2023 Best Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions Associate Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region

With all of the options veterans have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Rehabilitation for an Associate” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions is the 37th most popular major in the country with 29,833 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, rehabilitation and therapeutic professions graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $59,739 and had an average of $25,262 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southwest region, there were 2,242 rehabilitation and therapeutic professions graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,841 and $23,736 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 17 rehabilitation and therapeutic professions graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,810 and $18,681 respectively.

This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Rehabilitation for an Associate” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in rehabilitation and therapeutic professions. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent rehabilitation and therapeutic professions programs, but they also offer a lot of support to veterans and active service members.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, and overall quality of the rehabilitation and therapeutic professions program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions Schools

The rehabilitation school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Rehabilitation for an Associate”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Rehabilitation for an Associate

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Rehabilitation for an Associate”.

Top 3 Best Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions Associate Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region

1

Austin Community College District
Austin, Texas

2,473 GI Bill® Students**

#1 in overall quality

$735 Average GI Bill® Award

Out of the 3 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Rehabilitation for an Associate that were part of this year’s ranking, Austin Community College District landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Austin, Texas, and it awarded 3 associates’s rehabilitation degrees in 2020-2021.

Austin Community College District also made our “Best Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #1.Of the 39,896 students enrolled at Austin Community College District, 2,473 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 59 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $735. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Austin Community College District offers credit for military training for eligible students.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Austin Community College District]](/colleges/austin-community-college-district/student-life/veterans/)

2

Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
Okmulgee, Oklahoma

174 GI Bill® Students**

#3 in overall quality

YES Student Veterans Organization

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology. The school came in at #2 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Rehabilitation for an Associate. Located in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, this small public school handed out 7 degrees to qualified associates’s rehabilitation students in 2020-2021.

OSU Institute of Technology not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list.Our most recent data shows that 174 of the 2,349 students enrolled at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology were GI Bill® students, of which 85 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,592. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

Full Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology Veteran Student Life Report

3

South Plains College
Levelland, Texas

284 GI Bill® Students**

#2 in overall quality

YES Student Veterans Organization

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend South Plains College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Rehabilitation for an Associate list. Located in Levelland, Texas, this medium-sized public school awarded 6 diplomas to qualified associates’s rehabilitation students in 2020-2021.

South Plains College also took the #2 spot in our “Best Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking.According to our most recent data, South Plains College supports 8,880 students, and 284 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 106 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $2,097. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. South Plains College offers credit for military training for eligible students.

Read More…

• Best Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions Associate Degree Colleges for Veterans

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
• **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Barbara E. Carver.