GIJOBs

FEB 2018

Issue link: http://gijobsdigimag.epubxp.com/i/931715

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 9 of 51

10 G.I. JOBS | FEBRUARY 2018 | GIJOBS.COM population in the local community. During my visit, I had the opportunity to meet briefly with the president and vice president of Quinnipiac University's vibrant Student Veteran Organization, Army veteran Jordan Atchley (Twitter: @jordanatchley12) and Air Force veteran Amanda Herbert (Twitter: @herbie_vore310). Over the past several years, individual veteran student surveys have played an increasingly valuable role in identifying top-performing institutions. This is one aspect of our three-part data analysis of school performance, which incorporates public data collected from state and federal institutions, proprietary data derived from our comprehensive survey, and personal data collected from active veteran students on campus. For Herbert, who grew up in the local area, Quinnipiac was her dream school. "My senior year of high school everyone was going on college tours and writing college essays and excited for what next fall was going to bring. I did not feel like I had everything in place to go to college at that time, financially or academically, to get into a school that I felt would be worth going to. Of course, no offense to other colleges, it is just every student has their 'fit' ... The SVO, along with Jason Burke, the director of Veteran's Affairs, made my five-month transition from military to student seamless. There were transition student orientations where professors would sit down and lay out my next few years and explained to me anything I did not understand. I barely ran into any issues, and if I did, they were resolved almost instantly or I was put into contact with someone who could assist me more directly." Indeed, her experience confirmed what we were seeing in their Military Friendly ® Schools survey data. Like the Quinnipiac program, the Military Friendly ® program builds year over year on a comprehensive data collection and correlation model. In simple terms, the Military Friendly ® Schools survey is the most exhaustive and thorough examination of an institution's military and veteran student programs that exists. On average, participating schools invest more than 15 hours collecting data that covers a wide range of information on their investments, outcomes and performance in support of military, veteran and military spouse students. Annually, between 1,500 and 2,000 colleges and universities apply for designation and award consideration. In 2017-18, fewer than 850 qualified. Qualification for the Military Friendly ® Schools designation requires the following: • Accreditation and federal programs are in good standing. • Must meet or exceed minimum standards in graduation, retention, transfer, loan default and job placement rates. • Are clear of any federal flags or have not been cited in any state or federal law enforcement actions. • Have no more than two veteran student complaints registered against them in the VA's GI Bill comparison tool. Consideration for an award (Top 10, Gold, Silver, Bronze) requires meeting a minimum scoring threshold that is set by the top scoring institutions in a given peer group. This year, the Military Friendly ® Schools program divided institutions into 11 primary categories further subdivided by size of student body. Quinnipiac University was ranked #1 out of more than 150 peer institutions. Achieving this ranking begins with a rigorous and thorough approach to data collection and analysis. As Quinnipiac's Jason Burke suggested, "We have a system where we track veteran and military affiliation of every student in our program, which allows us to provide efficient, personalized and high-touch case management for each of our veteran students." Combining their own capabilities and insights with additional veteran services provided by the state, Quinnipiac ensures nearly comprehensive coverage for the wide range of issues veteran students may encounter, from family to health care, finances, etc. Bringing all veterans through a cohesive process helps Quinnipiac University discover and address potential issues before they occur. PURPOSE: Pursuing Exceptional Goals The third key we found to be central to the success of Quinnipiac University's veteran program is the clear understanding of and bold trajectory into the future. Quinnipiac University is an institution on the move. New stadiums, a new medical school and additional campuses and programs create an air of activity that is rare in an institution of this size and history. New construction and facilities were common as we walked the beautiful grounds of the main campus, and the veterans program was no exception. When asked about his goals for the next five years, the answer was swift and sure. "My goal in five years is to have a veteran in every classroom. I want to see true 'priority of service' implemented in key processes like registration. We also intend to increase the number of veterans employed in key university positions so that a natural understanding of veteran issues and challenges becomes even more a part of the institutional fabric." The student veteran leadership echoed this sense of movement and purpose, as Amanda Herbert noted. "Going into the military I had a 'bucket list' of what I wanted to do, and once 2018 MILITARY FRIENDLY ® SCHOOLS SURVEY CATEGORIES & WEIGHTINGS GRADUATION & CAREER OUTCOMES 30% MILITARY STUDENT SUPPORT & RETENTION 30% FINANCIAL AID & LOAN REPAYMENT 12% ADMISSIONS & ORIENTATION 10% CULTURE & COMMITMENT 9% ACADEMIC POLICIES & COMPLIANCE 9%

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of GIJOBs - FEB 2018