Southeastern designated a Military Friendly School for seventh time
Friday, February 22, 2019
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – For the seventh consecutive year, Southeastern Louisiana University
has been named a 2019 Military Friendly School.
Viqtory Media, publisher of “G.I Jobs,” states the listing honors the top colleges,
universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace the nation’s military
service members, veterans, and spouses as students and to ensure their success on
campus.
“This listing demonstrates Southeastern’s ongoing commitment to our veterans
and their educational success,” said President John L. Crain. “It is an honor to be
named and to know that we are among the top institutions helping those individuals
who have made great sacrifices in service to our state and nation.”
Southeastern enrolls over 400 veteran and active duty military. The university
maintains a Veterans Upward Bound program; has an Office of Veterans Affairs that
assists students in obtaining benefits and with other issues; provides academic and
other counseling services; offers scholarships specifically for military students
and veterans; and maintains a wide range of online and distance learning programs
that provide students with flexibility in scheduling.
Southeastern’s ROTC program, which is a sub-unit of the Southern University Army ROTC
program, returned to Hammond in 2016 after more than a 20-year hiatus, and continues
to grow. Approximately 60 students now participate in the program.
A recent addition to campus is the Southeastern Student Veterans & Military Interest
Association, a group open to veterans, reservists, spouses, dependents, and ROTC participants
attending both Southeastern and Northshore Technical Community College. The association
was founded to help the school administration better understand and meet the needs
of veterans; offer advice from experienced to incoming veterans; help civilians better
understand the military experience; and provide opportunities for veterans to meet
one another and connect.
Additionally, starting in August, Southeastern will serve as a resource center
for thousands of Louisiana veterans in an effort to help active-duty military service
men and women successfully transition to college through a new program called LaVetCorps.
The program will open 30 resource centers on campuses statewide to increase a student
veteran’s access to state and federal benefits.
Institutions competed for inclusion on the Military Friendly Schools list based
on such categories as military support on campus, graduation and employment outcomes
and career and job counseling services. The firm Ernst and Young independently tested
the data provided by schools.
The 2019 list of Military Friendly Schools shows the commitment of those institutions
in providing a supportive environment for military students, the company said in announcing
the list.
“Post-secondary institutions earning the 2019 Military Friendly School award
have exceptionally strong programs for transitioning service members and spouses,”
said Daniel Nichols, chief product officer of Viqtory Media. “Our Military Friendly
Schools are truly aligning their military programs and services with employers to
help students translate military experience, skills and training into successful careers
after graduation.”
Viqtory Media is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business founded in
2001. In addition to “G.I. Jobs,” the company also publishes the magazine “Military
Spouse.”