UW-River Falls named a military friendly school

November 11, 2016 --The University of Wisconsin-River Falls has earned the 2017 Military Friendly® School designation by Victory Media, publisher of G.I. Jobs®, STEM Jobs SM, and Military Spouse. First published in 2009, Military Friendly® Schools is the most comprehensive, powerful resource for veterans today. Each year, the list of Military Friendly® Schools is provided to service members and their families, helping them select the best college, university, or trade school to receive the education and training needed to pursue a civilian career.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from Victory Media's proprietary survey. More than 1,600 schools participated in the 2017 survey while 1,160 were awarded with the designation. Ratings methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by Victory Media 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.

"2016 has been a pretty great year for the veteran population here at River Falls. We started it by moving into our new office and lounge area in North Hall, and got to cap it off with an inclusion in the Military Friendly Schools list," said Tadd Heichel, UWRF Military and Veteran Services coordinator. "This is just a physical reminder of what I see every day, whether it's faculty, staff or the students, UWRF is improved by the impact that military and veteran students and their families have had on campus."

"Our ability to apply a clear, consistent standard to the majority of colleges gives veterans a comprehensive view of which schools are striving to provide the best opportunities and conditions for our nation's student veterans," said Daniel Nichols, a Navy Reserve veteran and chief product officer at Victory Media. "Military Friendly® helps military families make the best use of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and other federal benefits while allowing us to further our goal of assisting them in finding success in their chosen career fields."

For more information about UW-River Fall's commitment to attracting and supporting military students, visit www.uwrf.edu

UW-River Falls will be showcased along with other 2017 Military Friendly® Schools in the annual Guide to Military Friendly® Schools, special education issues of G .I. Jobs® and Military SpouseMagazine, and on militaryfriendly.com