(Charlottesville, Va.) – Piedmont Virginia Community College has been named a top 10 gold-level Military Friendly® School Award recipient in the community college category for 2017 and is the only community college in Virginia to make the top 10.
In November 2016, Victory Media, originator of the family of Military Friendly® employment, entrepreneurship and education resources for veterans and their families, published its special awards for 2017 Military Friendly® Schools and Employers. New this year, the Military Friendly® Awards showcase the most powerful and effective programs of more than 200 companies and 1,200 post-secondary schools that were designated as “Military Friendly®” in fall 2016. Of those designated, 154 employers and 541 schools have been recognized for excellence in different categories, highlighting not only whether a school is military friendly but evaluating how military-friendly each school actually is.
Award levels are defined as:
● Top 10 Gold: A ranked list of the top 10 in a category based on a numerical score.
● Gold Medal: Schools scoring within 20 percent of the last-ranked (10th) institution.
● Silver Medal: Schools scoring within 30 percent of the last-ranked (10th) institution.
● Bronze Medal: Schools scoring within 40 percent of the last-ranked (10th) institution.
“All of our Military Friendly® award recipients set the standard for excellence,” said Daniel Nichols, chief product officer of Victory Media and head of Military Friendly® development. “They offer exceptional examples of what it means not just to build a program that meets federal requirements, but one that serves the military and veteran community from classrooms to careers.”
According to PVCC Veterans Advisor Jackie Fisher, PVCC sets itself apart because of its commitment to helping veterans and active duty military members acclimate to college life. One such initiative is Vets Connect, PVCC’s new mentoring and advocacy program for veterans, which aims to enrich the college experience for new student veterans by connecting them with retired veterans and volunteers.
“Vets Connect is a huge asset for our student veterans,” said Fisher. “Many programs are committed to supporting students but struggle to make real connections with them. We are proud to call on the strengths of retired military in our community—volunteers who dedicate time on a weekly basis to help our student veterans transition to civilian and college life.”
To see a complete list of this year’s award winners, or to learn more about Military Friendly® ratings, visit http://militaryfriendly.com.To learn more about PVCC’s services for veterans, active duty and military dependents, visit www.pvcc.edu/veterans, or contact PVCC Veterans Advisor Jackie Fisher at 434.961.5282, or by emailing jfisher@pvcc.edu.
