"Letting military personnel know what opportunities are available to them while they are still serving and the ways that their military training can translate into college credits will help them accelerate the degree process and succeed professionally. The MVP portal will help veterans and active-duty military personnel understand that obtaining a bachelor's degree is possible and achievable."

— Michael DeOssie, BS degree in Technical Studies program student.

The Military and Veteran Portal

For veteran and active-duty military students, a good thing keeps getting better.

Since its launch in 2014, the University's Military and Veteran Portal (MVP) has enabled more than 5,000 military service members and veterans to understand how their military training can be transferred and applied as credit to a college degree, view potential degree programs aligned with their training and estimate the cost of their education – all before they applied.

"Tools like the University's MVP portal are important because not everyone has the opportunity to go to college full time when they leave the military," said U.S. Navy veteran, Michael DeOssie, a nuclear shift supervisor in the control room at PSEG's Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Technical Studies at the University.

"Many, like me, already have a family and financial responsibilities that require them to focus on working while placing higher education on the back burner. It's usually only through word of mouth and, sometimes, years after the fact, that veterans usually learn how many potential credits they can earn from their military experience."

For MVP portal users and active or former military students, a good thing just got better.

The PSEG Foundation, supporters of the portal since its inception, recently awarded a two-year, $200,000 grant to expand programs for active-duty service members and veterans and advance the development of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses at the University. The funding will support substantial improvements to the University's existing MVP portal and Career Enhancement Initiative. Support for the Career Enhancement Initiative component will bring improved functionality to the portal by focusing on degree completion, as well as connecting users with career advisement and specific job opportunities based on their interests and training. The University’s implementation of STEM/Nuclear Energy Engineering laboratory simulation technology in online courses will assist in meeting the needs of adult students, increasing student retention and degree achievement, while expanding the academic rigor of the entire STEM curriculum.

"Letting military personnel know what opportunities are available to them while they are still serving and the ways that their military training can translate into college credits will help them accelerate the degree process and succeed professionally," noted DeOssie. "The portal will help veterans and active-duty military personnel understand that obtaining a bachelor's degree is possible and achievable."

On returning for a degree, DeOssie proposes that it's never too late to start.

"The easy advice would be to start when you're young and have fewer responsibilities. The more realistic advice is it's never too late to begin," he noted. "After a review of your prior military and workplace training, plan a meeting with an academic advisor at TESU so you can see just how close you are to completing a degree. You don't have to be a full-time student to finish. Start with one class, see how well you can handle it and adjust your workload as necessary. Completing my degree is important to me for two reasons: The first is for my own personal development and to show that I have the knowledge to complete my bachelor’s degree. The second is to show my children that it is possible to complete a degree while working full time."

To learn more, visit the MVP portal and check out PSEG's Energize! blog post, "Offering veterans pathway to better career," to watch a short video and learn more about how our partnership has proved to be life changing for U.S. military veterans.

Insights Home »