By Chelsea Galvez |Staff Writer|
Military Times has ranked CSUSB ninth out of 100 on its 2015 list of top-ranking schools for Veterans.
CSUSB previously ranked 12th on the 2014 list of universities across the country and was also ranked number one on the Military Advanced Education (MAE) 2013 Guide to Military-Friendly Colleges and Universities list, which measures and compares all public universities’ support and services to one another.
“The extraordinary commitment of our administration, staff and faculty to serving our nation’s veterans coupled with a veteran-dedicated team that works tirelessly to ensure our veterans achieve their academic and personal development goals has resulted in this ranking,” said Veterans Success Center Director Marci Daniels.
The magazine measured specific factors such as access to a Veterans Center, special services to military students and veterans, and academic success measurements.
These measurements include completion and graduation rates as well as whether or not the university accepts academic credit for military-based training such as science and mathematics.
The rankings shown by Military Times indicate that the 356 veterans or military students enrolled at CSUSB had access to a veteran center and were able to apply credits earned through military-based training toward graduation units.
CSUSB had a four out of four star rating on support staff, a 3.5 out of four star rating on both academic support and extracurricular activities and had a graduation rate of 41 percent, with a transfer rate of two percent.
The CSUSB Veterans Success Center opened in May 2012 with the mission of offering support services focused on the special needs of military veterans and service members to assist them in the transition to a university.
“The Veterans Success Center staff and student assistants include military veterans, reservists, a National Guard member, and a military dependent who understand, care about and are sensitive to the needs of our student veterans,” said Daniels.
Many veteran and military students find that the Veterans Success Center offers more than basic resources.
“The Vet Center offers computers, scantrons, tutors as well as a wealth of knowledge. I would call it a second home because the camaraderie you experience there is just like the sort you’d get in the military,” said student veteran Kerry Morgan.
Besides academic support and guidance, the Veterans Success Center also assists in mental health.
The center links student Counseling and Psychological Services Center and research study programs to help cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), like the Neurofeedback program provided by the Institute for Research Assessment & Professional Development at CSUSB.
“Mental health is a critical part of the Veterans Success Center service mix. The Counseling and Psychological Services Center provides a weekly Veterans Support Group at the Veterans Success Center on Fridays from 12 to 1:30 P.M. Linking our veterans to Neurofeedback is another method of helping our student veterans who are faced with mental health challenges,” said Daniels.
If you are interested in helping the Veterans Success Center, they accept used textbooks as donations.
For more information on the CSUSB Veterans and Services, visit the CSUSB Veterans Success center, located on the lower level of the Coyote Bookstore.
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