Office of Veteran and Military Student Success (VMSS) achieves Military Friendly Schools Gold Award

Adding to the list of accolades and national distinctions USC Aiken has achieved, the Office of Veteran and Military Student Success (VMSS) recently received the Military Friendly Schools Gold Award. This award demonstrates that USC Aiken scored within 20 percent of the 10th-ranked institution within its given category.

Military Friendly gathered its data by conducting surveys and analyzing its responses. Over 1,800 schools took part in the 2022-2023 survey and USC Aiken was selected as one of the 282 institutions chosen for the Gold Award.

Many factors go into the selection process for the Gold Award such as leading practices, effective programs, an institution’s ability to meet thresholds for retention, graduation rates, job placement rates, repayment, persistence and loan default rates for all students with an emphasis for student veterans.

The VMSS’s mission is to champion veterans, service members and family members of the United States Armed Forces in their endeavors in both higher education pursuits and in the community. Robert Murphy, director of the VMSS, received the award with pride and gratitude, stating, “This is a campus and community-wide achievement... Without the hard work of my campus colleagues and the support of our donors and advocates, we couldn't achieve this. Thank you for being a part of our collective success."

USC Aiken takes many strides to be one of the best institutions to assist veterans and family members of the armed forces members in their collegiate pursuits.