TAMIU Receives ‘Military Friendly School’ Title

Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) has been awarded the designation of “Military Friendly School” by G.I. Jobs, a premier magazine for military personnel transitioning into civilian life.

The magazine’s “2012 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 service members and veterans as students, according to the magazine.

The award was based on a survey of student veterans. Their feedback
provides prospective military students with insight into the student veteran experience at a particular institution based on peer reviews from current students.

TAMIU vice president for Student Success Dr. Minita Ramírez said the University is honored to see that its dedicated efforts to military personnel are being recognized.

“We are indeed honored by this designation as it recognizes our commitment to our student veterans. Our program includes a dedicated Office of Veteran Affairs, one-to-one assistance, an on-campus Veteran Student Task Force, a dedicated web site and outreach efforts from all members of our University community from faculty to fellow students and alumni. All are dedicated to helping our heroes return to the classroom, be successful and to ready them for both career and civilian life,” Dr. Ramírez said.

This semester, the University has about 85 student veterans and 47 veteran dependents enrolled for Fall studies.

The magazine said the 1,518 colleges, universities and trade schools on this year’s list prioritize the recruitment of students with military experience.

“These schools are making the grade by offering scholarships and discounts, veterans’ clubs, full-time staff, military credit and other services to those who served. The 2012 list of Military Friendly Schools was compiled through extensive research and a data-driven survey of more than 8,000 schools nationwide. Methodology, criteria and weighting for the list were developed with the assistance of an Academic Advisory Board (AAB) consisting of educators from schools across the country,” the magazine said in a prepared release.

The magazine has launched a website on the list that can be found at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com It features the list, interactive tools and search functionality to assist military veterans with their school decisions. Service members and veterans can also meet individual student veterans from the various schools virtually on the site to learn more about personal school decisions and the transition from the military to an academic environment.

For additional information, contact Eric Aguilar, TAMIU veteran affairs coordinator,

Office of the University Registrar at 956.326.2254, email eric.aguilar@tamiu.edu or visit offices in the University Success Center, room 121K. A dedicated TAMIU Veteran Affairs website is located at www.tamiu.edu/affairs/registrar/veterans.shtml

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu