Military Friendly Schools survey gives gold ranking to UNC-Chapel Hill
The designation puts Carolina in the top tier among universities for providing support for military-affiliated students.
Carolina has once again been designated a military friendly university, earning a gold ranking in the 2023-24 Military Friendly Schools survey.
The Military Friendly Schools list by veteran’s advocacy group Viqtory reviews colleges and universities across the nation. Of the 1,800 institutions that participated in the most recent survey, 250 received the gold award status for their practices, outcomes and programs. Carolina also achieved recognition as a Top 10 Military Spouse Friendly school, earning seventh place among Tier 1 research institutions in the category.
Carolina has a long history of supporting military-affiliated students, including active-duty military, student veterans and ROTC students. The Carolina Veterans Resource Center organizes this support by offering a community space for military-affiliated students and a variety of programs. One of those programs is Boot Print to Heel Print, an orientation program that helps veterans and active-duty military students throughout their first year.
Rob Palermo, director of the Carolina Veterans Resource Center, said the designation puts Carolina in the “top tier” among universities for providing support for military-affiliated students.
“The designation sends an important message that Carolina prioritizes and cares about the success of military-affiliated students, honors their service, wants them to be successful here and is willing to put resources into making that happen,” Palermo said.
The Carolina Veterans Resource Center works to ensure that student veterans feel like they belong at Carolina.
As the military-affiliated student population continues to increase, Palermo hopes to engage with units and experts across campus to grow the Carolina Veterans Resource Center and maintain the University’s gold status as a Military Friendly School.
“I think a commitment to help better the lives of people who have served is important to the university, and that’s as it should be,” Palermo said.
