Victory Media, an online information platform for military personnel returning to civilian life, has named Ozarks Technical Community College a Military Friendly School. OTC is one of only three community colleges in Missouri to receive the designation and the only community college in the state in the “Large Community College” classification.
“As a military veteran myself, I understand the unique challenges veterans experience when transitioning to civilian life,” said Dr. Loren Lundstrom, OTC’s dean of student development and a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel. “This designation is validation that OTC is doing all it can to help our military members once their service is complete.”
Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, OTC is approved for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs programs and follows American Council on Education recommendations when granting credit for military experience.
In the fall of 2017, OTC received a $1.3 million Federal TRIO Grant from the U.S. Department of Education to establish a Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) program to assist veterans and active duty military (who are preparing to separate from the military) in their pursuit of postsecondary education.
To be eligible for the VUB program, veterans must either be low-income (living below 150 percent of the poverty rate) or be first-generation college students (meaning neither parent completed a bachelor’s degree prior to their departure from the home). Additionally, veterans must reside in Greene County, have 181 days of active duty service, have a better than dishonorable discharge and demonstrate academic need.
The Military Friendly distinction recognizes colleges, universities and trade schools nationwide considered to be delivering a quality higher-education experience both to active-duty military personnel and veterans.
Institutions that earn the Military Friendly School designation are evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey completed by the school.
For the first time in 2017-2018, student survey data was taken into consideration.
Final ratings were determined by survey scores as well as an assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, degree advancement and loan default rates.
More than 1,300 schools participated in the 2017-2018 survey, with 849 making the list, which was published in the December issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and online at militaryfriendly.com.