Cal State San Bernardino has been named a 2021-2022 Military Friendly® School and has raised its ranking to gold from silver under the large public university category.

The designation recognizes the university’s efforts and leadership in working with military veterans who are CSUSB students.

Agustin Ramirez, director of the university’s Veterans Success Center, said CSUSB remained No. 1 in Military Friendly® Schools in the state among large public universities, and thanked the campus leadership for their support.

“This achievement is a collective effort. Although there are many factors that contribute to a school’s designation, one of the most important is having support from leadership working across divisions of campus,” Ramirez said. “The CSUSB support we receive has allowed the Veterans Success Center to grow, allowed us to experiment and adjust, especially over the past year. Our efforts do pay off, and the public does take notice.”

Ramirez added that the center will continue its efforts to help veterans and members of their families, including doing surveys to assess the experiences, attitudes and needs of the students.

“Every day we are looking for ways to support our students,” Ramirez said.

Paz Maya Olivérez, the vice president of Student Affairs at CSUSB, praised the center’s work.

“The designation as a Military Friendly® School is a real point of pride for the university. Our Veterans Success Center is dedicated to helping our veterans excel in the classroom, in university life and in our communities,” Olivérez said. “The staff also work to educate the campus about how to support the success of students who are veterans and active military. This award is well-deserved.”

The list of Military Friendly® Schools and Military Friendly® Schools ratings are assessed through the evaluation of both public data about the institution and proprietary data gathered through the free Military Friendly® Schools survey.

Survey responses are weighted according to the categories below. Final survey results and ratings are determined by combining an institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet minimum thresholds for Student Retention, Graduation, Job Placement, Loan Repayment and Loan Default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans. The benchmark is set by the score of the leading institution.

The categories are: Academic Policies & Compliance – 9%, Military Student Support & Retention – 30%, Graduation & Career Outcomes – 30%, Admissions & Orientation – 9 %, Culture & Commitment – 10%, and Financial Aid & Loan Repayment – 12%.

Learn more about the Military Friendly® Schools at its website.