October 6, 2021
Oakland University has once again earned the highest possible ranking for veteran-friendliness among the state’s higher education institutions. The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) awarded Oakland gold-level status for its strong commitment to serving the educational needs of military-connected students.
Created in 2013, the Veteran Friendly Schools program recognizes schools with gold, silver and bronze rankings based on seven criteria:
- Established process for identifying student veterans
- Veteran-specific website
- Active student-operated veterans club or association
- Veteran-specific career services, resources, advising and/or outcome monitoring
- On-campus veteran's coordinator and/or designated staff point of contact
- System to evaluate and award credit based on military training and experience
- Monitoring and evaluation system for student veteran academic retention, transfer and graduation rates
Gold-level certification requires six or more of the criteria, while Silver schools must complete four and Bronze schools, three. Oakland met all seven criteria and has earned a gold ranking for five consecutive years.
“We are honored that Oakland University has earned the highest recognition, of gold status, as a Michigan Veteran-Friendly School,” said Tia Frain, coordinator of Veterans Support Services. “It is our mission that veterans understand that not only are we dedicated but look forward to serving them. This is an achievement we are proud of and will continue to work to maintain in the years to come.”
To learn more about veteran support services at Oakland, visit oakland.edu/veterans, call (248) 370-2010 or email vss@oakland.edu.