Columbus State University recently earned a Gold designation in the category of Small Public schools after completing the Military Friendly® Schools survey for 2020-2021. The Military Friendly® program “is the standard that measures an organization’s commitment, effort and success in creating sustainable and meaningful benefit for the military community.”

Columbus State University has a military enrollment department that is dedicated to providing support for military-affiliated students, such as veterans and their families. Among the services offered by the department are job opportunities, assistance with VA benefits, a student center specifically for veterans, and an active student veterans association. CSU’s military enrollment has coordinated “Green Zone” training for all faculty and staff who are interested in becoming specially trained advocates for these students. They have also coordinated a “Suits for Vets” program, in which local businesses may donate suits for veterans to use for graduation and job interviews. Other considerations for military families include a special military orientation for students, eight-week course offerings at Fort Benning, and a military-affiliated student advisory committee aimed at finding scholarship opportunities. Columbus State University was also ranked 50th nationwide in the Military Times’ Best for Vets: Colleges 2020 four-year schools survey.