Former defence personnel who study in Australia feel university can be difficult, demoralising and isolating, researchers have found.

A study, led by La Trobe University, surveyed 240 people who accessed higher education after serving in the military.

It found the majority of student veterans were positive about their university experiences.

They recognised university's value in developing their sense of purpose and improving career prospects. The students also recognised they required similar skills to those they gained in the ADF, like time management and discipline.

But most student veterans surveyed, who were largely men aged 20 to 49, still found it difficult to transition to university life compared to others.

The survey showed they were less likely to feel prepared for study and supported by their universities.

"The Australian Defence Force has imposed discipline. University is self-discipline — nothing is prepared or organised for you," a student veteran told researchers.

"As ADF members, we are taught to operate in a team environment, which can cause much anxiety when transitioning into self-directed learning."

About 5,500 defence personnel discharge and return to civilian life each year but it is not known how many go on to study at university.

Barriers to success

Many student veterans were less likely to interact with their peers on or outside of campus compared to other students. ( ABC News: Stephanie Anderson )

More than half of the respondents reported that their study was negatively affected by financial circumstances, followed by mental health issues.

About one-third also reported having a disability or medical condition that could affect their studies, with most impairments caused during their service.

Researchers noted that student veterans could also find it challenging to transition because they were mature age students or studied online.

Many did not feel a sense of belonging and believed university culture was not respectful or appreciative of military service.

"Negative preconceptions about the military and defence in general were quite pervasive within the student body and academia," a respondent said.

Melbourne man Ben Parkinson started studying at university about three months ago after serving in the army for five years.

Ben Parkinson said he has not told his university peers about his five years of service in the army, partly because of the stigma. ( Supplied: Ben Parkinson )

He did not participate in the survey but could relate to some of the findings, particularly challenges connecting to other students.

"Our discussion topic that the teacher wanted to discuss in class was 'what are your ideas of a soldier'," Mr Parkinson said.

"No one in the class knew I was in the army … the first things that were thrown around the room were 'murderer, license to kill, evil'," he said.

"My response was 'you know I think there's a certain amount of caring and humanitarian aid behind a soldier' … it was almost as if that answer was wrong.'"

Lead researcher Andrew Harvey said one third of respondents felt their university was not "veteran friendly" and one fifth were not comfortable discussing their military experience on campus.

"They think the campus is a bit left wing, they think the students don't have the life experience that they have," Mr Harvey said.

"We need to have more veteran-specific services, and we need to do better at communicating to veterans the services that are on campuses."

That included expanding the footprint of the Australian Student Veterans Association which has been helping bridge gaps since it was established in 2016.

Calls for more support, consistency among universities

Some universities did credit ADF experiences as prior learning. ( ABC News: Giulio Saggin )

The research highlighted the need for more bursaries, scholarships and funding support for student veterans in the Australian higher education sector.

Student veterans did not all fit into traditional equity groups, like being Indigenous, having a disability, or coming from a non-English speaking background.

The survey found most student veterans earned civilian qualifications from their service, but no credit for prior learning towards university.

Some tertiary admission centres and universities, with the exception of those in Queensland, did not convert, or differed in the way they credited ADF experiences to an entry path into university.

Mr Parkinson said he dropped out of high school to join the army so had to jump through many hoops to get into university.

"It was really disappointing … I did an Indonesian language course in the military … and multiple leadership courses," Mr Parkinson said.

"Every year you do in the military you're on a course, you're presenting essays, you're learning new things … none of that counts towards anything.

"That's crazy because the military is spending upwards of millions of dollars … for training."

Mr Harvey said some universities were trying to broaden admissions beyond school grade or ATAR but there was still a long way to go.

"Veterans often have to run large tactical operations, have enormous strategic capacity and are used to high-pressure environments," Mr Harvey said.

"These are the sorts of skills and strengths that we want in higher education and we need to get better at understanding, recognising and rewarding those strengths."

Most respondents did not disclose their veteran status to their university because they saw no benefit or were not asked, something Mr Harvey wants to see changed.

"We need to be changing enrolment forms to try and capture information so that we have more data on this group," Mr Harvey said.

Researchers made other recommendations, including for the Department of Veterans' Affairs to advocate expanding assistance schemes, and commission further research on student veterans.