UNC Charlotte earned a 2020-21 Military Friendly Schools Bronze Award recently for its commitment to military service members, veterans and their dependents.
“Our commitment to military-affiliated students is why you'll find over 1,100 veteran students, faculty and staff on our campus,” said Bill Wilson, director of the Veteran Services Office (VSO). “Our office supports veterans and all those applying for certification of G.I. Bill benefits through programming, a veterans’ lounge and through the certification process. In addition to our large veteran and militarily-affiliated populations, UNC Charlotte has two large and active ROTC units, and you'll find (on campus) a Wall of Heroes memorial recognizing members of the UNC Charlotte family who have given their lives in military service. We value, respect and honor those who have served and recently dedicated a Veterans Park to commemorate the service of all of our students, faculty, staff and alumni.”
Institutions earning the prestigious Military Friendly Schools designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey completed by the school. Student survey data also was taken into consideration for the designation. More than 1,000 schools participated in the 2020-2021 survey.
UNC Charlotte began as one of 14 evening college centers created to serve returning veterans after World War II. In addition to the Veteran Services Office, the University offers support through veteran scholarships and assistantships, the Student Veterans Association and local community networking and engagement. In 2018, the Pride of Niner Nation Marching Band officially represented the United States in Normandy, France, performing for the 74th anniversary of D-Day.
The 2020-21 Military Friendly Schools list is provided to service members and their families to help them select the best colleges, universities or trade schools to receive the education and training needed to pursue a civilian career. The list will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.
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.
For more information about UNC Charlotte’s veteran and military support, visit Veteran Services Office.
This article originally appeared in Inside UNC Charlotte.