Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency Awards College Gold-Level Status Fourth Year in a Row
Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency once again named Kalamazoo Valley Community College a Veteran Friendly School, with gold-level status and certified the college as an official Veteran Connector school, a program that connects veterans to benefits and resources in all areas of life, including education, employment and health care.
The Michigan Veteran-Friendly Schools Program recognizes academic institutions committed to supporting the needs of veterans and military-connected students. These institutions are awarded gold, silver and bronze-level status based on their veteran-centric services and programs.
Any academic institution or training facility in Michigan eligible to receive veteran education benefits can apply for the program.
Veteran-Friendly School Program criteria includes:
- Established processes for identification of current student veterans
- Veteran-specific website
- Active student veteran organization or club
- Veteran-specific career services, resources, advising and/or outcome monitoring
- On-campus veterans' coordinator and/or designated staff point of contact
- System to evaluate and award academic credit based on prior military training and experience
- Monitoring and evaluation of student veteran academic retention, progress, and graduation rates
Schools are accepted into the program at the bronze, silver, or gold level. A school that is accepted at the gold (highest) level has met at least six of the seven criteria to be a Veteran Friendly School.
Kalamazoo Valley's Director of Recruitment and Outreach Charles Heidelberg said it is an honor to be named a 2024 Veteran Friendly School.
"Achieving gold-level status for the fourth year in a row is a real testament to the college's efforts to not just be veteran-friendly for our more than 250 student veterans, but veteran-embracing," Heidelberg said. "We work tirelessly to create a smooth transition from soldier to student, supporting these men and women every step of the way."
For more information about the veteran services available on campus, contact .