April 2, 2024 (Middletown, Conn.) — For the third consecutive year, CT State Middlesex earned the gold award from Military Friendly® Schools. Middlesex has been recognized by Military Friendly® Schools every year since 2011.
“Middlesex has a robust and diverse set of veterans on our campus. Achieving the gold designation with Military Friendly® Schools shows how much we are committed to them and the sacrifices they once made. We want to honor and support all that they have gone through to ensure a seamless transition into the civilian world,” said Melissa Michaud-Maltese, veterans outreach coordinator and a U.S. Navy veteran. “Being recognized for our efforts is humbling and one that not every school receives.”
Middlesex provides dedicated space on the Middletown campus, known as the Veterans OASIS Center, for veterans and military members to network, socialize and study. The center schedules workshops with the Department of Labor and the VA. In addition, the campus Veterans Club offers community programs to support veterans and their families.
More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2024–2025 survey with 537 earning special awards for their leading practices, outcomes and effective programs. Gold ranking is defined as a school scoring within 10 percent of the 10th-ranked institution in their category. CT State Middlesex is in the small community college category. Institutions were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey.
“Military Friendly® is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our designation process,” said Kayla Lopez, national director of military partnerships for Military Friendly®. “Our standards provide a benchmark that promotes positive outcomes and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the military community. This creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages colleges to evolve and invest in their programs consistently. Schools who achieve awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, going over and above that standard.”
For more information about VA education benefits at CT State, please visit ctstate.edu/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.
Methodology, criteria and weightings were determined by Viqtory 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.
CT State Middlesex is among 12 community colleges in Connecticut that merged on July 1, 2023, to become CT State Community College, one of the largest community colleges in the country and largest in New England, dedicated to quality, access and affordability. CT State students will be able to apply once and take classes at any campus. In addition to Middlesex (Middletown & Meriden), locations include Asnuntuck (Enfield), Capital (Hartford), Gateway (New Haven & North Haven), Housatonic (Bridgeport), Manchester, Naugatuck Valley (Danbury & Waterbury), Northwestern Connecticut (Winsted), Norwalk, Quinebaug Valley (Danielson & Willimantic), Three Rivers (Norwich), and Tunxis (Farmington).
