He was worried about whether he could handle the academics, and he was working full time while a full-time student. In classroom discussions, when students talked about foreign affairs, “it was almost heartbreaking to hear these students didn’t support” the military or seem to have a sense of what people were sacrificing to serve their country.

This year, Texas A&M University at San Antonio took the unusual step of trying to bridge the gulf between academic and military culture — in some places a stark political, cultural and philosophical divide — by mandating “cultural competency” training for faculty and staff.

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Those kinds of requirements are standard at many schools for groups, such as black students, Hispanic students, or lesbian, gay and transgender students who may face discrimination. But school officials say faculty and staff must be aware of the challenges faced by their students with military connections — whether veterans, reservists or spouses juggling family, frequent moves, injuries and mental-health issues at the same time they’re trying to keep up with classes.

“Sometimes we forget that the military is another culture that needs to be included in ‘multiculturalism,'” said K.C. Kalmbach, an associate professor of psychology at Texas A&M University-San Antonio who also does clinical work consulting with military service members. For many who joined when they were 17, the military has as profound an effect on their identity and world view as their religion, race and home town, she said. “I think it’s been left out.”

It’s a sign of both how marginalized military service has become — less than 1 percent of U.S. citizens have served since 2001 — and of the growing demand for higher education for service members, as this generation’s GI Bill has made college much more attainable and affordable for them.

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At Texas A&M University-San Antonio — in “Military City U.S.A.” — nearly 1 in 5 students is connected to the military.

Nationwide, there are about 1.5 million military-connected students pursuing higher education, Kalmbach said. She said she expects that to continue growing. “By 2020, about 5 million service members will have exited the military. A good number of them will be choosing college. … The post-9/11 GI Bill enacted in 2009 made it much more appealing for military members to attend college,” with help paying for tuition, textbooks and housing.

Many are quite different from the typical 18-year-old who goes to college straight out of high school. They’re usually quite a bit older, and they may have full-time jobs, families, injuries, mental-health issues and other things distracting them from academics. At Texas A&M University-San Antonio, they have branded themselves a “military embracing” college, making sure it’s easy to transfer credits, for example, making sure classrooms are easily accessible for students with disabilities and building a veterans’ center that even has an area where service dogs can get outside, off the leash, and play.

Kalmbach said she kept hearing from clients who had “tried” college but left. The cultural divide between military and civilian life widened dramatically in recent decades as the percentage of the population that served grew smaller. And the gap between military and academic culture is even wider. “It’s a culture clash, absolutely,” she said.

“The military is very structured,” said Richard Delgado Jr., the school’s director of military affairs. “We’re used to being issued orders and knowing exactly what we need to do. We’re told, ‘Hey, go storm the hill.’ There’s a clear mission and sense of purpose and tight connections to others.”

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In college, independence, individuality, reflection, exploration, creativity and collaboration are all valued. “That can be terrifying” for some veterans, Kalmbach said, leaving them feeling lost, adrift. “It’s a free-fall for them.”

They talked about ways to avoid offending students — such as assuming a woman is using her spouse’s benefit rather than assuming she served the country herself, referring to someone as a “former” Marine, or calling women “females.”

“In the military, sometimes ‘female’ is used in a derogatory manner,” Kalmbach explained. And once a Marine, always a Marine.

They taught the faculty some military-specific language, as well. “Embrace the suck” (which roughly translates to “yes, this is hard, but we’ll figure out a game plan,”) was a hit with professors.

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“I hope that more universities can integrate this type of training,” said Corinna Ross, an assistant professor of biology at the school. “I think it was really, really useful.”

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Ross, who heads the faculty senate, said she heard from many professors who said it was the most useful part of their training in the fall. While some had had students being deployed or carving out time for training, they had not considered academic issues, such as writing and critical thinking. “I’m in the sciences, so we are constantly teaching students to question things,” she said, contrary to military culture.

“It really did spark a lot of conversations and get people thinking how they can structure things differently in their classrooms,” Ross said.

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“We have other training for other groups that takes place here, and this is a good addition to that,” said Edward Westermann, a professor of history. “I think any time there’s a lack of familiarity, that lack of familiarity sometimes makes people uncomfortable with a given perspective or a given experience.”

Reaction from faculty was so positive, school officials said, that they mandated the training for staff as well. Officials from other schools have already reached out to them, interested in the training.

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Rendon welcomed the change, remembering how out of place he felt, how he stood out with his Navy haircut, and kept mostly to himself when he started classes. “I felt like I wasn’t smart enough for college,” Rendon said. “I think a lot of veterans feel the same way.”