Whether a veteran has just finished boot camp or has served for a number of years, Heidelberg University provides tools, assistance and financial aid to help them transition to the classroom. As a result of this commitment to service personnel, Heidelberg is being recognized as a Military Friendly School for 2020-21.
The annual 2020-21 Military Friendly® Schools list was recently released, designating those colleges and universities that provide excellent choices and educational opportunities for veterans, their spouses and the military community.
“At Heidelberg, we are pleased to provide individualized service to our military men and women to get them ready for the classroom,” said Sue Rife, senior associate director of admission.
Sue regularly works directly with the veterans who are looking to begin or return to college, meeting them on their timeline, working with them one-on-one to provide resources and assuring that they receive the academic benefits to which they are entitled.
Additionally, Heidelberg is part of the Yellow Ribbon Program, which operates through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Yellow Ribbon Program helps with the cost of out-of-state, private school or graduate school tuition for veterans.
Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,000 schools participated in the 2020-21 survey with 695 earning the designation. Those schools will be included in a list that will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobs magazine. This is the 10th year the list has been published.
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 ability to apply a clear, consistent standard to colleges creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages colleges to invest in programs to provide educational outcomes that are better for the military community as a whole,” said Josh Rosen, Military Friendly’s national director.