Special to the Register
RICHMOND —
For the second consecutive year, Eastern Kentucky University ranks in the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools nationwide that are doing the most to embrace America’s veterans as students, according to G.I. Jobs magazine.
The magazine’s 2011 list of Military Friendly Schools (viewable at www.
militaryfriendlyschools.com/2011list) was compiled through exhaustive research, as G.I. Jobs polled more than 7,000 schools nationwide. Criteria for making the list include efforts and level of success in recruiting and retaining military and veteran students, and academic accreditations.
The honor comes as EKU is welcoming increasing numbers of veterans, drawn by the University’s Operation Veteran Success, a series of initiatives designed to make Eastern an even more veteran-helpful campus.
EKU has extended reduced tuition rates to all out-of-state veterans. For post 9-11 G.I. Bill recipients, both resident and non-resident, who have completed 36 months of active federal service, this means no out-of-pocket tuition costs. Also, the University has: waived the $30 admission application fee for all veterans, added recreational programming that appeals to their adventurous nature, developed a veterans-only orientation course, established a mentoring program pairing freshman veterans with returning student veterans, and instituted special cohort classes
where veterans can learn together with fellow veterans.
Last year, EKU enrolled approximately 400 veterans.
“Today that number stands at 540, and I predict we have just scratched the surface,” said EKU President Doug Whitlock.
Lt. Col. Brett Morris, Ret., former chair of the University’s Department of Military Science, returned to campus to serve as associate director of veterans affairs in the Student Outreach and Transition Office.
“As a place that values and honors military service, EKU wants to be the school of choice for veterans,” Morris said, adding that many veterans are attracted to the University’s widely recognized undergraduate programs in the College of Justice and Safety, which offers degrees in homeland security, criminal justice, fire science, and safety, security, and emergency management. Another popular program with EKU veterans is aviation.
For more information about services available to veterans at EKU, contact the Veterans Affairs Office at 859-622-2345 or visit www.soto.eku.edu/veterans/op-vet-success.php.
