The Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWTech) has received a $367,000 grant from the Department of Education to open a center that school officials hope will improve the institute’s appeal to military veterans.

The grant will fund the first three years of the Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success (CEVSS), which will be on the Kirkland school’s campus, though the exact location has not yet been determined. The center will be part student lounge, part resource center, staffed by a CEVSS coordinator paid through the grant. The coordinator will provide direct advising for current veteran students, as well as work to recruit more veterans.

LWTech President Amy Goings said that the center will also complement the current support they have for veterans, such as the annual recognition luncheon and assistance received through the financial department if they’re enrolling through the GI Bill.

“What I think is exciting about this recent grant, the center for excellence grant, it allows us to strengthen that support network for our veteran students,” she said. “The space will allow us to really focus on our veteran students and make sure they have the resources they need to not only feel very welcome and included, but to also complete their credentials.”

One of the main focuses of the grant will be to provide a community space for veterans on campus, along with helping them match their previous education in the military with programs at LWTech, according to Vice President of Student Services Dr. Ruby Hayden. For example, a veteran trained as a welder will not have to take unnecessary courses covering the same material, which will allow them to graduate sooner and with lower costs.

Another goal of the center, Hayden said, is to improve their retention rate for veteran students, along with their graduation rates.

“We started to take a look at our completion rate and our enrollment rates, our enrollment rates were lower than national averages for colleges in veteran enrollment, and we thought, especially with the natural alignment of manufacturing and high tech career based programs, there’s no reason why we’re not one of the best options for veterans in this area,” Hayden said. “Our veterans should be some of the most successful students on campus. Those two things were what really sparked it.”

Goings, whose father fought in the Vietnam War, said, “I’ve seen first hand the sacrifices veterans make their entire lives from their service, and so personally, as well as professionaly, this grant is a great source of pride for me. I think it’s the least we can do.”

Although veterans choose a variety of studies, Hayden said they tend to concentrate on programs such as manufacturing, electronics, engineering, machining, welding and collision repair.

As part of that effort, the center’s coordinator will provide intensive advising, using a more intimate approach that guides the students throughout their academic career at the institute.

“One of the things we pride ourselves on is treating students like people,” she said.

The center can also help veterans navigate issues such as Veterans Affairs, so that they have access to benefits or resources.

“It’s not like we train people to understand bureaucracy,” Hayden said. “So having someone trained in it to be your liaison is nice. This would be the person to help them get connected.”

Although LWTech already has a sizable veteran student population, with an estimated 150 enrolling this current academic year, Hayden said they’re looking to keep the enrollment numbers high and consistent.

Once the grant money is spent, Hayden said they hope to have other funding mechanisms in place to keep the center going.

“We want it to be an ongoing program at the college,” she said. “We want to maintain ongoing high level support for our veterans.”

By then, ideally the institute will be able to secure more state funding to reach their pre-recession levels, Goings said, as there remain numerous funding gaps.

“We are continuing to work with our legislators to focus on the need for rebuilding state funding to the state and technical colleges,” she said. “We hope by the time this grant runs out we’ll have made up some lost ground legislatively and we’ll have the funds to continue this work.”