Military and Veteran Services earns recognition for being military friendly

Augusta University’s Military and Veteran Services was recently awarded a Military Friendly Schools Silver recognition for the 2025-26 academic year.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly Schools designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. Survey topics are developed with input from an independent advisory council of experts in veteran education. The scoring process is fully automated.

Stefane Raulerson, EdD, director of Military and Veteran Services, said having a Military Friendly designation is an honor in that it “confirms the quality of the support Augusta University provides to its military students.”

“I think what we do best is with support. Higher education is a different world from the military, and it can be frightening,” Raulerson said. “We have peer groups such as a Student Veterans of America chapter, a Gold Star Family student organization and a brand-new military spouse connection group so military students can ‘see themselves’ and be able to easily connect with other students who understand the journey that brought them to AU. In the next year, MVS plans to begin a series of events that will be open to the public to further provide support to our military community.”

Raulerson also noted MVS provides quick responses to emails and phone calls, as well as guides for students to accomplish needed tasks. Additionally, they offer one-on-one assistance and group information sessions to military students in navigating the admissions process, FAFSA completion, the application for military benefits and the possible award of academic credit for military training.

AU, which has been designated a Military Friendly School every year since 2016, was also recognized as “friendly” for military spouses. AU is listed in the large public-school category, which traditionally has a student enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers a wide range of academic programs and services.

Raulerson said MVS has expanded the identification of military students so they can support those with and without military educational benefits. For the current spring semester, AU had more than 1,500 known military students, almost 15% of the overall student population, and almost 800 of those received military educational benefits.

The components of the Military Friendly designation include financial, engagement and academic support. The degree of data collection efforts for military populations, including active duty, veterans, reservists, as well as dependents, to gauge progression, retention and graduation. The level of participation in best practices is also considered.

The 2025-26 Military Friendly Schools list will be published in G.I. Jobs magazine and online.