UNC Charlotte earned a 2022-23 Military Friendly® School Gold Award for its commitment to military service members, veterans and their dependents.
A change from last year’s Silver designation, Gold denotes the extent to which the University exceeds the benchmark standards for Military Friendly®. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2022-23 survey with 665 earning special awards for going above the standard.
“At UNC Charlotte, our commitment to military-affiliated students is why you'll find over 1,200 veteran students, faculty and staff on our campus,” said Bill Wilson, director of the Veteran Services Office.
“Our office supports veterans and all those applying for certification of G.I. Bill benefits through programming, a veterans lounge and through the certification process. In addition to our large veteran and militarily-affiliated populations, UNC Charlotte has two large and active ROTC units. We remain dedicated to serving our veterans and their dependents,” Wilson said.
At the start of this year, the Veteran Services Office (VSO) introduced PAVE (Peer Advisors for Veteran Education). PAVE is a peer support program that connects incoming student veterans with student veterans trained as Peer Advisors who can help them navigate college life, address challenges they may face, refer them to appropriate resources on and off campus, and provide ongoing support. PAVE provides added support and engagement on and off campus.
At the start of the pandemic, an online Veterans Portal was introduced to help students better navigate the benefits process. In fall 2019, VSO dedicated Veterans Park, which was built to commemorate the military service of UNC Charlotte students, faculty, staff and alumni. Additionally, the Wall of Heroes memorial recognizes members of the UNC Charlotte community who have given their lives in military service.
The Military Friendly® Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources for more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student veterans and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly® Schools survey from participating institutions.
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. Viqtory is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) that connects the military community to civilian employment, educational and entrepreneurial opportunities through its G.I. Jobs® and Military Friendly® brands
Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey response set and government/agency public data sources, within a logic based scoring assessment. 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 is also measured.
For more information about campus veteran resources, visit Veterans Services.