Southeast Missouri State University has been awarded the 2022-23 Military Friendly® Gold designation.
The University’s Gold designation — recognition it has earned for the second year in a row — honors the University's commitment to continuously innovating processes and procedures to make them more student-centered, said Amanda Woods, Military and Veterans Services Officer with Southeast’s Office of Military and Veteran Services (OMVS).
“We work to ensure that our students feel both empowered and supported so that they can focus on what truly matters: reaching their potential and earning their degree,” Woods said.
Southeast is listed among the nation’s top higher education institutions for setting the standard to provide the best opportunities for veterans and their spouses. The prestigious list provides a comprehensive guide for veterans and their families using data sources from federal agencies and proprietary survey information from participating organizations.
Schools who achieve Military Friendly® awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, going over and above that standard, said Kayla Lopez, National Director of Military Partnerships, Military Friendly®.
Southeast was evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey completed by the University. The final survey results and ratings are determined by combining an institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institutions ability to meet minimum thresholds for Student Retention, Graduation, Job Placement, Loan Repayment and Loan Default Rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.
The 2022-23 Military Friendly® Schools list is available at www.militaryfriendly.com.
The Military Friendly® rating specifically highlighted Southeast's OMVS, located on the third floor of the University Center, for providing targeted resources, information and support to Veterans, military personnel and their dependents during their experience with Southeast.
The Office helps align military-affiliated students with campus resources and refers veteran students to various veterans service organizations in the area and other external organizations that may be able to provide additional support.
The Office also researches and advocates for opportunities to implement veteran-friendly policies, procedures, processes, events and support services. The Office hosts events and workshops for service members, veterans and their dependents. In addition, the office assists in the research and development of grant applications and other external funding proposals related to veterans initiatives.