Valparaiso University Honored for Commitment to Veteran Students

Valparaiso University is a 2017 Military Friendly® School, as announced by Victory Media, the leader in successfully connecting military and civilian worlds.

First published in 2009, the Military Friendly® Schools designation provides service members and their families with transparent, data-driven ratings about post-military education and career opportunities. The designation is awarded to top colleges, universities and trade schools in the country that employ best practices to embrace military students and dedicate resources to ensure their success in the classroom and after graduation.

The methodology plays a significant role in capturing and advancing best practices to support military students across the country. 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. 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.

Last year, Valpo announced the University had received a $1.5 million commitment from alumni Ron Zech ’65 and Gisela Gerber ’66 Zech, who recently passed away, to establish the Gisela and Ron Zech Endowed Scholarship Fund. Students who are veterans of the U.S. Armed Services and suffered significant wounds or disabilities during their service, as well as the children or dependents of wounded veterans or of veterans who lost their lives during service, will be eligible for scholarship support.

Visit valpo.edu/student-financial-services/what-to-expect/veterans-information for information about resources for veterans at Valparaiso University.