ASU Pat Tillman Veterans Center again recognized as 'Military Friendly'

For the eighth consecutive year the Pat Tillman Veterans Center and Arizona State University earned the designation of Military Friendly School from Victory Media —publisher of G.I. Jobs, STEM Jobs SM, and Military Spouse.

The 2017 award announced Thursday recognizes ASU as one of the top institutions in the nation for service members and their families to receive the education and training needed to pursue a civilian career.

“ASU is going to continue to be a strong choice for veterans and their families,” said Steve Borden, Pat Tillman Veterans Center director and former Navy captain. “Particularly because of the number of programs that we have available, the quality of our education and our focus on student success.”

Some of the Pat Tillman Veterans Center student success initiatives include the use of outreach teams to engage veterans and facilitate their college transition and strong advocacy among key university units and with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from Victory Media’s proprietary survey. 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 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 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.”

More than 5,200 military-affiliated graduate and undergraduate students pursue their education at ASU. The university also conducts extensive research for the Department of Defense and has established multiple defense-related centers that explore global security challenges and potential solutions.

To learn more about the Pat Tillman Veterans Center, visit veterans.asu.edu. For more information about ASU’s military and veteran initiatives, go to military.asu.edu.