UW regents discuss ways to help student veterans

MADISON (AP) - The regents of the University of Wisconsin System met Thursday to discuss issues likely to come before the board in the future, including a rise in the number of student veterans and a need to produce students who can transition quickly into the workforce with only minimal job training.
    
Regents weren't asked to vote on any proposals during the day-long meeting in Madison. Instead the aim was to help them prepare for policy discussions likely to come later.
    
One prominent topic was the significant increase in the number of student veterans throughout the 180,000-student UW System.
    
Each of the UW System's 13 four-year universities and 13 two-year colleges already provides veterans' services, but UW System spokesman David Giroux said the number of veterans returning to school won't diminish anytime soon. He said there are about 3,000 student veterans now, triple from a few years ago.
    
"It's a big issue. These students bring great assets and skill sets but they also face some unique challenges," he said. "The transition from the military to the classroom is just one."
    
Some student veterans need special accommodations to help them deal with disabilities. Others need assistance navigating the mountains of paperwork that can be required for them or their dependents to receive federal and state benefits.
    
UW System officials also heard from experts who discussed the growing need for graduates whose skills will match the abilities that potential employers are looking for.
    
Anthony Carnevale, the director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, estimated that Wisconsin will add 925,000 jobs between 2008 and 2018 due to a combination of newly created jobs and positions vacated by retiring professionals.
    
And consultant Rebekah Kowalski cited a report that projects shortfalls in the number of college-educated workers in fields ranging from accounting and financial analysis to nursing the software development.
    
The analyses indicate the pressing need for well-educated workers who have deep knowledge in specific disciplines but whose skills are broad enough that they can adapt throughout their entire careers, according to an executive summary of the meeting agenda.