Southern Miss Veterans Center Receives Special Recognition from Military Times
Tue, 11/01/2016 - 01:09pm | By: Van Arnold
The University of Southern Mississippi has been recognized for its commitment to providing educational services for student-veterans and their families with a spot in Military Times' prestigious 2017 “Best for Vets” college rankings.”
The eighth annual rankings factor in the results of Military Times' comprehensive school-by-school survey of veteran and military student offerings and rates of academic achievement. The honor salutes the achievements of the Southern Miss Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families, which was ranked No. 15 nationally.
“We are absolutely delighted and honored to be included in these rankings,” said Maj. Gen. Jeff Hammond (U.S. Army, ret.), who serves as the center's director. “Such recognition reflects the steady efforts of a remarkable University community that continues to make every conceivable effort to care for and support the academic/professional goals of our military veterans, service members and their families. We are most grateful to our military students and their supporting families for trusting our University with their academic future.”
The center's mission is to offer sustainable conditions for a “military-friendly” education support program that provides veterans, service members (active duty, Reserve Component and National Guard), dependents (family members) and survivors (VSDS) the opportunity to pursue a degree at Southern Miss.
As with all Best for Vets rankings, the 2017 list is an editorially independent news project that evaluates the many factors that help make colleges and universities a good fit for service members, military veterans and their families. More than 500 colleges took part in this year's detailed survey.
“We limit our list to encourage competition, and we genuinely hope this helps raise the bar for veterans on campus,” said Amanda Miller, editor of Best for Vets.
The survey asks colleges and universities to meticulously document a tremendous array of services, special rules, accommodations and financial incentives offered to students with military ties; and to describe many aspects of veteran culture on a campus. These institutions were evaluated in several categories, with university culture and academic outcomes bearing the most weight.
Military Times also factors in data from the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments, as well as three Education Department sources: the IPEDS Data Center, College Scorecard data and the Cohort Default Rate Database.
For the full Best for Vets: Colleges 2017 rankings, and survey methodology, go to: www.militarytimes.com/bestforvets-colleges2017
For more information about the center, call 601.264.4629 or visit: www.usm.edu/military-veterans