Columbia University Continues Leadership in Veteran Education with Virtual College Fair
On Friday, October 30, the Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration (CVTI) hosted a virtual college fair for active duty service members and military veterans interested in enrolling in two- and four- year institutions. At this first-of-its-kind event, students spoke with representatives from 88 institutions of higher education, including the Columbia University School of General Studies, Princeton, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Virginia Tech, Johns Hopkins University, and more.
“The enthusiastic response we’ve received from top-tier universities and community colleges alike to participate in the fair demonstrates these institutions’ sincere interest in recruiting veteran students, and we are excited to be able to help make these connections,” said Beth Morgan, Director of Higher Education Transition and Partnerships at CVTI.
The fair is the latest addition to a portfolio of robust programming designed by CVTI to support excellence in transition programming for current and former members of the armed forces. At the fair, nearly 170 college representatives welcomed prospective students through more than 700 virtual booth visits, over 500 chats, and nearly 70 video visits.
Those who were unable to attend the event are encouraged to utilize the Attaining Higher Education Interactive Map, a robust interactive tool developed by CVTI that simplifies the college research process by allowing for filtering of schools based on criteria important to service members and veterans.
Prospective students are also encouraged to enroll in Attaining Higher Education on edX, a free MOOC offered by CVTI that is designed to prepare active duty service members and veterans for the transition to college through intentional decision-making regarding admissions processes, financial aid, and more.
The enthusiastic response we’ve received from top-tier universities and community colleges alike to participate in the fair demonstrates these institutions’ sincere interest in recruiting veteran students.
In addition, the Center offers several mini-courses and microlessons, designed to allow students who may not have the time or resources to engage with the full curriculum and achieve meaningful learning outcomes in a fraction of the time it would take to complete the more comprehensive MOOC series.
For more information, please visit the CVTI website.
About the Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration
Over the last 15 years, Columbia has successfully enrolled more student-veterans than all other Ivy League schools combined, while maintaining a graduation rate above 90% and a record of job and graduate school placement that equals Columbia’s non-veteran graduates. However, during this same period, it became clear that service members in transition continue to face barriers reaching their potential in transitioning to civilian life, despite the many effective programs offered to this population. Columbia University launched the Center for Veteran Transition and Integration (CVTI) to have a direct and lasting impact on the issue of veteran transition and upward mobility by creating and providing access to the best-in-class tools and programming veterans need as they transition from active service to college and the workforce.