SILVER CITY, NM—WNMU recently announced that it had earned the 2024-2025 Military Friendly® School Designation.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2024-2025 survey with 537 earning special awards for going above the standard.

The 2024-2025 Military Friendly® Schools list will be published in the May and October issues of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com .

Methodology, criteria and weightings were determined by Viqtory, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business that connects the military community to civilian employment, educational and entrepreneurial opportunities. Viqtory also had input from the Military Friendly® Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community.  Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence (degree advancement or transfer) and loan default rates for all students and, specifically for student veterans.

According to the WNMU Office of Veterans Affairs, managed by Sylvia Sierra, the university aims to “become a Military Friendly® institution utilizing the unique backdrop of the Gila National Forest as a location for serenity and introspective learning. We seek to create synergistic relationships with local VA entities, Federal Agencies, and private institutions to provide a transitional career path for attending Veterans and their dependents.”

The Military Friendly® designation signals that WNMU is meeting not only its own standards for serving active military members and veterans but is also excelling in meeting the independent review. According to Kayla Lopez, the National Director of Military Partnerships, Military Friendly® “is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our designation process. Our standards provide a benchmark that promotes positive outcomes and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the military community. This creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages institutions to evolve and invest in their programs consistently.”

Lopez added, “Schools that achieve awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, going over and above that standard.”

More information about WNMU and its commitment to being Military Friendly® can be found on the Office of Veterans Affair webpage

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.