JMU and JMU VALOR Designated Gold Status through Military Friendly Schools

In February 2026, James Madison University and JMU VALOR received ‘gold’ status through Military Friendly® Schools. Annually, the Military Friendly schools platform launches a survey which assesses categories such as graduation and career outcomes, student support and retention, and financial aid and loan repayment. Each year, as schools improve, the criteria and qualifications to level up become more challenging to achieve, as well as certain categories (such as the ones that are highlighted above) are weighted in their assessment. In the survey, the two areas that weighed 30% in the assessment are ‘graduation and career outcomes’ and ‘student support and retention’. 

The Military Friendly Award Program, according to their website, “provide a more competitive view of how an organization is performing compared with similar organizations.” The ‘gold’ designation is the second highest Military Friendly Award a school can receive. “Gold institutions represent overall survey scores that fall above 41% or score at or above .41 and have five or more qualifying benchmarks.” Additionally, the Military Friendly Award Program also awarded JMU as ‘designated’ as a Military Spouse Friendly school.  

With this designation from the Military Friendly Award Program, JMU and JMU VALOR will continue to uphold their mission to honor those who have served, as well as continue programming and advocacy for over 1,400 military-connected students to succeed at James Madison University.