UH West Oʻahu selected for second year as military friendly school

University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu
Contact:
Julie Funasaki Yuen, (808) 454-4870
Public Information Officer, Public Relations and Marketing Department
Posted: Aug 23, 2010

The University of Hawai‘i–West Oʻahu was recently named among a select group of higher education institutions nationwide for inclusion in the 2011 List of Military Friendly Schools, marking the second consecutive year the University was awarded the distinction.
 
The list honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America’s veterans as students. Schools on the list range from state universities and private colleges to community colleges and trade schools. The common bond, according to a statement released by G.I. Jobs, is their shared priority of recruiting students with military experience.
 
UH West O‘ahu’s Pearl City campus, as well as its future campus in Kapolei that broke ground this month, is conveniently located for access by Hawai‘i’s many military veterans as well as active duty members and their families located at Schofield Barracks, Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Hickam Air Force Base.
 
“Our military in Hawai‘i should always know that our programs are open to them,” said Gene I. Awakuni, UH West O‘ahu chancellor and U.S. Marine Corps veteran. “With 23 programs designed to meet the needs of today’s workforce, UH West O‘ahu will continue to welcome military members, their families, veterans, and military retirees. Recognition as a military friendly school is great and it helps our Hawai‘i military know they have a friend in UH West O‘ahu.”
 
The tens of billions of dollars in tuition money, now available with the passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill last year, has intensified an already strong desire by colleges to court veterans into their classrooms, according to G.I. Jobs. “This list is especially important now because the Post-9/11 GI Bill has given veterans virtually unlimited financial means to go to school,” said Rich McCormack, G.I. Jobs publisher.
 
The list was compiled through exhaustive research starting last April during which G.I. Jobs polled more than 7,000 schools nationwide. Methodology, criteria and weighting for the list were developed with the assistance of an Academic Advisory Board consisting of educators and administrators from Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, Colorado State University, Dallas County Community College, Old Dominion University, Cleveland State University, Lincoln Technical Institute and Embry Riddle.
 
A full story and detailed list of Military Friendly Schools will be highlighted in the annual Guide to Military Friendly Schools and on a poster, both of which will be distributed to hundreds of thousands of active and former military personnel in September. A newly redesigned website, found at militaryfriendlyschools.com, features interactive tools and search functionality to assist military veterans in choosing schools that best meet their educational needs. Criteria for making the Military Friendly Schools list included efforts to recruit and retain military and veteran students, results in recruiting military and veteran students and academic accreditations.
 
ABOUT G.I. Jobs
 
G.I. Jobs (gijobs.com) is published by Victory Media, a veteran-owned business headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa. The 2011 Military-Friendly School List may be found at militaryfriendlyschools.com/2011list
 
About UH West O‘ahu
 
UH West O‘ahu became a four-year, regional comprehensive university when it served its first class of freshmen in fall 2007. The University offers quality education, small classes and personalized attention at convenient locations. Construction began in August 2010 on the first phase of a new, state-of-the-art UH West O‘ahu campus in the City of Kapolei. It is expected to serve approximately 2,000 students for spring 2012 classes. For more information, visit uhwo.hawaii.edu, twitter.com/uhwestoahu, facebook.com/uhwestoahu or call 454-4700 or toll-free (866) 299-8656.