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March 2026 Public Policy Update

Education

University of Central Florida

03/26/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/26/2026 09:22

UCF Earns 2026-27 Gold Award for Support of Military, Veteran Students

Highlights

UCF earned Gold status for the first time following many years as a Silver awardee while continuing our reputation as a Military Friendly Spouse School.
UCF is one of five universities in Florida to earn the Gold designation, joining Florida Atlantic, Florida International, West Florida and North Florida.
Today about 4,000 military-connected students are enrolled at the university, and UCF offers a range of services to support them and the veteran community at large.

UCF has earned a Gold Award on the 2026-27 Military Friendly Schools list, signaling the university's growing support for military and veteran students. This is the first year UCF has earned the Gold designation, following many years as a Silver awardee.

"This recognition reflects years of intentional work across the university to better support military-connected students," says Andrea Guzmán, UCF vice president for access and community engagement. "We've focused on building stronger support systems, removing barriers, and ensuring students have clear pathways from enrollment through career."

Army ROTC is a college elective program, designed to develop individual leadership skills for either a military or civilian career.

In addition to our Gold Award and recognition as a Military Friendly Spouse School, UCF has been previously designated as a Purple Heart Institution, Florida Purple Star Campus, Best Military-Friendly Online College and Military Times' 2025 Best for Vets Colleges List.

Today about 4,000 military-connected students are enrolled at UCF, and there are a range of services coordinated through the Office of Military and Veteran Student Success (MVSS) to support them:

Holistic Programming

An orientation dedicated for military-connected students and their families

Expanded student engagement and social activities, which include families and military veterans within our community

Collaboration with DirectConnect to UCF affiliates, most notably Valencia College, to streamline transition for transfer students

Academic Resources

Peer-to-peer tutoring in courses with high drop or fail rates

VA Work Study and university academic coaching programs prepare and train military-connected students to provide academic coaching to their peers

Career Readiness

Industry partnerships - including Amazon, JE Technology and Disney - that provide opportunity and engagement through mentorships, internships and career fairs

Range of workshops, lunch and learns and professional development opportunities

Access to Financial Support

Established an endowed scholarship to provide assistance to military-connected students

Potential for "meal plan" grants, emergency relief funds, tuition and fee waivers, and housing subsidies as part of co-curricular and academic support programs

Participates in the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs' Yellow Ribbon Program, a tuition assistance initiative for veterans and eligible dependents

Additionally, MVSS empowers UCF's faculty and staff through professional development opportunities with strategies and tips on how to best serve and engage with military-connected students.

A new liaison program has been piloted in the last year, placing an MVSS staff member with VA work study students at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management and UCF Downtown to increase support services for military-connected students at those campus locations. In Fall 2026, the program is expected to expand to the College of Business, College of Sciences and College of Arts and Humanities.

"The support the office provides is some of the most efficient and effective support I have encountered at UCF," says finance major Abigail Kost. "I have scored interviews from career fairs and connections from lunch and learns. The office is also a pillar of emotional wellbeing and has helped me navigate VA benefits and scholarship opportunities. I would not have come as far as I have without the office's resources."

UCF: Committed to Serving Veterans

UCF's commitment to serving veterans is not singularly confined to our Office of Military and Veteran Student Success.

In January, U.S. News & World Report ranked UCF No. 6 for online bachelor's programs for veterans.

UCF is home to UCF RESTORES, a nonprofit clinical research center and treatment clinic established to change the way post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related concerns are understood, diagnosed, and treated.

Led by UCF Trustee Chair and Pegasus Professor Deborah Beidel, who is currently a finalist for Central Floridian of the Year, the organization employs a unique and effective approach to treatment. A combination of exposure therapy, emerging technology and individual and group therapy sessions resulted in 66% of participants with combat-related trauma and 76% of first responders no longer meeting the diagnostic criteria for PTSD following three weeks of intensive treatment.

Virtual reality is used in exposure therapy at UCF RESTORES to help treat PTSD.

Last year, UCF became one of 12 universities nationwide - and the only school in Florida and the southeast - to participate in a new Service to Service initiative. The national pilot program is dedicated to connecting veterans and their families with graduate educational pathways in public service and helping them find impactful long-term careers in public leadership.

A partnership between UCF College of Medicine and Orlando VA Medical Center - located next door to each other in Lake Nona's Medical City - ensures every medical student receives training in specialties including surgery, internal medicine, neurology and psychiatry at the Orlando VA Medical Center.

Medical Student Gary Saloman examines a patient under the guidance of Andrew Taitano at the Orlando VA Medical Center.

UCF's history department has been documenting veterans' stories as part of the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project since 2010. UCF's Veterans Legacy Program, which was founded in 2017 as a partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration, focuses on documenting the lives of those buried in Florida's nine national cemeteries.

About Military Friendly

Founded in 2003, Military Friendly is an organization that measures organizations' commitment, effort, and success in creating sustainable and meaningful benefit for the military community.

Military Friendly Schools strive toward and succeed in the areas that matter most in helping veterans make the transition from the military to school and, ultimately, satisfying careers in the civilian world. Earning the designation shows a school meets the minimum criteria.

Military Friendly's final ratings for its Schools list were determined by combining each institution's survey responses, government/agency public data sources, and measurements across retention, graduation, job placement, repayment, persistence, and loan default rates for all students and specifically, for student-veterans.