Austin Peay State University recognized as one of the nation’s best universities for vets

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University has been listed by Military Times in its Best For Vets: Colleges 2016 rankings. APSU is one of only two universities in Tennessee to make the annual list of 125 four-year colleges.

In their sixth year, the rankings factor in the results of Military Times’ annual survey, the most comprehensive school-by-school assessment of veteran and military student services and rates of academic achievement.

As with all Best for Vets rankings, Best for Vets: Colleges 2016 is an editorially independent news project that evaluates the many factors that help make colleges and universities a good fit for service members, military veterans and their families.

More than 600 colleges took part in this year’s detailed survey.

“It’s been amazing to witness how colleges all across higher education have embraced service members and their families,” said Amanda Miller, editor of Military Times’ Best for Vets rankings and special editions. “Over the past six years of our surveys, we’ve seen so many schools first begin to foster – through new policies, services and dedicated facilities – and then nurture these wonderful communities.”

Military Times’ annual Best for Vets: Colleges survey asks colleges and universities to meticulously document a tremendous array of services, special rules, accommodations and financial incentives offered to students with military ties; and to describe many aspects of veteran culture on a campus. Military Times also factors in data from the Veterans Affairs and Defense Department, as well as three Education Department sources: the IPEDS Data Center, College Scorecard data and the Cohort Default Rate Database.

“We award the Best for Vets designation to the very best – the colleges that really are setting the example,” Miller said.

APSU proudly supports veterans through the APSU Center at Fort Campbell, the University’s Military Educational Task Force, the Student Veteran Organization and the APSU Military Student Center. Other APSU offices, such as Residence Life, Vet Success on Campus and Career Services, have spent years developing methods to assist veterans entering the University.

The University also hosts a Military and Veterans Graduate Recognition Ceremony three times a year. During the ceremony, veterans, reservists and active duty military personnel are given a red, white and blue cord to wear with their cap and gown during commencement. The students are also presented with a special APSU Military Coin. The University created the coin in 2011 as a way to honor these individuals.

For more information on educational opportunities for active duty service members, veterans, reservists, Guardsmen and family members, visit the APSU Office of Veterans Affairs online at www.apsu.edu/veterans-affairs, or call 931.221.7760.