FVCC earns designation as military-friendly school

Flathead Valley Community College recently earned the Military Friendly School designation for the fifth year running.

For 2024-2025, FVCC is recognized as a silver recipient in the small community college category. Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2024-2025 survey with 537 earning special awards for going above the standard. 

According to FVCC’s 2023 Mid-Cycle Self-Evaluation Report, 6% of degree-seeking students either identify themselves as veterans and/or receive veterans benefits each year on average. 

“We are proud to support our student veteran population and continue our Military Friendly School designation. By providing specialized resources like personal and career counseling, free tutoring, support accessing veterans benefits, a dedicated Veterans Center area and more, FVCC faculty and staff are committed to meeting the needs of our veterans and helping them succeed,” said FVCC Dean of Compliance Brenda Hanson. 

Another resource comes from FVCC Continuing Education Center’s partnership with Veterans Upward Bound in Kalispell. Free classes are offered to help military veterans refresh their academic skills to successfully complete postsecondary education. For example, this spring’s classes include intro to computers, intro to college math and algebra, and intro to college writing and grammar review. 

Ratings then determine the designation earned. FVCC’s silver designation means the school scored within 30% of the 10th-ranked institution within the small community college category. The Military Friendly Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources from more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student veterans, and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly Schools survey from participating institutions. 

Survey questions, methodology, criteria and weighting were developed with the assistance of an independent research firm and an advisory council of 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. 

The 2024-2025 Military Friendly Schools list will be published in the May and October issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found at militaryfriendly.com. 

For more information about FVCC’s student veteran programs and support, visit fvcc.edu/veterans-center.