Blue Ridge Community College has earned the 2020-2021 Military Friendly School designation. Blue Ridge was the only Western North Carolina community college to earn this honor out of the seven qualifying colleges.
Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,000 schools participated in the 2020-2021 survey with 695 earning the designation.
The 2020-2021 Military Friendly® Schools list will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found at militaryfriendly.com.
Methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by Viqtory 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 or Transfer) and Loan Default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.
“At Blue Ridge Community College, we are grateful for our veterans and active military and the sacrifices they’ve made for our country. It is part of our value system to provide elevated services and training that our veterans need to be successful at Blue Ridge and ultimately to help them enter the local workforce in the quickest and most efficient way possible,” stated Blue Ridge President Dr. Laura B. Leatherwood.
Military Friendly’s National Director Josh Rosen stated, “Our ability to apply a clear, consistent standard to colleges creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages colleges to invest in programs to provide educational outcomes that are better for the Military Community as a whole.”
For more information about Blue Ridge’s student veteran programs, visit its website at blueridge.edu/veterans or contact Crystal Smith, Blue Ridge VA Certifying Official.