Military Times has named SUNY Oswego a 2016 Best for Vets College, ranking it among only 125 four-year colleges and universities nationwide for the second consecutive year.

Oswego ranked 73rd, tops among the four State University of New York institutions on the list that weighs results of detailed surveys and comparative national data. Other SUNY schools on the list were SUNY Plattsburgh, University at Buffalo and SUNY Cobleskill.

“Receiving this recognition from Military Times shows we at Oswego are able to implement all of the supports proven effective in helping veterans transition to college and to succeed once they get here,” said Ben Parker, veteran services coordinator and senior academic planning coordinator for the college’s Division of Extended Learning.

The survey from Military Times, a top independent publisher of news for current and former service people, covers policies, procedures, outreach, services, campus climate and much more for veterans. It is “very comprehensive,” Parker said.

Weighing the heaviest were responses dealing with academic outcomes/quality, university culture, student support, academic policies and cost and financial aid.

Amanda Miller, editor of Military Times’ Best for Vets rankings and special editions, noted that the publisher also utilizes data from the departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Education. “We award the Best for Vets designation to the very best—the colleges that are really setting the example,” she said.

Services to veterans at Oswego include assistance with applications for admission, transfer of military and other college-eligible credits and financial aid; specialized academic advisement; emphasis on policies that are friendly to non-traditional students—those who do not follow a traditional high school-to-college path—and a Veterans Lounge and Veterans Club.

Among Oswego events organized with veterans in mind are the Veterans Day luncheon and, on Nov. 20, the college’s Military Appreciation Night during a men’s ice hockey game at Marano Campus Center arena.

Parker said the college continues to work on programs to support veteran students, including training for faculty and staff who encounter and work with veterans, and proposed training in the UC4 program—the Center for Deployment Psychology’s University Counseling Center Core Competency—for clinical staff at the college and in the community.

For more information about opportunities for veterans at SUNY Oswego, visit oswego.edu/veterans or call 315-312-2270.