Saint Rose Ranked Tops as Military Friendly® School

College’s Initiatives Honored for Being “Better for Veterans”

ALBANY (December 8, 2016) — The College of Saint Rose has been named one of the top Military Friendly^® schools in the nation for 2017 for doing the most for military service members and veterans as students.

Victory Media, publisher of the premier publications for military personnel transitioning to civilian life, has ranked Saint Rose No. 1 in the nation among private institutions of fewer than 10,000 students.  Victory Media awarded Saint Rose the highest rank in the “Top 10 Gold” level for the College’s commitment to educating and providing opportunities to America’s military service members, veterans and spouses as students to ensure their success in the classroom and after they graduate.

Saint Rose was named a “Military Friendly^® School” for the seventh consecutive year this past November.  New this year, 154 employers and 541 schools have been recognized for excellence in different categories and then placed into “Top 10 Gold,” “Gold Medal,” “Silver Medal” and “Bronze Medal” award levels within the categories.  According to Victory Media, the awards highlight not only “Are you Military Friendly^®?” but “How Military Friendly^® are you?”

Among all categories, Saint Rose is the only Capital Region institution and one of just 15 schools in New York to achieve a Top 10 rank.

“All of our Military Friendly^® award recipients set the standard for excellence,” said Daniel Nichols, chief product officer of Victory Media and head of Military Friendly^® development. “They offer exceptional examples of what it means not just to build a program that meets federal requirements, but one that serves the military and veteran community from classrooms to careers.”

“Military service members, veteran students and their families constitute an integral part of our total student body, bringing a diversity of life experiences and educational backgrounds that enrich and strengthen the overall academic experience for all students,” said Saint Rose President Dr. Carolyn J. Stefanco.  “To be named No. 1 in the nation in our category is so gratifying and a testament to all that Saint Rose has done to make pursuing a college education affordable and successful for veterans and service members.”

“Saint Rose is committed to recognizing and building upon the diverse skills, experiences and perspectives of our veteran students, and we work to ensure that their transition to civilian life meets its full potential.  This recognition of our effort is enormously satisfying,” said Martin Dinan, Saint Rose director of veteran enrollment.

Among the benefits that Saint Rose offers to service members and returning veterans:

• An on-campus center that provides the support veterans need to transition from military to civilian life and succeed in college. Dedicated in 2015 by President Stefanco with elected officials and student veterans and designated a “Battle Buddy Center” by New York State Industries for the Disabled Inc., the Veteran Center offers veterans and military families a quiet space where they can work at computers and work stations, access the Internet, relax in comfortable seating and network with people with a shared experience.  On-site staff provide references for veterans with questions about enrollment, health services, disabilities and benefits.  The center also offers meeting space for the College’s chapter of the Student Veterans of America and for veterans to meet with Veterans Administration representatives.

• Saint Rose participates voluntarily in the Yellow Ribbon Program of the Post 9/11 GI Bill® for an unlimited number of students who qualify for the benefit. The College provides full tuition coverage for as many veterans as are eligible and accepted to attend the College.

• Saint Rose will accept up to 15 credit hours of transfer credit from military training. Additionally, application and deposit fees are waived for members of the military family and parking passes are free for service-connected disabled veterans.

• Saint Rose is an approved work site for the VA work study program, where eligible students can earn nearly $9,000 per academic year by helping other veterans and their family members.

Military Friendly^® award levels are defined as:

• Top 10 Gold – A ranked list of the Top 10 in a category based on a numerical score;
• Gold Medal – Schools scoring within 20 percent of the 10^th-ranked institution;
• Silver Medal – Schools scoring within 30 percent of the 10^th-ranked institution;
• Bronze Medal – Schools scoring within 40 percent of the 10^th-ranked institution.

Schools must have successfully completed a 2017 Military Friendly^® survey and been designated as a 2017 Military Friendly^® School to be considered for the awards program. The names of awardees are published online and will be printed in the December issue of G.I. Jobs^® or Guide to Military Friendly^® Schools.

To see the complete list of this year’s award winners, or to learn more about Military Friendly^® rankings, visit https://militaryfriendly.com.

Victory Media is a service-disabled, veteran-owned business that has served the military community since 2001.  For more than a decade, its Military Friendly^® ratings have set the standard for companies and colleges demonstrating positive employment and education outcomes for veterans and their families.

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.

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