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Mary Mabins, Pensacola State College
Pensacola State College has been named a 2022-2023 Gold Military Friendly® School by Viqtory Media.
This is the 13th year the College has received the accolade, and the first time earning the gold designation.
Pensacola State is one of 282 schools to receive the “Gold” award status for leading practices, outcomes and effective programs that dedicate resources to military students to ensure success in the classroom and after graduation.
“Here at Pensacola State, we are committed to serving our active duty and retired military as well as their family members,” said Pensacola State President Ed Meadows. “The College continually strives to provide outstanding support to military service members and their families as demonstrated by Viqtory Media’s recognition.”
More than 1,800 colleges, universities and trade schools participated in the 2022-2023 survey, 665 earned gold, silver and bronze status by Viqtory Media. Institutions earning the Military Friendly® designation were evaluated using public data sources along with responses from a proprietary survey.
Military Friendly® ratings are based on six categories: Academic Policies and Compliance, Admissions and Orientation, Culture and Commitment, Financial Aid and Assistance, Graduation and Career, and Military Student Support and Retention.
During Spring 2021, Summer 2021 and Fall 2021 semesters, Pensacola State had more than 3,000 veterans, active duty personnel and their dependents enrolled in classes.
Along with two TRIO programs ─ Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) and Veterans Student Support Services (VSSS) ¬ the College recently opened a Veteran Student Success Center.
VUB provides veterans with college prep classes and/or GED courses at no cost. Headed by U.S. Navy veteran Rob Gregg, the program is open to veterans who are first-generation-in-college students who are considered low income according to federal guidelines.
VSSS also is aimed at first-generation-in-college students who are low income and military veterans. The program offers academic advising, career counseling, financial aid counseling and more. It is led by U.S. Navy veteran Bill Tice.
The success center helps student-veterans with advising and resources, performs outreach to area veterans and tries to recruit them to PSC, said U.S. Navy veteran Tanya Brasher, the success center’s coordinator.
The TRIO programs are ─ by grant design ─ limited to less than 150 student-veterans per program. There is no limit on the number of veterans who can receive help from the success center.
The programs are all located in the Student Affairs Building, Building 6, on the Pensacola campus.
“Receiving this designation not only emphasizes PSC’s commitment to our active duty and veteran students, but it also holds our faculty and staff to a higher standard,” Brasher said. “This designation should further embolden the College’s staff and faculty to strive to meet gold level standards in our efforts to support our military-affiliated students.”
Gregg agreed.
“Military-connected students arrive at the institution with a wealth of raw talents acquired through life and military experience that are in turn molded by the dedicated faculty, staff and community partners,” Gregg said. “The final product is a better-educated community and global partner.”
Meadows also touted the Pensacola State College Charter School, set to open in August on the Warrington campus for military dependents and at-risk students.
“The charter school is open to 10th- through 12th-grade students and will offer precollegiate and collegiate classes,” Meadows explained. “Students – if they choose ─ can graduate with a high school diploma and/or an associate degree.”
The College also participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program. Under the program, PSC, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, provides matching funds to cover all or a portion of the outstanding amount of established charges not covered under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
In 2021,12 military students enrolled in classes at Pensacola State under the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The Military Friendly® Schools listing is based on extensive research using public data from more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student-veterans, and responses to a data-driven survey. Final rankings were determined by combining survey scores with the assessment of an institution’s ability to meet thresholds for Student Retention, Graduation, Job Placement, Loan Repayment and Persistence (degree advancement or transfer rates) for all students and specifically student-veterans.
The 2022-2023 listing will be published in G.I. Jobs magazine’s May edition. It also can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.
To learn more about:
Veteran Student Success Center
850-484-2005 or Tanya Brasher, Veteran Student Success Center coordinator, at tbrashers@pensacolastate.edu.
TRIO Veterans Upward Bound
850-484-2068 or Rob Gregg, VUB director, at rgregg@pensacolastate.edu
TRIO Veterans Student Support Services
850-484-1971 or Bill Tice, VSSS director, at btice@pensacolastate.edu