UWindsor joins national network to support military members balancing higher education

For many Canadians in uniform — and the families who serve alongside them — the path to a university degree or college diploma can be as challenging as the mission itself.

Two-and-a-half years ago, a national effort began to change that.

It started in Alberta, with the launch of the Canadian Military, Veteran and Family Connected Campus Consortium (CMVF3C). It’s a one-stop hub to help people in the military and their families succeed in post-secondary school.

The growing network is meant to break down barriers for serving scholars — and includes colleges, universities, community partners and government agencies.

On Tuesday, the University of Windsor signed on as a member of the consortium. There are nearly a dozen other Canadian post-secondary institutions that have already joined.

Mikayla Talbot says the program “means everything” to her.

The naval reservist at HMCS Hunter in Windsor, Ont., studies post-graduate accounting at the University of Windsor.

“It’s going to be more flexible. It’s going to be more accommodating … to get whatever we need done,” said the 23-year-old.

“The ease of scheduling and military service whenever we need to go.”

Talbot, who’s from London, Ont., has been a naval reservist for six years.

“I think more availability … making it more known that this is an option if you need to go on military service during school. It’s going to be accommodated easier than it has been in past times. Exams need to be rescheduled.”

Chris Elliott is the commander of the HMCS Hunter, a naval reserve training facility in Windsor, Ont.

He says the school’s declaration illustrates a commitment to making it happen in the classroom for local reservists — and connecting them to a network of people and other like-minded institutions.

“We can share those best practices and … I think we’ll be able to demonstrate from a strong position of things that other people should be doing across the country,” he said.

Sheri Lowrie says she likes the idea of the network, because it’s designed to help students.

“We want students to want to go to school,” said the recruitment and outreach coordinator at the University of Windsor.

“We need our university to thrive, and we need people to want to have education. It’s the best tool you can have.”

Elliott says the hope is to keep those who are enlisted on the long-term track for educational success and not feel forced into picking one or the other — something he says can be tricky.

“We want to actively work with our students to avoid that situation so that when these two very important competing priorities come head to head, that we can navigate with our centre of gravity being student success.”

Lowrie says, while difficult, she’s seen how the two can be balanced.

“Personally, I’ve seen my brother do both … Don’t let that be the barrier because we have space at the university to be able to accommodate you and the Navy, Army … it doesn’t matter.”

Elliott dealt with balancing the two himself.

“It was a very busy schedule. I had to kind of self advocate. I was …  independently trying to navigate that process. We don’t want to be a problem. We don’t want to always be the person asking for assistance or anything like that.”

According to Elliott, the network signals to all serving students and veterans and their family members that there’s an investment in finding a solution for them to pursue both.