A study of demographic characteristics and postsecondary experiences of Montana Veterans Upward Bound participants

This study addressed the twenty-nine year void of research and information about VUB. It examined selected demographic characteristics of 495 participants of the Montana Veterans Upward Bound Project who participated in the Project and were placed in postsecondary education. Descriptive statistical methods using demographic variables were used to obtain a participant profile and to determine the relationship of these selected variables to graduation or positive persistence. Two focus groups comprising twelve former VUB Billings site students were conducted to gain insight on their postsecondary experiences. Findings of the study indicated that there were strong relationships between independent variables of age, prior educational levels, the type of institution attended, and the final grade point average to graduation. Prior educational levels and type of institution attended were found to have a relationship to positive persistence. Experiences of the academically successful and unsuccessful participants revealed that academic integration variables were least important to their academic success or failure. Academically successful students experienced greater and more positive interactions on the organizational and social levels. They were better able to interact with younger students, the faculty, and the institution as a whole