Barriers that impact the academic success of military veterans enrolled at federally regulated maritime academies: A collective case study analysis

The U.S. maritime industry is an important component of the U.S. economy. This industry is in need of qualified and highly trained licensed officers. The U.S. Department of Labor predicts steady growth, with respect to employment opportunities, for individuals licensed to work on commercial vessels. The majority of U.S. mariners, who are licensed for service onboard large commercial vessels, are trained at one of the seven federally-regulated maritime academies. Senior industry officials have voiced their desire to hire veterans. Additionally, the U.S. government and maritime industry partnerships have begun to specifically target military veterans for employment in the maritime industry. The U.S. Congress has tasked the U.S. Coast Guard with facilitating the ability of a veteran to apply the training received while on active duty toward the training required prior to issuance of a Merchant Mariner’s Credential. Due to the need for trained mariners, and the desire of the government and industry to attract veterans for the merchant marine, the seven federally-regulated academies need to develop support mechanisms to ensure the academic success of the military veterans they admit.
This qualitative study analyzed the barriers that impacted the academic success of military veterans who were enrolled at a federally-regulated maritime academy in a curriculum that required completion of the exams that lead to issuance of a merchant mariner’s credential as a condition of graduation. The study also researched the effectiveness of programs that other colleges have enacted in an effort to facilitate the success of students who were also military veterans. A total of 14 individuals were interviewed during this research study, seven were cadets, three were faculty, and four were government officials. The faculty participants were employed at a federally-regulated maritime academy. The government officials had responsibilities with respect to the regulation of the academies or the U.S. merchant marine credentialing processes.
This research study found several recommendations for higher education practice. Among them is creation of a program for veterans that would be operated under a different set of regulations than the ones currently in use. The regulations which the federally-regulated maritime academies currently operate under do not allow for an academy to easily accept military training and sea service. However, there are regulations in place that would allow an academy to create a parallel program where a veteran would be able to apply his or her sea service toward the requirements of a program that would result in issuance of both a bachelor’s degree and a merchant mariner’s credential. The findings of this study resulted in recommendations for future research. These recommendations include research to determine if there is a large difference in the percentage of military aviators who hold civilian aviation credentials and military mariners who hold merchant mariner credentials. If there is a large difference what can the military mariner community learn from the aviation community?