Military Resource Center offers benefits for veterans, dependents

The Military Resource Center (MRC) at Radford University offers a variety of benefits for veterans and dependents.

One goal of the MRC is to provide resources and services to veterans, active-duty and dependents. Some of the services provided include counseling services, college transition coaching, a Veteran’s Affairs (VA) certifier to assist with education benefits, and other training and guidance.

“We can connect veterans and active duty to all sorts of resources,” said Bill Kennan, director of the MRC. “We work with the benefits coordinator out of Roanoke so that we have a direct line to somebody who can help if there are any questions about benefits.”

Some of the benefits provided to veterans, active-duty and dependents include the VA paying for tuition, a book stipend and a basic allowance for housing. For students to receive those benefits, they must be certified by the VA. The MRC works closely with the school certifying official to assist students through the process.

“The transition to college life is hard for people,” Kennan said. “Veterans aren’t like other college students. We have student transition coordinators so they can work with their peers to help them adjust.”

In addition to these benefits, the MRC works closely with the Office of the Registrar to provide the transfer for military credit programs.

“All veterans, including active duty, have a joint services transcript and we have a really great program so that we can work with the registrar and get students credit on their academic transcript,” Kennan said. “Veterans have the background and we help have their experiences reflected on their academic transcripts.”

The MRC also offers a physical location on-campus for veterans, active-duty and dependents to have a home.

In addition to the other benefits, the VA pays for work-study opportunities if the work is related to the military or the VA.

“We can offer that to them as part their benefits package,” Kennan said. “We currently have about 14 students who work with us as part of the VA work study. It’s another form of support for our students.”