What Does “Military-Friendly School” Really Mean?

With military students receiving tuition assistance in order earn a degree, many of these students search for a military friendly school that allows them to best utilize their military resources in order to finish a degree. There are many different aspects of military friendly schools that are willing to work with students who would otherwise be unable to earn their degree.

Tuition and Other Expenses

Military friendly schools have contracts with military institutions which specify how much money the military will pay for a student per credit hour. The maximum amount the military will pay for tuition per credit hour is $250. While most schools have tuition rates that exceed that amount, military friendly schools have developed ways to prevent military students from having to invest their hard earned money in their education. Some Military friendly schools will reduce tuition costs for active military students and their families. Others will apply scholarships or find other funding to cover the difference.

Military Credits

Although there are many ways in which a school can be military friendly, allowing military students to use military education credit towards their degree is important. Military students are often required to take classes or participate in training for their career, and as such, they develop military transcripts awarding the students credits in computers, physical educations, statistics, and other fields. When a military student submits their military transcripts, the individual education centers will provide recommendations for how those courses should transfer.

While some credits will aid in completing specific degree requirements, many of those credits simply become military electives. In order to better utilize those credits, military friendly schools have developed minors and military programs that will use those credits instead of requiring students to take additional courses. Such accommodations can dramatically reduce the number of required courses for those military students.

Student Support

Military students will often need additional assistance in completing degree requirements. Many of them work beyond regular business hours, and others are deployed and unable to access resources that other students can. Because of this, it is important that military students receive support from all departments of the university. Many schools have developed departments and offices designed to specifically deal with the needs of military students. Those working with military students are often required to be aware of the law and regulations that apply to the military in general or to specific branches. By understanding the processes that military students must comply with, the school support staff is better able to answer questions and find solutions to problems.

School support staff also has to anticipate the needs of the military students. Many military branches require tuition assistance forms to be processed and approved by the school before the military will process them. For this reason, many military students will receive reminders about such requirements as well as assistance in locating and filling out necessary paperwork.

Military Friendly

A military friendly school must do more than make a claim. The school must consistently strive to make the educational experience a positive one for the military student. By providing fair tuition policies, ways to utilize their military training, and support from a knowledgeable staff, military friend schools will become more popular with the military,