Manchester Community College Named Military Friend School by Victory Media

MANCHESTER, Conn. (January 11, 2018) — Manchester Community College has been named a Military Friendly® School by Victory Media, Inc., for 2018.

The list recognizes the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to accommodate America’s military service members, veterans and spouses as students and ensure their success on campus.

MCC has been named a Military Friendly School each year since 2012 for its services to veterans and is one of 849 colleges earning the designation this year. Institutions earning the designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey completed by the school. For the first time, student survey data was taken into consideration for the designation.

Methodology, criteria and weightings were determined by Victory Media with input from the Military Friendly Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence (degree advancement or transfer) and loan default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.

MCC’s Veterans OASIS is a key scoring point for achieving Military Friendly designation. It is a dedicated space that provides services and programs such as tutoring, readjustment support, professional development days, veterans advising and resources to assist with textbooks, school supplies, and even personal needs from rent assistance, grocery store cards and bus passes to waivers of course-fee payments.

In addition to the Veterans OASIS, which is frequented by some 25 to 30 veterans a day as they integrate into the college experience, the college instituted its Veteran-II-Veteran Peer Mentorship program (VIIV) in 2015 through a generous donation to the MCC Foundation from Glastonbury-based Monaco Ford.

Conceived to assist veterans and service members with their transition to MCC and to foster a connection with faculty, staff and students through a structured peer mentoring system, this program recently received additional funding from Monaco Ford to ensure its ongoing success. VIIV comprises these components to help veteran students succeed at MCC: peer mentoring, academic support and recognition, community engagement and service, and leadership development.

For more information on veterans services at MCC, contact Jonathan Ramos at 860-512-3375, or by email at jramos@manchestercc.edu.