Northern Illinois University has earned a 2025-26 Military Friendly® School Silver designation and has been named a Spouse Friendly School.
These honors are due to NIU’s efforts in creating meaningful education paths for the military community in categories including student support and retention, graduation and career outcomes, financial aid and loan repayment, culture and commitment, admissions and orientation, and academic policies and compliance.
“We are proud to receive this designation,” Jorie O’Brien, director of Military, Veterans and Off-Campus Student Services at NIU said. “It is a privilege to be able to provide service and support to our students and their families, and we look forward to continuing these efforts to ensure their success in the classroom and beyond.”
NIU’s Office of Military and Veteran Services serves all veteran, active duty, reservists/guard members and their families. The office supports NIU’s student success initiatives by offering coaching appointments with student benefits counselors. These counselors are current military-connected students who provide support via one-on-one conversations.
To best support more than 600 military-affiliated students, the office has built relationships with NIU campus partners including the College of Business, Office of Online Learning, University Libraries, ROTC and NIU Athletics. The office also has developed working relationships with community members including VFW, American Legion, military recruiting offices, Hines VA Hospital and the DeKalb County Veterans Assistance Center.
The NIU Student Veterans Association is growing, with nearly two dozen students working to gain memberships and create networking events and support groups for incoming students. NIU also hosts a military-affiliated student graduation celebration where students receive a red, white and blue cord and an NIU challenge cord to congratulate them on completing their degree.
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 2025-2026 survey with 830 earning special awards for going above the standard. The annual, data-driven assessment is offered at no cost to more than 8,800 institutions nationwide.
“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. Schools who achieve awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, exceeding the standard,” Kayla Lopez, vice president, Military Friendly® said.
