VIQTORY, an organization that connects the military community to civilian employment and educational opportunities has released the 2019-2020 Military Friendly®​ ​Schools list. At the top of that list is The University of New Mexico (UNM) for its dedication to serving those who have served. 

“The Veterans Resource Center (VRC) is proud to announce that The University of New Mexico has once again earned ‘Military Friendly Gold’ status for 2019-2020,” says Alonzo Maestas, director of the UNM Veterans Resource Center. “Not only did UNM earn the gold designation, it is ranked number 8 of all Research 1 institutions in the United States. This is quite an accomplishment that all of us should be proud of.”

The VRC collaborated with the Office of Enrollment Management—Enrollment Management Reporting Team, the Registrar, Financial Aid, and Admissions, as well as Career Services, the Office of Institutional Analytics, the Bursar’s Office, and UNM Extended Learning to collect data to give an accurate picture of the success military-connected students have achieved at UNM.  

“This new ranking is in addition to earning the ‘Best for Vets 2019’ designation through the Military Times publication,” added Maestas and his team at the VRC. “We believe President Stokes deserves special recognition, as she has made Veteran initiatives one of her top priorities.”

Now in its ​10t​h​ year​, the ​Military Friendly® ​Schools list has come to set the standard for higher education institutions to provide the best opportunities for Veterans and their spouses. This prestigious list provides a comprehensive guide for Veterans and their families using data sources from federal agencies and proprietary survey information from participating organizations. 

Institutions earning the Military Friendly®​ ​School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey completed by the school. This year 766 schools earned this prestigious designation. 

Methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by VIQTORY 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 the 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. 

The 2019-2020 Military Friendly® Schools list will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobs magazine. The list can also be found at ​www.militaryfriendly.com​.