Academic Outcomes and the Million Records Project
Author(s): Cate, C. A.
Editor(s): DiRamio, D.
Citation: Cate, C. A. (2017). Academic Outcomes and the Million Records Project. In DiRamio, D., What's Next for Student Veterans? Moving From Transition to Academic Success (pp. 135-146). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition.
Abstract
Population data on student veterans’ postsecondary academic outcomes has been difficult for researchers in higher education to obtain, resulting in the creation of the Million Records Project (MRP), a partnership between the VA, the National Student Clearinghouse, and Student Veterans of America. The MRP explores the academic success of student veterans in their efforts to attain a postsecondary degree. The chapter examines and summarizes the results from the MRP. As the first step in addressing several weaknesses inherent of the national-level databases and surveys, the MRP produced more accurate estimates of post-9/11 student veteran academic outcomes. A notable result from the project is that nearly 60% of student veterans using the Montgomery GI Bill and/or the Post-9/11 GI Bill completed a postsecondary credential. Similarly, the project revealed that 52.6% of student veterans earned an associate degree within four years and 59% earned a bachelors within 6 years. The chapter closes with a discussion on the National Veteran Education Success Tracker (NVEST), which serves as the next phase of the MRP.
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