Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) is a federal TRIO program funded by the U.S. Department of Education, to help U.S. military veterans enter into and succeed in postsecondary school. VUB is a non-profit program serving veterans from an eight county area surrounding Bowling Green, and COSTS NOTHING for those who participate.  For more information about TRIO and other TRIO programs at WKU, see WKU's TRIO homepage.

All services, books and instruction are completely FREE OF CHARGE for those who qualify.

All VUB assistance, classes and supplies are free to qualified veterans.

The VUB program is located on WKU's campus in Jones-Jaggers Hall room 127, with its own dedicated classroom & computer lab next door. 

You can park in one of the "Jones-Jaggers Hall Visitor Parking" spots around  Jones-Jaggers Hall.  If you cannot find a visitor spot open, park in the 10-minute spot in front of the building, then ask a VUB staff member for a temporary parking permit.  Put the permit on the dash of your car and park in any of the lots next to Jones-Jaggers Hall, and after your visit, please return the parking pass to our office.

Students seeking to benefit from our FREE educational services must first meet a few simple eligibility requirements:

•  All VUB participants must have better than a dishonorable discharge, as well as one of the following:

  • a) have at least 180 days of active service;
  • b) be a member of a reserve component called to active duty for more than 30 days; or 
  • c) have served active duty but was discharged/released due to a service-connected disability.

• All VUB participants must be either low-income (based on federal income charts), potential first generation college students (neither parent earned a baccalaureate degree), or at high risk of academic failure (either low test scores, have a disability, or have been out of school for over 5 years).  In addition, two-thirds (66.6%) of the participants must be BOTH low-income AND potential first generation college students.

• All participants must demonstrate academic potential and yet have academic need.

• All Participants must live within our service area, which covers eight (8) counties surrounding Bowling Green, Kentucky. To be eligible for our free services, veterans must be residents of the following Kentucky counties: Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Simpson, or Warren.

 
Please note that we cannot provide services to those students who are already enrolled in college or tech school, so make sure to reach out to us before you enroll.

Participants of VUB can take advantage of a variety of academic and career counseling services, including:

• Postsecondary School Entry Advising -- VUB staff will help you with all the paperwork involved with enrolling in school, including filling out applications and requesting past transcripts.  In most instances, we'll even pay any application fees.

• Academic Advising -- Our counselor can help you with choosing majors and classes, as well as help put you in touch with the official advisers at your school of choice.

• Financial Aid Advising -- Our counselor can provide assistance with applying for VA educational benefits, financial aid, and scholarships.  However, VUB does not provide any direct financial assistance to our participants.

• Career Advising -- Our counselor can provide you with career advising, as well as choosing a school which will best fit with your goals.

Please note that you do NOT have to plan to attend WKU in order to take advantage of VUB's services.

No, however VUB will make every effort to refer our participants to outside community resources whenever necessary.

Participants of VUB can take advantage of a variety of academic services, including refresher classes and online tutoring:

• Refresher Classes -- VUB offers free academic refresher classes that are individually designed by the counselor and instructors to best help each student refresh the basic academic skills. Our teachers work with students in numerous subject areas, including language arts, mathematics, science, foreign language, and academic computer skills. Classes are conveniently located next door to our office in a classroom with a dedicated computer lab. Students and alumni can use the computer lab outside of class by making an appointment with the instructors.

• Online Tutoring -- VUB offers free access to several online tutorial programs, depending on the subject with which you need tutoring.  Our online tutorials can be used anywhere out students have web access. Students who cannot attend our refresher classes in-person can still work on their academic skills through these tutorials. Speak to our counselor to see if online tutoring will work for you.

This will depend on several factors, including your academic preparedness, your VUB assessment test scores, and own drive to succeed.  While some students may only require minimal work, others will want to attend classes for a longer period of time. Participants work at their own pace and it takes people different amounts of time to complete the program depending on how much academic work they want/need to accomplish. Our staff will advise you as to how long you might want to spend in our classes. Staff will also advise you when they feel you are ready to move on. In general, participants stay from 3-6 months.

 Have a question not answered by this page?  Or are you interested in joining our program?  You can find several ways to contact VUB on the right of this page, or you can request more information from our Contact Us page.