By Francisco Villegas |Staff Writer|

CSUSB ranked eight out of the top 25 universities for veterans in the Veterans Benefits Administration bill.

 
“There are many things that the ranking takes into consideration, some of the things are student population, members, number of veterans, dependents and how we [CSUSB] participate in the GI bill,” said Reuben Perales from the Veterans Success Center at CSUSB.

 
“CSUSB was named a ‘Military Friendly School’ by GI Jobs and given a spot on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction,” according to bestvalueschools.com.

 
“Military culture, financial assistance, flexibility, general support and online/on campus support are also important factors that affect the ranking,” continued Perales.

 
“Priority registration indicates how well the colleges accommodate veterans in getting into the courses they need. That’s important because vets have only 36 months of GI Bill benefits, and at some colleges, especially large public ones, classes can fill up quickly,” according to time.com.

 
CSUSB provides military students with priority registration to help veterans avoid losing their financial assistance.

 
CSUSB also provides veteran friendly programs for students and faculty.

 
“CSUSB has a wide variety of useful programs that value my life experience,” said veteran and student Kenneth Jacobs.

 
“CSUSB provides veterans and active duty dependents the Veteran success center, which includes a private computer lab, a lunch room and a study room with a tutor,” added Perales.

 
Every university in the CSU system helps veterans and their families reach their educational goals by offering services such as priority registration and opportunities to apply to other Veterans Affairs benefits.

 
“CSUSB has added programs and benefits to streamline the admissions process, attendance and costs, and the ability for dependents, National Guard members, Armed Forces members, and veterans who are stationed or live in California to commence new career paths, develop new skills, or resume an interrupted education,” states veterans.csusb.edu.

 
CSUSB is working on helping veteran students and faculty as well by informing the campus community on military issues to help students understand common obstacles or issues veterans may face.

 
“A TED talk is being created to help understand issues that service members may face. The Veteran Success Center serves as an information/training center not only for students but for staff and faculty as well,” said Perales

 
“The California State University system (CSU) offers unlimited opportunities to help veterans, active-duty service members and their families meet their personal and professional goals,” states calvet.ca.gov.

 
“CSUSB was also listed among 158 colleges and universities in U.S. Veterans Magazine’s 2015 evaluation of the nation’s Best of the Best top veteran-friendly companies, top supplier diversity programs, top Veterans Magazine VBOs and Veteran Resource library SDVBOs, top government and law enforcement agencies, top veteran-friendly franchises and top veteran-friendly schools,” according to the San Bernardino Sun.