Veterans Viewbook

MILITARY AND VETERANS SERVICES

SANDHILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

LEARN • ENGAGE • BELONG

Military and Veterans Services at Sandhills Community College

It is our honor to now serve those who have so faithfully served America.

Military and Veterans Services at Sandhills Community College is a one-stop shop for military-connected students. We are committed to supporting and assisting student veterans and their families. We honor your service and want to help you acquire the knowledge and skills needed to achieve your professional and personal goals.

We are dedicated to enabling success as you transition from the military to a college campus, persist through graduation, and transition from college to the civilian workforce.

LEARN

We are here to help you navigate and access our programs, process Veterans Affairs benefits and financial aid, and arrange tutoring or access learning labs if needed.

ENGAGE

We are happy to assist you in accessing Student Life and SGA, intramural sports, college clubs, the gym and fitness center, and athletic activities.

BELONG

We can help you establish meaningful relationships and support networks, leading to a sense of community and belongingness. Graduates will be offered a red, white, and blue cord to wear at commencement.

Military-Affiliated Students are of Incalculable Value

• Military students have a strong desire to pursue post-secondary education. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that nearly 50% of all service members transitioning from active duty enroll in an institution of higher learning.

• Military-affiliated students are high performers in the classroom and offer leadership and diversity of thought and experience to our universities.

• Military-affiliated students often pursue and complete high-demand programs like STEM, business, and health.

• Many military students have the technical skills needed to fill critical workforce gaps in North Carolina like cyber defense and IT.

• North Carolina has one of the nation’s largest military footprints (nearly 1 million active, veteran and reserve) and a defense sector that contributes over $66 billion annually to the state.

www.northcarolina.edu/military

Sandhills Community College Invests in Military-Affiliated Students

The Luke Joseph Ryan Veterans Center

The Luke Joseph Ryan Veterans Center is in room 120 of the Katharine L. Boyd Library. This out-ofthe-way area is a place for socializing and studying for veteran students, dependents, and spouses. The center is outfitted with a small kitchen area that includes a coffee bar and water filling station, a lounge area with a TV, and comfortable tables and chairs for studying.

The Veterans Center is dedicated to Luke Joseph Ryan’s memory, a navy serviceman whose life and military career ended far too soon. The Ryan family has a long tradition of military service representative of all five branches of the armed forces. Luke’s father, Luke Patrick Ryan, was a Navy SEAL. His grandfather, Colonel Robert J. Ryan, MD, was an Army surgeon who served in the Marine Corps. All four of Luke’s uncles proudly served active duty in the US military.

Success Coach

Sandhills has a Military and Veteran Success Coach housed in the Ryan Veterans Center. This Coach provides intentional academic outreach to our military community providing customized academic support and encouragement. Collaboration with faculty and staff to maintain ongoing communication with military-connected students, targeted retention strategies, and success coaching is offered.

The Quiet Space

Located in the Katharine L. Boyd Library near the Ryan Veterans Center is an electronics-free area for our SCC military population and students. This Quiet Space allows for meditation or relaxation in a serene environment.

Support with Accessing MilitaryAffiliated Benefits

The Office of Military and Veteran Services will connect students to internal and external resources and assist with

navigating the process of applying for educational benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Education Center.

Mentorship Program

Sandhills has partnered with the American Corporate Partners, which offers a free, one-year personalized mentor to transitioning soldiers, active duty spouses, and veterans (post 9/11). Each applicant for the mentorship program will be connected with a mentor who will guide and direct in meeting professional and educational goals.

Educational Benefits

Veterans

• Chapter 30 Montgomery G.I. Bill® (MGIB)

• Chapter 31 Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E)

• Chapter 33 Post 9/11 G.I. Bill®

• Chapter 1606 The Montgomery GI Bill® Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR)

Active-Duty Tuition Assistance

• Army Tuition Assistance

• Air Force Tuition Assistance

• Navy Tuition Assistance

• Marine Corps Tuition Assistance

• Coast Guard Tuition Assistance

• North Carolina National Guard Tuition Assistance Program (NC TAP)

• National Guard

• Reserves

Spouses

• MyCAA Scholarship

• Chapter 33 John Fry Scholarship & Transfer of Entitlement (TOE)

• Chapter 35 Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance (DEA)

SANDHILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Dependents

• Chapter 33 John Fry Scholarship & Transfer of Entitlement (TOE)

• Chapter 35 Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance (DEA)

3,974

Curriculum Students (Fall Semester 2021)

Student to Teacher Ratio (2021-22)

About Sandhills Community College

Sandhills Community College is a public community college in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Chartered in 1963, the college officially opened on October 1, 1965. It was the first comprehensive community college authorized and established due to legislation passed by the 1963 General Assembly of North Carolina and is part of the 58-campus North Carolina Community College System.

Sandhills has approximately 4,000 students enrolled in college-credit curriculum courses annually and over 11,000 students who take continuing education courses.

Sandhills Community College was the first comprehensive community college in NC to offer a transfer program. All instructors of courses that transfer hold a master’s degree or higher. The student-to-teacher ratio is much lower than first- and second-year students typically experience at four-year universities and colleges.

The Dempsey Student Center houses the college bookstore, areas for study, a gymnasium, a fitness center, locker rooms, a game room, a full-service cafeteria, dining areas, and the Ewing Leadership Center. Outside the Dempsey Student Center is a basketball court, tennis courts, a baseball field, a picnic shelter, walking trails, sand volleyball courts, and a ropes course.

Horticultural Gardens

The college is also home to the 32-acre Sandhills Horticultural Gardens. Designed and maintained by students in the Landscape Gardening program, the site contains 14 themed gardens, including a whimsical Children’s Garden and a Japanese Garden. A formal English Garden exhibits several smaller gardens, including a Fountain Courtyard, a Ceremonial Courtyard, and an Herb Garden. The most extensive accessible holly collection on the east coast is the Ebersole Holly Garden.

Athletics

The Athletic program offers golf and basketball for men. Women can participate in volleyball, beach

Dempsey Student Center Patio

Pinehurst Campus

Central Lawn

Sandhills Hoke Center

The McNeill-Woodward Green

Pinehurst Campus

volleyball and golf. Competition is through Region X of the NJCAA. The teams are the “Flyers” with the mascot an aviator named Marty McFlyer. In recent years, national championships have been won by two men’s basketball teams and three men’s golf teams.

Locations

The main campus is centrally located in North Carolina in Pinehurst at 3395 Airport Road. This is only 40 miles from downtown Fayetteville, 30 miles from Ft. Bragg, and 24 miles from Raeford. The Sandhills Hoke Center is at 1110 E. Central Avenue in Raeford. The college also teaches Public Safety and construction classes at the Larry R. Caddell Training Center in Carthage and College and Career Readiness classes at the Robbins Center in downtown Robbins.

Sandhills was the first comprehensive community college in North Carolina to offer a college transfer program. @sandhillscc