UNG named to Military Friendly Schools list

The University of North Georgia (UNG) has been named to the 2019-20 Military Friendly Schools list released by Victory Media.

UNG drew the highest marks for its financial aid and assistance, with the list tabbing the university as exceeding the Military Friendly standard by almost 82 percent in that category. UNG exceeded the Military Friendly standard by almost 67 percent in academic policies and compliance and by almost 54 percent in culture and commitment.

"We are very excited about being selected again and will continue providing excellent service to our men and women of the armed forces," said Christy Orr, assistant director of student life for Veteran and Adult Learner Programs (VALP) at UNG.

Each year, the list is provided to service members and their families, helping them select the best college, university or trade school to receive the education and training needed to pursue a civilian career. Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using 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 each 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.

UNG has several initiatives aimed at assisting active duty service members and veterans:

• VALP is the point-of-contact concierge for adult and veteran students and provides advisement as requested, American Council on Education transcript reviews, portfolio counseling, career advisement, and mentoring. 
• UNG offers "Green Zone" training to aid faculty and staff in their efforts to help student veterans identify and connect with the appropriate resources.
• UNG awards college credit for military training, accepts transfer credits, and offers distance learning and online classes, all initiatives identified in the state's Complete College Georgia plans. Two graduate degree programs popular with members of the military and veterans, criminal justice and international affairs, are offered completely online.

UNG is one of only six senior military colleges in the country and is designated as The Military College of Georgia. Each year, UNG commissions some 100 graduating cadets as second lieutenants into the U.S. Army or U.S. Army National Guard.