Military colleges have historically been respected and viewed as results-driven institutions of higher learning. These colleges have strong reputations for producing both leaders and scholars. Though gaining admission to a military college is usually somewhat more formidable than the admission process at many civilian colleges, students are accepted with varying academic abilities, skills, and backgrounds. Most of these students, however, are retained, experience academic success, and graduate. The author describes distinct military college academic support initiatives that promote scholarly success among college students, from those who struggle to pass a course to those who want to turn a satisfactory grade into a better grade. Included in those initiatives are tutoring, advising, and mentoring. A case study of the establishment of the Academic Success Center at Marion Military Institute is included, along with data markers indicating the success of the center and its programs.
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Military colleges have historically been respected and viewed as results-driven institutions of higher learning. Though gaining admission to a military college is generally somewhat more formidable than the admissions process at many civilian colleges, students are accepted with varying academic abilities, skills, and backgrounds. Most of these students, however, are retained, experience academic success, and graduate. Obviously, a student’s personal characteristics (including drive, sense of self-confidence, and prior academic preparation) influence his or her academic success in a military college. Are there collegiate influencers in place, however, that also influence a student’s success?
The answer to this question has been researched in recent years by various scholars, but perhaps no one more than Vincent Tinto. In an essay published in 2016, Dr. Tinto enumerated several factors that influence student success, including a student’s sense of belonging, a welcoming and supportive collegiate environment, systems that will quickly alert the college when a student is struggling, and the student’s perceived value of the curriculum (Tinto, 2016). A college’s response to these factors, all of which influence retention and completion, may take different forms, but all of the military colleges reviewed for this chapter have various types of academic support in place to influence student success. This chapter will provide a review of academic support program elements in place at various military colleges, including all U.S. Service Academies, The Citadel, Virginia Military Institute, Georgia Military College, Marion Military Institute, New Mexico Military Institute, and Valley Forge Military Academy and College. The chapter will conclude with a case study specific to Marion Military Institute with a description of the Institute’s success upon instituting an Academic Success Center.
Dr. Tinto indicates that it is impossible to “pose a simple characterization of a college dropout” (Spann & Tinto, 1990, p. 21). It is then, likewise, not possible to name one specific college program or initiative that keeps students enrolled and ensures success. Student academic needs are varied, resulting from dissimilar secondary school preparation, various levels of family support, and distinctive differences in student motivation. Colleges, therefore, must be multifaceted in their approaches to academic support initiatives.