VRC makes life better for student Veterans

by Tyler Hilbert

West Virginia University at Parkersburg recognizes the service that veteran students have given to our country and the sacrifices made in the process.  WVU Parkersburg is committed to supporting and encouraging veteran success.  Regardless of whether someone is a discharged veteran, still serving on active duty, in the National Guard or Reserves or a family member the veteran resource center is committed to helping students succeed.  The Veteran Resource Center is overseen by Mike Dooley and the hour of operation for the center are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“The Veterans Resource Center gives veterans a place to be open with their peers.  It is also an area for the Veterans Corps to meet, they’ve got computers to work on and a TV to watch,” Dooley said.

The Veterans Advocate acts as a liaison between student, campus departments, the VA and other government and outside agencies.  Students can work with the Veterans Advocate to get questions and issues resolved. The Veterans advocate also assists with initiating the GI Bill Benefits.  The center was created back in 2015 and has been helping veterans’ transition back into school and civilian life.

“It’s important to me because there’s a lot of resources for them here and I can find out information for them quickly and I’m able to help them succeed,” Dooley said.

WVU Parkersburg was named a 2017 Silver-level Military Friendly School Award recipient.  It was the second year that the school had been given the designation by Victory Media, publisher of “G.I. Jobs.” Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation are evaluated using both public data sources and responses from Victory Media’s proprietary survey.  More than 1,600 schools participated in the 2017 survey.  Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institutions ability to meet thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence and loan default rates for all students and, specifically, for veterans. (WVU Parkersburg Named Military Friendly Silver Award Recipient-http://www.wvup.edu/wvu-parkersburg-named-military-friendly-silver-award-recipient/)

The college is also a signatory of the “8 Keys to Veterans Success” and participates in the “Principles of Excellence” established by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in recruiting and retaining student veterans and family members.  “Military Times” even ranked WVU Parkersburg sixth in its national “Bets for Vets: Career and Technical Colleges” list for 2017.