Wayne Community College has been named a “Military Friendly School” for the fourth year.
The 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 members, veterans and spouses as students and ensure their success on campus.
The 1,868 colleges, universities and trade schools on this year’s list exhibit leading practices in the recruitment and retention of students with military experience. The full list can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.
This is the fifth year that Victory Media, a media entity for military personnel transitioning into civilian life, has compiled the list. The list recognizes schools that have world-class programs and policies for student support on campus, academic accreditation, credit policies, flexibility, and other services to those who served.
“Inclusion on the 2014 list of Military Friendly Schools® shows Wayne Community College’s commitment to providing a supportive environment for military students,” said Sean Collins, vice president at Victory Media and a nine-year Navy veteran. “The need for education is growing and our mission is to provide the military community with transparent, world-class resources to assist in their search for schools.”
Wayne Community College strives to help service members achieve their educational goals, said Dori Fraser, director of the college’s programs at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
“I tell them that education gives you choices,” she said. “Whether they plan to stay in the military or start something new, education opens the door.”
Approximately 500 active duty military, veterans, and dependents are enrolled in college-credit courses at WCC; that is around 13 percent of the curriculum student body.
The military members who enroll at WCC are seeking associate degrees for college transfer or skills that can translate into another career, as well as pursuing Community College of the Air Force degrees.
Now in its fifth year, the 2014 list of Military Friendly Schools ® was compiled through extensive research and a data-driven survey of more than 10,000 schools nationwide approved for VA tuition funding. The survey results that comprise the 2014 list were independently tested by Ernst & Young LLP based upon the weightings and methodology established by Victory Media.
Each year, schools taking the survey are held to a higher standard than the previous year via improved methodology, criteria, and weightings developed with the assistance of an Academic Advisory Board consisting of educators from schools across the country.
This year’s Military Friendly Schools ® list criteria also incorporate a survey of over 4,000 actual student veterans. This feedback provides prospective military students with insight into the student veteran experience at particular institutions based on peer reviews from current students.
The Military Friendly Schools® website, www.militaryfriendlyschools.com, features the list, interactive tools, and search functionality to help military students find the best school to suit their unique needs and preferences.
A full story and detailed list of 2014 Military Friendly Schools® are included in the annual G.I. Jobs Guide to Military Friendly Schools® magazine, which is distributed in print and digital format to hundreds of thousands of active and former military personnel.
Victory Media is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business founded in 2001. Victory’s free, data-driven, Military Friendly® lists can be found at www.gijobs.com/2012Top100 www.militaryfriendlyschools.com and www.militaryfranchising.com. Victory’s lists are also published in G.I. Jobs, Military Spouse, Vetrepreneur magazines, republished in national and local periodicals and are frequently cited on national and local TV stations.
Wayne Community College is a public, two-year college with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, it serves 15,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 100 college credit programs.