The University of Central Arkansas has announced that it has earned the 2022-2023 Military Friendly® School designation. Military Friendly® is owned and operated by Viqtory, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business.
Institutions earning this designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2022-2023 survey with 665 earning special awards for going above the standard.
The 2022-2023 Military Friendly® Schools list will be published in the May and October issues of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.
“There is no greater responsibility in our work than to ensure that UCA students are welcomed and supported in their collegiate journey. With our military and military-connected students, we recognize the opportunity to ease the transition to UCA while also enhancing a prosperous collegiate experience. Recognition from Military Friendly® signifies the outstanding work and efforts being provided to UCA military and military-connected students,” said Kevin Thomas, associate vice president for Enrollment Management. “Truly this is a campus effort that includes key coordination, support and care from our Veterans Resource Center, Financial Aid, Academic Advising, Student Accounts, Institutional Research and the campus Veterans Committee.”
Methodology, criteria and weightings were determined by Viqtory 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, persistence (degree advancement or transfer) and loan default rates for all students and specifically, for student veterans.
“Our desire has always been and will continue to be gaining and maintaining a deep-rooted and widespread military-friendly culture on this campus,” said Greg Pelts, director of the UCA Veterans Resource Center. “Achieving the official status as a Military Friendly® School is a significant achievement.”
“Military Friendly® is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our designation process. Our standards provide a benchmark that promotes positive outcomes and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the military community. Schools who achieve awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, going over and above that standard,” said Kayla Lopez, national director of military partnerships, Military Friendly®.
For more information about UCA’s student veteran programs, visit UCA Veteran Services.
About Military Friendly® Schools:
The Military Friendly® Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources from more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student veterans, and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly® Schools survey from participating institutions. The survey questions, methodology, criteria and weighting were developed with the assistance of an independent research firm and an advisory council of educators and employers. The survey is administered for free and is open to all postsecondary schools that wish to participate. Criteria for consideration can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.
