Original article by Patrick Smith from Academic and Student Affairs
For the sixth time, NC State has earned a top 10 spot in Military Friendly’s national Military Friendly Schools rankings for 2022-23. NC State also rose from ninth to sixth place over the previous year.
NC State earned its place on the list based on the following factors: academic policies and compliance, admissions and orientation, culture and commitment, financial aid and assistance, graduation and career, and military student support and retention. Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. Over 1,800 schools participated in the 2022-2023 survey with 665 schools earning the designation. NC State was one of 282 selected for the “Gold” award status for leading practices, outcomes and effective programs.
Nick Drake, director of NC State’s Jeffrey Wright Military and Veteran Services, credits the honor to a university-wide effort.
“It demonstrates our commitment as a university to military-connected students and shows them that we value the strengths and experiences they bring to our campus,” Drake said. “Being designated as a Military Friendly School also provides a boost from a recruitment and outreach standpoint, and lets veterans and military families know that we are ready and able to help them make the transition from service to higher education.”
Although this is the sixth time NC State has been recognized as a top 10 Military Friendly School, the university is continually working on areas of improvement to assist military-affiliated students — and help the university climb even higher in the rankings. For Jeffrey Wright Military and Veteran Services, one of the primary initiatives has been collaborating with NC State Undergraduate Admissions and the North Carolina Community College System to increase the number of veteran applications, admission and enrollment rates. They have also worked to enhance mentorship opportunities for student veterans through faculty and staff engagement as well as leveraged prominent alumni connections to provide career opportunities for veteran and military families.
Methodology, criteria and weightings were determined by Viqtory with input from the Military Friendly® Advisory Council of independent leaders in higher education. Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey responses and government/agency public data sources within a logic-based assessment. Also measured are the schools’ ability to meet thresholds for retention, graduation, job placement, repayment, persistence and loan default rates for all students and specifically, for student veterans.
Learn more about NC State’s ranking at https://www.militaryfriendly.com/north-carolina-state-university/.