NU receives Gold status for the third time for its high quality of services to active-duty military and Veterans, as well as providing world-class support to military spouses and dependents
SAN DIEGO, March 28, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- National University(NU) — a Veteran-founded nonprofit serving a very diverse population of non-traditional, working, and military-affiliated students –— today announced that it has been designated a Gold status Military Friendly School and a Top 10 Military Friendly Spouse School for the year 2024 by Military Friendly®.
The designation process carefully values, analyzes, and ranks the highest quality of services and commitment to active-duty service members, Veterans, and spouses provided by educational institutions. NU has been awarded this gold Military Friendly School designation for the third year – and the Military Friendly Spouse School award for the second year in a row.
Approximately 25% of NU's total student body is military affiliated, as are half of NU's undergraduate students.
"It's gratifying for NU to be recognized for something that we have dedicated ourselves to doing for more than 50 years – offering world-class experiences to our military-affiliated students," said Meg O'Grady, NU senior vice president of military and government affairs. "We are particularly honored to receive the Military Friendly Spouse designation given that we have worked so hard to expand services, opportunities, and also employment to spouses in recent years."
Over 1,800 schools participated in this year's Military Friendly® survey. Of those, 537 schools earned award-level Gold, Silver, or Bronze designations, with 243 awarded Gold for their leading practices, outcomes, and effective education programs.
In recent years, NU has sought to build on its services to military-affiliated students by creating more opportunities for military spouses and dependents. NU offers several scholarship opportunities, including the Whisper Military Spouse Scholarship named after Whisper Snyder, a recent NU graduate and military spouse. This scholarship awards recipients $10,000 in tuition benefits and other financial support while they pursue their degrees. In addition, NU offers a discounted tuition rate to eligible active-duty military, active reserve, and National Guard members and their spouses and dependents.
"When I first was considering applying for my master's program, I was hesitant," Snyder said. "I had just found out I was pregnant. I was also working, and I was a wife. So I was like, 'There's no way I can add one more thing.' But National allows you to add one more thing. It's doable!"
In addition to its academic offerings, NU provides comprehensive career-related support tailored to military spouses. This encompasses several key initiatives. The NU Military Spouse Hiring Initiative—created in partnership with Hiring our Heroes—encourages spouses to apply for positions at National University. Spouses also benefit from personalized assistance to enhance job search and interview skills. Furthermore, the NU Military Spouse Employee Networking Group serves as a valuable online resource for military spouse employees, offering them community and support.
As a Military Friendly School, NU is proud to offer education, career, and peer support services through the NU Veteran Center. In addition to assisting U.S. Veterans in their transition from military life to higher education, the NU Veteran Center provides support to all of our military-connected students.
The university continually expands its efforts to support military-connected students, including these recent initiatives:
- NU partnered with PsychArmor, a San Diego-based nonprofit dedicated to strengthening education support for the U.S. armed forces, Veterans, and their families across the nation.
- The university also sponsored Rosie's List and The Rosie Network, which promote businesses owned by military community members, connecting them with valuable online programs, resources, and mentorship that foster growth and success.
- Leveraging a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, NU developed a new B.S. Data Science degree aimed at helping military service members and Veterans transition into the in-demand fields of data science and artificial intelligence technology.
- Two new Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) tailored to serve military spouses and Veterans were recently launched.
About National University
National University, a Veteran-founded nonprofit, has been dedicated to meeting the needs of hard-working adults by providing accessible, affordable higher education opportunities since 1971. As San Diego's largest private nonprofit university, NU offers over 190+ online and on-campus programs with flexible four-week and eight-week classes and one-to-one graduate education models designed to help students reach their goals while balancing busy lives. Since its founding, the NU community has grown to 130,000 learners served per year—50,000 degree-seeking students and 80,000 workforce and professional development students—and 230,000 alumni around the globe, many of whom serve in helping industries such as business, education, health care, cybersecurity, and law and criminal justice. To learn more about National University's new possibilities in education including next-generation education, value-rich education, and whole human education, visit NU.edu.
About Military Friendly® Schools
The Military Friendly® Schools list is created annually based on extensive research using public data sources for more than 8,800 schools, and responses to the proprietary, Military Friendly® Schools survey. Survey questions, methodology, criteria, and weighting were developed with the assistance from an independent research firm's and advisory council of educators. It is administered for free and open to all postsecondary schools wanting to participate and receive award recognition in Gold, Silver, Bronze categories. Criteria available at: http://www.militaryfriendly.com.
Media Contact
Ashleigh Webb, National University, 760-889-3494, [email protected], https://www.nu.edu/
SOURCE National University
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