Albany State University and Darton State College have earned the 2017 Military Friendly School designation by Victory Media

First published in 2009, Military Friendly Schools is a comprehensive, powerful resource for veterans. Each year, the list of Military Friendly Schools is 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.

“We are honored to receive this designation for the sixth year in a row,” says Director of Military and Adult Education Stefane Raulerson at Darton State College. “Darton State College’s Military Resource Center strives to provide individually tailored resource guidance for military students, to include active-duty, reservists, veterans, and family members as they achieve their higher education goals.”

“As a retired Naval Aviator Commander who served for 22 years on active duty around the world and someone who worked closely with the first African-American commissioned officers in the U.S. Navy, I personally know what it means for an institution to be military friendly,” said Claven Williams, ASU Military Liaison. “Albany State University earned the title in 2009 and has continually maintained it. The ASU Military Outreach Center serves as a haven and guide for our military students and their families as they attend the university.”

Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from Victory Media’s proprietary survey. More than 1,600 schools participated in the 2017 survey; 1,160 were awarded with the designation. Ratings methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by Victory Media with input from the Military Friendly Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for Student Retention, Graduation, Job Placement, Loan Repayment, Persistence (Degree Advancement of Transfer) and Loan Default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.

According to Daniel Nichols, a Navy Reserve veteran and Chief Product Officer at Victory Media, “Our ability to apply a clear, consistent standard to the majority of colleges gives veterans a comprehensive view of which schools are striving to provide the best opportunities and conditions for our nation’s student veterans. Military Friendly helps military families make the best use of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and other federal benefits while allowing us to further our goal of assisting them in finding success in their chosen career fields.”