Georgia Perimeter College was designated No. 2 in the nation as "Best for Vets" among two-year colleges in the Military Times magazine's annual ranking.

In its sixth year, the rankings factor in the results of Military Times’ annual survey, the most comprehensive school-by-school assessment of veteran and military student services and rates of academic achievement.

As with all Best for Vets rankings, Best for Vets: Colleges 2016 is an editorially independent news project that evaluates the factors that help make colleges and universities a good fit for service members, military veterans and their families. More than 600 colleges took part in this year’s detailed survey.

"We are certainly honored and thrilled to have been selected as a top Military Times/Best for Vets school," said Mark Eister, director of GPC's Military Outreach program. "Every one of GPC's Military Outreach Center staff works very hard in serving our more than 1,200 military-connected students each semester. We recognize the sacrifices that our military and their families have endured. They had our backs while serving the nation, now we have theirs."

“It’s been amazing to witness how colleges all across higher education have embraced service members and their families,” said Amanda Miller, editor of Military Times’ Best for Vets rankings and special editions. “Over the past six years of our surveys, we’ve seen so many schools first begin to foster – through new policies, services and dedicated facilities—and then nurture these wonderful communities.”

Military Times’ annual Best for Vets: Colleges survey asks colleges and universities to meticulously document a tremendous array of services, special rules, accommodations and financial incentives offered to students with military ties; and to describe many aspects of veteran culture on a campus. Military Times also factors in data from the Veterans Affairs and Defense Departments, as well as three Education Department sources: the IPEDS Data Center, College Scorecard data and the Cohort Default Rate Database.

“We award the Best for Vets designation to the very best—the colleges that really are setting the example,” Miller said.

For the full Best for Vets: Colleges 2016 rankings, go to: www.militarytimes.com/bestforvets-colleges2016.