Local Colleges are among the Most 'Military Friendly" for 2013

Trinity Washington University

G.I. Jobs Magazine recently announced 1,736 postsecondary institutions it considers the most “Military Friendly” schools in the country.  And with over 12,000 VA-approved schools in contention, competition for a place on the list was “fierce.

The list, including results from a survey of student veterans, names colleges, universities and trade schools “that are doing the most to embrace American military service members, veterans, and spouses as students.”  These are schools employing “leading practices” in the recruitment and retention of students with military experience.

This year, Catholic University and Trinity Washington University joined American, George Washington University, and the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences for places on the DC list of “military friendly” nonprofit institutions.

In Virginia, Averett University, Bluefield College, the College of William & Mary, Ferrum College, George Mason University, Hampden-Sydney College, James Madison University, Liberty University, Lynchburg College, Mary Baldwin College, Marymount, Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, Radford, Regent, Roanoke, VCU, Virginia State, Virginia Tech, Virginia Wesleyan, and Washington and Lee University made the list of 4-year baccalaureate programs offering the best education, value, and welcome to veterans.

And in Maryland, Frostburg State University, Hood College, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Salisbury University, McDaniel College, Stevenson University, Towson, and UMBC were among the 4-year nonprofits considered “military friendly.”

"Inclusion on the 2013 list of Military Friendly Schools ® shows commitment to providing a supportive environment for military students,” said Sean Collins, Director for G.I. Jobs.  “As interest in education grows we’re thrilled to provide the military community with transparent, world-class resources to assist in their search for schools.”

The list is compiled using survey research as well as input from government agencies and private organizations administering education benefits. A panel of experts assigned weight to each of the following categories:

• Certifications, programs and policies suggesting a school’s non-financial efforts to recruit and retain military and veteran students. This category includes VA-approval to accept the GI Bill SOC membership, academic credit for CLEP and ACE, and flexible learning programs (45%)
• Financial commitment to efforts to recruit and retain these students. This includes Yellow Ribbon program membership, tuition benefits, and percent of overall recruitment budget allocated to recruiting military students (35%)
• The number and percent of military and veteran students currently enrolled (15%)
• Other miscellaneous considerations including academic accreditations (5%)

In short, the schools making the list are mainly those that have made an investment to reach out to and enroll military and veteran students.