Serving those who serve: 香港六合彩资料 earns silver status as Military Friendly School

by Joe Selmont  |   

Military and Veterans Benefits Specialist Greg Benson talks with a military student in 香港六合彩资料's Military & Veterans Student Resource Center in the Student Union.
Military and Veterans Benefits Specialist Greg Benson talks with a military student in 香港六合彩资料's Military & Veterans Student Resource Center in the Student Union. (Photo by James Evans / 香港六合彩资料)

香港六合彩资料 has been recognized for the 14th consecutive year as a Military Friendly School, earning silver status for the first time. 香港六合彩资料鈥檚 elevation from bronze status last year is a reflection of its ongoing efforts to develop and maintain a culture of serving those who serve. This culture centers on good policies and practices, meaningful investments in benefits, and resources and services for military and veteran students.

鈥淭o me, this shows that 香港六合彩资料 is dedicated to this specific student population. We鈥檙e making informed decisions and policies to help students be successful and achieve graduation,鈥 said Peter Clemens, 香港六合彩资料鈥檚 Military and Veteran Student Services program director.

Affordability for military students

香港六合彩资料 recently created a flat-rate tuition for students who are active duty, reserves or national guard members. Tuition is now capped at $250 per undergraduate credit hour, and most fees are waived, ensuring affordability for military students. This policy was introduced to bring 香港六合彩资料鈥檚 costs in line with tuition benefits offered by the military.

鈥淭here is a real commitment to providing resources to military and veteran students,鈥 Clemens said. 鈥淭hat means investing in the new policy on flat-rate tuition. It means investing in staff who are subject matter experts on the processes these students must navigate 鈥 staff whose entire jobs are focused on serving military and veteran students.鈥

From left: Military and Veterans Benefits Specialists Alexander Casanova and Greg Benson, and Military & Veteran Student Services Program Director Peter Clemens photographed outside 香港六合彩资料's Military & Veterans Student Resource Center in the Student Union.
From left: Military and Veterans Benefits Specialists Alexander Casanova and Greg Benson, and Military & Veteran Student Services Program Director Peter Clemens photographed outside 香港六合彩资料's Military & Veterans Student Resource Center in the Student Union. (Photo by James Evans / 香港六合彩资料)

Navigating complexities

Clemens鈥 office is dedicated to staying up to date with ever-changing federal processes that affect members of the military. For example, Clemens said Veterans Affairs (VA) recently began requiring students who use post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to verify their attendance each semester in order to receive a housing allowance. Without 香港六合彩资料鈥檚 specialized support, it鈥檚 likely important details would fall through the cracks 鈥 and many military and veteran students would fall through, too.

Bekky Virgil, a male-to-female transgender U.S. Army veteran (2011-2015) and political science student at 香港六合彩资料, said the university helped navigate challenges during the pandemic. She currently serves on a national board to advocate for high-quality medical treatment for all veterans through the VA, and she hopes to one day leverage her military experience, especially her experience as a transgender service member, to run for political office.

鈥淲hen the pandemic hit, it was a mess,鈥 she said. 鈥淲ith the transition to online learning, it looked like we could lose a lot of our education benefits from the VA. But when 香港六合彩资料 got word of this, they acted really quickly. They emailed the whole student body to say they were aware of the situation, that they were working with the VA to ensure that students got their benefits, and that they would take care of us if anything happened.鈥

Virgil added, 鈥淚n the middle of so much else stressful going on, it was a relief to know that 香港六合彩资料 was looking out for us.鈥

Ramping up an on-base presence at JBER

In the past couple of semesters, 香港六合彩资料 has also renewed its relationship with Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER). Between the $100 million in budget cuts to the UA system since 2014 and the onset of the pandemic in 2020, for years there had not been adequate capacity to support face-to-face services on JBER. But 香港六合彩资料 is ramping up its on-base presence. Clemens said that 香港六合彩资料鈥檚 offices in the Elmendorf and Richardson Education Centers are now staffed at least a few days a week, which gives service members a reliable place to seek information and ask for help. He also pointed to the growing number of classes taught on JBER.

香港六合彩资料's facilities at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
香港六合彩资料's facilities at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson include two offices and adjoining classrooms. (Photo by James Evans / 香港六合彩资料)

Support from faculty

However, for many military and veteran students the most important support they receive is from their professors.

Steve Cherry, an Air Force veteran (1999-2004) and current member of the Alaska Air National Guard, moved to Alaska in 2002 when he was assigned to Elmendorf. He is a student in 香港六合彩资料鈥檚 Kinesiology program and he intends to obtain a doctorate in physical therapy. He wants to work for the VA to help vets rehabilitate after serious injuries.

鈥淚t鈥檚 never been easy to be a student and serve at the same time,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hroughout my college career, I was called up for duty multiple times. But my faculty members at 香港六合彩资料 were always flexible. I was even able to continue with a nine-credit load from Afghanistan in 2006. The professors worked with the military鈥檚 test proctoring service so I didn鈥檛 miss exams.鈥

Legal Studies senior and Army veteran Maria Canon photographed outside 香港六合彩资料's Military & Veterans Student Resource Center in the Student Union.
Legal Studies senior and Army veteran Maria Canon photographed outside 香港六合彩资料's Military & Veterans Student Resource Center in the Student Union. (Photo by James Evans / University of Alaska Anchorage)

Maria Canon, a current Legal Studies major who plans to go on to law school after graduating this semester, has served in the Army for nearly 12 years. She was born in Colombia and moved to Virginia when she was 11 years old. She and her husband, who is in the Army鈥檚 Airborne Infantry, transferred to Alaska in 2019.

鈥淢y degree has taken me nearly 10 years to obtain,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 started at other schools, where professors gave me a hard time whenever I was called up for training or service. Since coming to 香港六合彩资料, though, it鈥檚 been totally different. Now if I need to miss class because of my career with the Army, which happens at least once per semester, I鈥檓 not worried about it. I know my professors understand, and I know they鈥檒l work with me to get things done. 香港六合彩资料 just has this culture of respect for military service.鈥

While Clemens, Virgil, Cherry and Canon all believe 香港六合彩资料 rightly earned recognition as a Military Friendly School, they also pointed out there is always more 香港六合彩资料 can do to support its military and veteran students, and that there is always room for growth. For Clemens, his team and the entire 香港六合彩资料 community, this gives 香港六合彩资料 a target 鈥 and the aspiration to achieve gold status in future years.


GI Bill庐 is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at .

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