2017 Military Friendly Schools Survey Open for Entries
PITTSBURGH, PA – This week, the 2017 Military Friendly Schools survey opened to colleges, universities, online programs, community colleges and trade schools nationwide to help them assess and benchmark how Military Friendly their policies and programs are for student veterans and military spouses. The time-tested and trademarked resulting Military Friendly Schools ratings, which will be announced this fall, provides military families with a free resource to evaluate schools to find the best degree or training program that will ultimately lead to satisfying civilian careers.
Over the last eight years, the Military Friendly Schools program has evolved, and a significant change for 2017 will be the inclusion of both public and proprietary data from 8,878 institutions, establishing new benchmarks for eligibility based upon a core set of outcome data. Public data is obtained from the Departments of Education, Veterans Affairs and Defense. Supplementing public data will be responses from participating colleges and universities to questions in six categories deemed critical to helping student veterans thrive on campus. The survey categories are:
- Academic Policies & Compliance
- Admissions & Orientation
- Culture & Commitment
- Financial Aid & Loan Repayment
- Graduation & Career Outcomes
- Military Student Support & Retention
Final Military Friendly ratings will be determined by combining an institution’s Military Friendly Schools proprietary survey score with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet minimum thresholds for Student Retention, Graduation, Job Placement and Loan Repayment rates for all students and specifically for student veterans based on the public data.
Also new for 2017 will be the Military Friendly Schools Awards showcasing the most powerful and impactful programs supporting veteran and military students. Award categories will be by type of institution, with leader and various performance levels recognized in each category.
Note that institutions must successfully complete the 2017 survey and qualify as a 2017 Military Friendly School in order to be considered for the 2017 Awards program.
Participation in the survey and awards program is free, and all Military Friendly-designated institutions will receive free use of the Military Friendly Schools logo.
Surveys must be submitted no later than August 31 to be considered for the awards program and for publication of Military Friendly Schools in the annual print guide. The Guide to Military Friendly Schools is distributed for free in military transition classes and across U.S. Military bases and communities worldwide, reaching hundreds of thousands of transitioning service members, veterans, military spouses, and military transition program managers each month — individuals who know and trust the tested Military Friendly name.
Schools may request their free survey at www.militaryfriendly.com/startsurvey. Information about the Military Friendly ratings for schools and employers can be found on www.militaryfriendly.com.
About Military Friendly:
The Military Friendly Schools designation process includes extensive research and a data-driven survey of more than 8,800 schools nationwide. The school survey, methodology, criteria and weightings are developed with the assistance of an independent advisory council of educators and employers, and independently tested by EY based upon the weightings and methodology established by Victory Media, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business that connects classrooms to careers for the nation’s next generation of professionals.
The survey is administered for free and is open to all post-secondary schools that wish to participate. Criteria for consideration can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.