Make it a decade! The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency designated Michigan State University with “Gold-level status” for the 10th consecutive year, marking MSU among the most veteran-friendly institutions in the state.
Patrick Forystek, director of the MSU Center for Veterans and Military-Affiliated Students, or CVMAS, says the designation alone is important. Marking 10 full years of designations is another layer to the accomplishment.
“It’s great to get the highest designation again, and it is meaningful to see a milestone like 10 years,” said Forystek. “It a nice accomplishment, and that speaks to the commitment and support for our veterans and military-affiliated students. We certainly want veterans and their families to feel both welcome and supported at MSU.”
Vice President for Student Affairs Jim Hintz agrees.
“Veterans and their families are an important part of the community, so we are certainly proud of the designation this year and every year. Reaching 10 consecutive years shows that the Center for Veterans and Military-Affiliates Students is doing excellent work with campus partners to ensure this segment of our students is valued.”
Per the agency, gold certification is the highest level of recognition, reserved for institutions that set the standard in supporting veterans, their dependents and all military-connected learners. The Veteran-Friendly Schools program awards Gold-, Silver- or Bronze-level status to colleges, universities and training facilities that demonstrate exceptional dedication to meeting the unique needs of the veteran community. Recognition is based on a range of veteran-focused services, including dedicated resource centers, academic advising, peer-to-peer mentoring and career readiness initiatives.
To become a veteran-friendly school with Gold-level status, universities, colleges or trade schools must meet at least six of the following criteria:
- Established process for identification of current student veterans
- Veteran-specific website
- Active student veteran organization or club
- Veteran-specific career services, resources, advising and/or outcome monitoring
- On-campus veterans coordinator and/or designated staff point of contact
- System to evaluate and award academic credit based on prior military training and experience
- Monitoring and evaluation of student veteran academic retention, progress and graduation rates
MSU has received Gold-level status since the program’s inception in 2015-16. For the first time, however, the unit will be awarded using its new name: CVMAS. Formerly the Student Veterans Resource Center, CVMAS’s new name and brand identity better reflect how the unit provides programs and services to support student veterans as well as their families.
Student veterans are an important part of the MSU community with over 400 student veterans enrolled at the university and more than 2,000 military-affiliated students.
