Campus recognized for military friendliness

For the 14th consecutive year, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has received recognition for its support of active military and veteran students.

Viqtory Media has named Pitt-Bradford a gold level school for the 2024-25 academic year for embracing military students and their families and dedicating resources to ensure their success.

Now in its 14th year, the Military Friendly® Schools list has come to set the standard for higher education institutions to give the best opportunities to veterans and their spouses. This prestigious list provides a comprehensive guide for veterans and their families using data sources from federal agencies and proprietary survey information from participating organizations.

The list of Military Friendly® Schools comes from an evaluation of both public data about the institutions and proprietary data gathered through a survey. 

Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, degree advancement or transfer, and loan default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.

December graduate Aiden Hulings of Kane put Pitt-Bradford’s credentials to the test last fall when he was deployed as a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve to the Middle East.

Hulings had already begun his final semester in computer information systems and technology and was taking classes in literature, video game design and digital forensics as well as finishing his senior project making a web site.

“As soon as I found out about my deployment, I started reaching out to all of my professors and trying to figure out how I could stay in my classes,” he said. 

Each of his professors would record their classes so that he could watch the lectures when he was done with work for the day nearly 6,000 miles from Bradford. “My professors were all really understanding,” he said.

With little to do on deployment other than work, Hulings was able to do his schoolwork at night after a full day of supervising construction projects as an engineering assistant. He earned a 4.0 and graduated in December 2023. Last month, he took part in spring commencement ceremonies at the campus.

Dr. James Baldwin, vice president of enrollment management at Pitt-Bradford, said, “The Military Friendly School designation is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of many different offices and people at Pitt-Bradford who actively help members of the reserves and returning veterans and their dependents to be successful in their pursuit of higher education.”

Support at Pitt-Bradford for veterans includes academic coaching and tutoring, disability resources, an academic advising center, writing center and mathematics center, as well as career and counseling services.

Pitt-Bradford has also been named a Military Spouse Friendly® School, a designation that helps military spouses select schools that will support them in their education journey by meeting their unique needs as part of a military family.

For more information on Pitt-Bradford or an eligibility consultation, contact Bob Dilks Jr., assistant vice president of enrollment management, at dilks@pitt.edu or visit https://upb.pitt.edu/veterans.