College earns ‘Military Friendly’ distinction

SAN MARCOS — Cal State San Marcos has been honored by G.I. Jobs magazine on its list of Military Friendly Schools. The list honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools dong the most to embrace America’s veterans as students.
Schools on the 2011 Military Friendly Schools list offer additional benefits to student veterans such as on-campus veterans programs, credit for service, and military spouse programs. In addition, schools on the list were recognized for their efforts to recruit and retain military and veteran students, results in recruiting military and veteran students, and academic accreditations.
“We highly value the qualities of maturity, persistence, responsibility, and leadership that veterans and active duty personnel bring to our university,” President Dr. Karen S. Haynes said. “They also bring with them a wide range of experiences from the countries in which they have been deployed, adding to our collective understanding of the world and our place in it.”
The list was compiled through exhaustive research starting in April 2009 during which G.I. Jobs polled more than 7,000 schools nationwide. Methodology, criteria and weighting for the list were developed with the assistance of an Academic Advisory Board consisting of educators from across the country.
As of spring 2009, nearly 900 Cal State San Marcos students self-identify as active duty personnel, veterans, or their dependents. This number continues to increase in the university’s participation in California’s Troops to College initiative, which expands outreach to vets and provides them with academic and financial advising.
In 2008, the college opened its Veterans Center to assist veterans, current U.S. Military personnel, and their families with their higher education pursuits. The center provides a one-stop shop for information about resources, academic programs, VA educational benefits, and financial aid. The center also serves as a social lounge where students can find and build community.
For more information about how Cal State San Marcos serves the educational needs of the military, visit http://www.csusm.edu/enroll/veterans.html or call veteran’s affairs specialist Vicki Hernandez at (760) 750-4808.