February 21, 2017—Months after being named one of the nation’s top Military Friendly universities, Northwestern Health Sciences University has achieved the additional designation as one of the top 100 U.S. higher education institutions for spouses of military members.
Northwestern has been named a 2017 Military Spouse Friendly School recognizing the top colleges and universities that provide services to spouses of active-duty service members, including student retention and career development efforts supporting the unique challenges of military life.
“We honor our veterans and their families, which serve in their own ways alongside them,” said Chris Cassirer, Northwestern president and CEO . “We’re proud to be a place where active-duty service members and their spouses can learn to serve in new ways that help individuals and communities live healthier.”
In December, Northwestern was among about 200 universities, colleges and trade schools nationwide to receive the 2017 Military Friendly Gold designation for its efforts to help veterans pursue education offerings. This year’s spouse honor recognized 100 post-secondary institutions across 10 categories for their service to wives and husbands of service members.
“Military spouses are expert problem solvers. They thrive under pressure and are highly educated and mobile,” said Daniel Nichols, chief product officer at Victory Media’s Military Friendly division, which awarded the honors. “Colleges and companies recognize these attributes and want to bring them on board. Companies that employ both veterans and their spouses see even stronger retention and employee loyalty.”
Victory Media’s honors are based, in part, on surveys that include questions evaluating whether a school’s admissions, retention, career counseling, and mentoring programs are better for veterans. The research also investigates whether schools address concerns of military spouses and families, including flexible learning and degree-continuation options accommodating deployments and relocation.
Northwestern offers a 20 percent tuition discount to veterans, covers other costs as a veteran-friendly Yellow Ribbon School, has created a military leave of absence policy and has organized health and education events for veterans and their families. Northwestern also has opened a Veterans Support Center to assist students with military connections.
