The retention rate for for military students at Military Friendly® institutions consistently break the 80% barrier.
When we analyze the data behind these high-performing schools, a clear trend emerges: retention is rarely about the grit of the student, but rather, it’s about the agility of the institution’s infrastructure.
In our latest Military Friendly® webinar, The Retention Blueprint, host Kayla Lopez sat down with Thomas Cruise (Director of the Veterans Success Center) and Kevin Ho (Army Veteran and Student Leader) from the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville. Together, they opened the blueprint on how UT achieved a staggering 96% retention rate within their Veteran Impact Program (VIP).
The session decodes the Three Pillars of Retention required to build a sustainable military enrollment ecosystem: Financial Trust, Operational Agility, and Infrastructure.
For many veterans, the transition to higher education is chaotic. Kevin Ho shared that his acceptance to UT arrived just 15 days before the enrollment window closed, bringing immense anxiety. However, because UT had a robust infrastructure in place, their Veterans Success Center immediately stepped in to communicate with the Bursar’s office and schedule his classes, turning a high-friction moment into immediate financial and operational trust.
To build this kind of trust at scale, UT utilizes a cohort-based model called the Veteran Impact Program (VIP), or “Transition 201”. This 1-2 credit weekly seminar gathers veterans in their first and second semesters to review university resources, hear from guest speakers, and navigate the transition together.
As Thomas Cruise notes, even if an institution lacks a massive operating budget, the core driver of retention is community. Building cohorts ensures that students do not feel isolated when navigating complex VA benefits or adjusting to a new civilian identity.
If you are an enrollment leader or higher-ed administrator looking to move beyond general veteran support and implement data-driven retention policies, this session is mandatory viewing.
