Veterans and college drop out rates

Beginning to think about my dissertation proposal.
Would like to do something dealing with the problems of veterans who leave the service, go to school (college) and leave school without graduating.
Would like to make this a quantitative study, since there is ample data on the subject.
Minimum to no Institutional Review Board (IRB) involvement is necessary if the current data is used.
https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/register-irbs-and-obtain-fwas/irb-registration/index.html
Several news articles.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/04/why-is-the-student-veteran-graduation-rate-so-low/523779/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/veterans-college-drop-out_n_2016926.html
https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/latest-science/strategies-needed-to-reduce-treatment-dropout-rate-veterans-ptsd-substance-use-disorders