Victory Media, the premier media entity for military personnel transitioning into civilian life, has named Gadsden State Community College to the coveted Military Friendly Schools ® list for 2014. This list honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans, and spouses as students and ensure their success on campus. This is the third time the college has been selected by G.I. Jobs magazine to receive this honorable distinction.
Gadsden State continues to be committed to providing a supportive environment for military students and educating our nation’s most deserving heroes. Gadsden State was again selected based on their VA approval, credit for CLEP (College Level Examination Program) and DSST (DANTES Subject Standardization Tests) exams, flexible schedules, and a full-time counselor on campus for veterans. Acting President William Blow remarked, “Being recognized as a Military Friendly School® reflects our dedication to provide excellent services to veterans. These students bring maturity and a worldly experience to our college that enriches everyone.”
A commitment to serving veterans has been a priority for many years and Gadsden State has one of only two Veteran’s Upward Bound (VUB) Programs in Alabama. VUB is designed to motivate and assist veterans in the development of academic and other requisite skills necessary for acceptance and success in a program of postsecondary education. The program provides assessment and enhancement of basic skills through counseling, mentoring, tutoring and academic instruction in the core subject areas. The primary goal of the program is to increase the rate at which participants enroll in and complete postsecondary education programs.
In 1995, initial funding from the U.S. Department of Education for the program provided services that have successfully led to refunding for six consecutive periods with the latest approval resulting in a grant of $260,762 for the budget period through August 2014. The grant has been funded for a total of five years and will serve 118 veterans this year.
For more information about the Veterans Upward Bound Program at Gadsden State contact Tia Freeman, interim director, at 256-549-8286 or tfreeman@gadsdenstate.edu.
PHOTO ID: Randy Boyer, academic coordinator assists student veteran Thomas Robinson, Jr.
