A small community college in Norfolk, Nebraska, has been named a 2026 Military Friendly School. Northeast Community College earned silver recognition in the small community college category, for its continuing education commitment to supporting veterans, active-duty service members, military spouses and dependents.
“Veterans and military‑connected students bring leadership, resilience, and real‑world experience to our classrooms,” said Leah Barrett, president of Northeast Community College, in a statement released to Military.com. “Earning the Military Friendly designation reflects our commitment to intentional support, meeting students where they are, valuing their service, and helping them build pathways to meaningful careers and long‑term success.”
The Military Friendly School designation is the result of an annual survey that ranks institutions that support military-connected students through recruitment, retention, academic progress, graduation, career placement and other services. This year, more than 3,200 institutions and organizations participated in the Military Friendly survey process nationwide.
Final rankings are determined by combining public data, survey responses and an institution’s ability to meet or exceed key performance thresholds. The survey measures how a school serves veterans, transitions service members and supports military families overall.
“Earning the Military Friendly designation is more than a badge of honor. It is a reflection of an institution’s deep‑rooted values and strategic commitment to those who served,” said Kayla Lopez, vice president of memberships for Military Friendly, in a statement obtained by Military.com. “These schools don’t just open doors for veterans and military spouses, they build sustainable pathways for academic success and long‑term impact.”
At Northeast, military-connected students have access to a coordinated program of academic and personal support, including a student veteran organization, dedicated faculty and staff, academic advising and support centers, including for disability and counseling. The college of 5,500 enrolled students also provides guidance on veterans’ educational benefits and career readiness.
Long Process to Earn Designation
Earning a Military Friendly designation is considered a long process and an institutional commitment. Organizations start by taking a pledge, then participate in surveys to advance to full Designation and then the Award level featuring Top 10, Gold, Silver and Bronze designations.
“Ratings are earned and are absolutely free to organizations. This is not a pay-to-play ratings entity,” reads a statement on the eligibility rules posted on the Military Friendly website, and reviewed by Military.com. “As the traditional student pool shrinks, embracing the military-connected community is a powerful and necessary step to secure your institution’s future.”
Military Friendly is widely considered the national standard for measuring an organization’s commitment, effort, and success in creating meaningful, sustainable benefits for the military community. The designation helps set schools apart in an increasingly competitive yet shrinking academic pool of students.
“The war for students is intensifying, and it’s driven by a national demographic shift [centered around] plunging birthrates,” reads a statement on the Military Friendly website, reviewed by Military.com. “By actively attracting this community, your institution can address a key demographic challenge. These learners also come with financial support through the Post-9/11 GI Bill and other tuition assistance programs.”
Military Connection Offers Recruitment Advantage
The solution to this enrollment crisis, according to the Military Friendly organization, lies within the military community as a powerful, often overlooked, and growing student population.
“When I retired, I decided to pursue the education field,” said Mark Handy, a retired chief petty officer and now military manager at the California Institute of Applied Technology, in a webinar viewed by Military.com. “I realized how many veterans have no idea exactly the amount of benefits that are available to them.”
Handy says the military connection is that higher education is an attractive recruiting tool for schools, large and small, especially those that accept military service for college credit.
“Our ultimate goal is to get students in, enable those credits to transfer in, make the students’ time shorter here,” said Handy. “It’s less expensive, it saves time, and ultimately it’s time served.”
Northeast Community College will be featured in the 2026-27 Guide to Military Friendly Schools, published in the April issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and on MilitaryFriendly.com.
