Ohio University is proud to announce that it has been named one of the nation’s top military-friendly schools for the tenth consecutive year. Awarded the eighth spot among Tier 2 research institutions for 2021-2022 by Viqtory Media, a veteran-owned company and publisher of G.I. Jobs magazine, OHIO has ranked in the top 10 for the last four years.
The 2021 Military Friendly Schools® list honors colleges, universities and trade schools across the country that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans and dependents as students and ensure their success on campus.
To compile the rankings, Viqtory measures how well an institution’s recruiting program engages prospective military students and educates them once they’re enrolled.
“OHIO recognizes our service members’ commitment to our country and community and aims to provide them with the same commitment when it comes to access to education while serving,” Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis said. “We are proud to continue to support our service members and honored to be recognized for our work as a top military-friendly school.”
At Ohio University, the Veterans and Military Student Services Center provides programs and services for student veterans, military personnel and their family members, including:
“I am proud to be a part of Ohio University. The support the leadership, faculty and staff provide to our military students is reflected in our continued recognition as a Military Friendly institution,” said Lt. Col. (Ret) Terry St. Peter, director of the Veterans and Military Student Services Center at Ohio University. “Whether it is the policies/accommodations to support our military members that have been called upon in support of COVID-19 assistance, natural disaster response and civil unrest, or providing needed space for veterans to remove themselves from environmental triggers and connect with fellow veterans, this university continues to demonstrate its appreciation for those that have answered the call.”
OHIO met the 100 percent standard on the six standards to qualify as a Military Friendly school: Academic policies and compliance, admissions and orientation, culture and commitment, financial aid and assistance, graduation and career, and military student support and retention.
Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey completed by the school, along with personal opinion data and feedback from veterans.
Methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by Viqtory Media with input from the Military Friendly Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for Student Retention, Graduation, Job Placement, Loan Repayment, and Loan Default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.
“This past year has been particularly challenging for everyone, including our veteran students,” St. Peter added. “We have had to make significant changes to the way we operate, but one thing has remained constant. We continue to remain responsive to our veteran students – with no degradation to our live phone coverage, rapid response rates to email correspondence, and pushing out critical updates to COVID-19 implications to classes and VA educational benefits. We continue work to improve our virtual support offerings through our various social media platforms.”
For more information about Ohio University’s commitment to military veterans and available academic opportunities, contact the Veterans and Military Student Services Center at veteranscenter@ohio.edu or 740-566-VETS (8387).