Maryville College earns Gold-level Military Friendly® School Designation
Feb. 19, 2020
Maryville College has earned the Gold-level Military Friendly® School designation for 2020-21.
This recognition is the fifth in five years from Viqtory, which is considered a standard-setter for colleges providing positive employment and education outcomes for veterans and their families.
The 2020-2021 Military Friendly® Schools list will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.
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 2020-2021 survey, with 695 earning the designation. Maryville College is one of 11 Tennessee colleges and universities that earned Military Friendly® School designation – and the only one that earned Gold distinction.
The Military Friendly® School with Gold distinction is “a school that scored within 10 percent of the 10th ranking school in their category,” according to militaryfriendly.com. “These [administrators] are setting the example with their programs and initiatives.”
“The key to Maryville College’s continual rise among military friendly schools has been its commitment by faculty and staff to guide our veteran students to succeed both academically and personally,” said Jim Humphrey, a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force and director of military recruiting and outreach for Maryville College. “Our 263-acre campus footprint with more than 60 programs of study, nestled along the foothills at the base of the Smoky Mountains makes us the ideal educational transition for veteran 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. 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.
Maryville College (MC) accepts military Tuition Assistance (TA), Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits, TN Strong Act and other veteran educational benefits. Additionally, MC offers a unique level of support with its MC Helping Heroes Scholarship for those military members who have not accrued 100 percent of VA education benefits. The College also provides academic credit for formal military training, accommodations for those with disabilities and career placement assistance for veterans.
For more information about Maryville College student veteran programs, visit www.maryvillecollege.edu/veterans or contact Jim Humphrey at 865.981.8015 or jim.humphrey@maryvillecollege.edu.
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The Military Friendly® Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources for 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.