UWF named military friendly school three years in a row by “G.I. Jobs Magazine”

G.I. Jobs, the premier magazine for military personnel transitioning into civilian life, has awarded the University of West Florida the designation of military friendly school for the third consecutive year. The 2012 Military Friendly Schools list honors the top 20 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members and veterans as students.

“We’re very excited to have earned this designation in recognition of our work with military and veteran students,” said President Judith Bense. “The military and our veterans are a large and important part of the Northwest Florida region, and we want to ensure that UWF is a first-choice university for them to attain an education.”

According to G.I. Jobs, the 2012 list of Military Friendly Schools ® was compiled through extensive research and a data driven survey of more than 8,000 schools nationwide. Methodology, criteria and weighting for the list were developed with the assistance of an Academic Advisory Board (AAB) consisting of educators from schools across the country.

“UWF is more than just a military friendly designated university; we are truly supportive of military members in our area,” said Marc Churchwell, director of the Military and Veterans Resource Center and project coordinator for Hometown Heroes. “We are opening a Military and Veterans Resource Center to assist our military students with advising and the transition to college. We are aware of the difficulties our military students sometimes face and are taking direct action to address them.”

UWF has about 2,500 military or veteran students, which is about 20 percent of the student population. The Military and Veterans Resource Center, set to open in October, will provide a haven for these students. The center will offer a number of resources including transition counselors to help new veteran students, assistance with career placement, computer lab, combat veteran support group and a lounge area to allow for peer interaction.

Last year, Military Advanced Education (MAE) named UWF to its “Military Friendly Colleges and Universities” list for 2010-11 for the third consecutive year.

For more information, visit militaryfriendlyschools.com.