The University of West Georgia announced today it has earned the 2021-2022 Military Friendly School designation.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,200 schools participated in the 2021-22 survey with 747 earning the designation. 

Danny Gourley Fischer, UWG’s director of the Center for Adult Learners and Veterans (CALV), said the institution being named a Military Friendly Institution for the fifth year in a row is a true cause for celebration. UWG has sustained this achievement by maintaining a high level of service excellence for the student experience.

“Our commitment to student veterans is the same commitment we make to any student: We brought you here to succeed,” Fischer said. “You have to do the work in the classroom, but we should be doing everything we can to deliver a top-tier experience outside the classroom. From connecting students to resources to helping them responsibly plan for the financing of their education, we want to be there for our students.”

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. Institutions’ 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 were all measured.

Qualencia Wiggles, who goes by “Q” for short, serves in the U.S. Army Reserves while she completes her degree at UWG. Wiggles has been in the Army for three years, and now, she works in the Center for Adult Learners and Veterans, where she found the help she needed to get her veteran’s benefits taken care of.

Studying health and community wellness, Wiggles is now able to help student veterans like her with her service-minded spirit.

“Throughout my experience at UWG, I’ve been able to meet a lot of military-connected students, and we can relate on issues that a civilian would probably not understand,” Wiggles said. “Being able to find that community and be part of it is a great feeling.”

Kayla Lopez, national director of military partnerships for Military Friendly, said higher education institutions who achieve the designation “show true commitment and dedication in their efforts.”

“Military Friendly is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our designation process,” Lopez said. “Our standards assist schools by providing a benchmark that promotes positive educational outcomes, resources, and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the military community.”

The 2021-2022 Military Friendly Schools list will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found online. For more information about the University of West Georgia’s student veteran programs, visit the Center for Adult Learners and Veterans.