complete a college degree has created the need for this investigation. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected personal demographic characteristics and academic factors on the persistence to degree completion of both military veteran and non-veteran students at a research university in the South. A quantitative methodology was employed to design a correlational, exploratory research study. Analysis of an archived, extant, and sanitized data set from 2014 to 2020 (pre-COVID) included select personal demographic and academic information. A secure, computerized instrument was developed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), and the necessary data were obtained from the University's Office of the Registrar. A multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) was the primary statistical technique used in the study. The research results indicated four substantive and significant findings from the MDA model regarding the non-veteran student sample, as both first- and second-semester earned credit hours and grade point averages were the most influential academic factors leading to degree completion for that group. The researcher also concluded that all fifty-two veteran student participants persisted to degree completion status and graduated within the six-year timeline provided by the study. The researcher recommended replicating this study under the same guidelines at other Tier 1 universities in the South to investigate the potential of a veteran student anomaly while also reinforcing the findings regarding non-veteran students.

Date

3-31-2025

Committee Chair

Burnett, Michael F

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