Angelo State Maintains Top ‘Military Friendly® School’ Status

ASU has also received a Gold Award for ranking in the top tier of the 80 U.S. institutions in the Large Public University category that were awarded the “Military Friendly® School” designation for 2025-26. ASU is one of only five Texas institutions to win a 2025-26 Gold Award in this category.

The 2025-26 Military Friendly® Schools list honors the top U.S. institutions of higher education that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans and their dependents as students, and to dedicate resources to ensure their success both in the classroom and after graduation. The list is annually provided to service members and their families, helping them select the best college, university or trade school to receive the education and training needed to pursue a civilian career.

Ronnie Hawkins Jr. “Earning Military Friendly® Gold status is one of the distinctions we are most proud of because it makes a tangible impact on our student body,” said ASU President Ronnie Hawkins Jr. “We now have over 2,100 military-affiliated students enrolled at ASU, an increase of more than 750 students in the last year alone. Being a Military Friendly® School lets our veterans, active duty military and their families know that we appreciate their service to our nation and are committed to their academic and career success. It also shows potential military-affiliated students that wherever in the world they may live or be stationed, the best way to go is to go as a Ram!”

Each year, institutions are evaluated using both public data sources and their responses to the proprietary Military Friendly® Schools survey. More than 1,800 schools completed the survey this year, but only 830 were awarded the “Military Friendly® School” designation for 2025-26. The final rankings are determined by combining each institution’s survey scores with an assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence and loan default rates for all students – and specifically for military-affiliated students.

Phillip Nichelson “At Angelo State, we stress the importance of teamwork and shared responsibility in achieving our common mission,” said Phillip Nichelson, director of affiliated military and veteran services. “The entire ASU team works together to accomplish the mission of collective success for our military and veteran students and their families. We strive to ensure that during their time at ASU, our military-affiliated students will meet or exceed their expectations and satisfy their vision and their goals for the future.”

ASU’s programs for military and veteran students are overseen by the Office of Affiliated Military and Veteran Services, which is housed in the Veterans Educational and Transitional Services (VETS) Center in the Houston Harte University Center.

The complete list of 2025-26 Military Friendly® Schools is available at MilitaryFriendly.com and will be published in the May and October issues of G.I. Jobs magazine.