CCTC Earns Military Friendly School Designation for 15th Year

Sumter, SC (04/02/2026) — Central Carolina Technical College has once again been recognized for its commitment to serving the military community, earning the 2025-2026 Military Friendly School Gold designation in the small community college category.The college was also named a Military Spouse Friendly School.

This marks the 15th consecutive year CCTC has received Military Friendly recognition, highlighting its continued dedication to supporting active-duty service members, veterans and their families.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation are evaluated using public data sources and responses to a proprietary survey. Rankings are determined by VIQTORY, with input from the Military Friendly Advisory Council, and are based on key metrics including student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment and support services for military-affiliated students.

"Central Carolina is proud to be recognized once again as a Military Friendly School, marking the 15th consecutive year, and to receive the Military Spouse Friendly School award," said Lisa Bracken, vice president for Student Affairs. "Supporting our military-affiliated students remains a top priority as they pursue their education alongside the unique demands of military life. With resources such as a streamlined admissions process, a range of financial aid options, a VA certifying official, a Veterans Resource Center, and our Veterans Upward Bound program, we aim to make the college experience as smooth and supportive as possible. We are inspired by our active-duty service members, veterans, and their families, and we hope they feel proud to be part of the welcoming and dedicated community we continue to build for them."

CCTC offers a range of resources tailored to military students, including flexible course formats designed to accommodate unpredictable schedules, a dedicated VA certifying official and a Veterans Resource Center. Additional support services include:

A Veterans' Affairs representative on the main campus in Sumter

A Veterans Resource Center offering academic and career support in a collaborative environment

A Veterans Upward Bound program to assist veterans transitioning into higher education

Methodology, criteria and weightings were determined by Viqtory with input from the Military Friendly Advisory Council, consisting of independent leaders in higher education and military recruitment. Final ratings were determined by combining the CCTC's survey response set and government/agency public data sources within a logic-based scoring assessment. Viqtory measures CCTC'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, specifically student veterans.

"Military Friendly is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our designation process," said Kayla Lopez, national director of Military Partnerships at 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 institutions to evolve and invest in their programs consistently. Schools that achieve awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, going over and above that standard."

The Military Friendly Schools list sets the standard for higher education institutions to provide the best opportunities for 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.

Prospective students, including active-duty service members, veterans and military spouses, are encouraged to apply now and take the next step toward achieving their educational and career goals at Central Carolina Technical College

For more information about CCTC's military student services or to get started, call 803.778.1961 or email getinfo@cctech.edu.

The Veterans Upward Bound grant is 100% federally funded. There is no funding provided by non-governmental sources.

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About Military Friendly Schools:

The Military Friendly Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources for more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student veterans and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly Schools survey from participating institutions. The survey questions, methodology, criteria and weighting were developed with the assistance of an independent research firm and an advisory council of educators and employers. The survey is administered for free and is open to all post-secondary schools that wish to participate.Criteria for consideration can be found at militaryfriendly.com.

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