UC, EKU named 2022-2023 Military Friendly® Schools

The University of the Cumberlands and Eastern Kentucky University have both been recognized as 2022-2023 Military Friendly® Schools.

University of the Cumberlands has received gold status among private universities offering doctoral degrees, as ranked by Military Friendly^®.

This marks the second consecutive year Cumberlands has earned gold status from the organization.

In short, rankings by Military Friendly^® are a gauge to tell which organizations – employers as well as higher education institutions – offer superior assistance to U.S. military veterans and current members.

Cumberlands first earned Military Friendly^® status in 2018, making the Top 10 list nationwide among private universities offering doctoral programs in 2018 and again in 2021. For the 2021-2022 cycle, the university was also named a Military Spouse Friendly^® School.

“The way we treat our nation’s military personnel and veterans is extremely important to us as a university,” said Dr. Larry L. Cockrum, Cumberlands President. “We are committed to providing high-quality, workforce-relevant education at affordable rates in formats that are flexible enough for our military to complete their programs in a timely fashion. Whether our students’ goals are to use their degrees within military work directly, or whether they’re looking to use their degrees in civilian life, it’s our goal at Cumberlands to provide everything they need to accomplish those goals.”

University of the Cumberlands offers both in-seat and fully online degree programs to military personnel and veterans. Both in-seat and online students receive financial aid through the university. Cumberlands offers programs in information technology, health sciences, business administration, criminal justice, and many other fields for all degree levels from associate through doctoral.

Dr. Jonathan Shores, Jr., a U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant, recently joined Cumberlands’ leadership as the new Executive Vice President for Enrollment Management. “I appreciate how intentional Cumberlands is in their approach toward students with a military background. The effort they put toward these students speaks volumes and I look forward to continuing to grow the services and programs here for veterans,” Shores said.

Cumberlands provides many resources to military personnel and veterans, such as academic advising, financial aid counselling, career planning services, free mental health counselling, and assistance finding work-study opportunities and non-work-study employment.

The university also provides accommodations for military students with disabilities.

Cumberlands accepts all forms of VA benefits and all forms of Military Tuition Assistance, and no military or veteran student pays an application fee to apply to Cumberlands, regardless of whether they’re seeking an undergraduate or graduate program.

Per the Military Friendly® website, ratings are “assessed through the evaluation of both public data… and proprietary data” gathered through a free, voluntary survey offered by the organization.

The survey assessment is offered to more than 8,800 institutions worldwide.

According to Military Friendly^®, “Each year, schools taking the survey are held to a higher standard than in previous years via improved methodology, criteria, and weightings developed with the assistance of an independent research firm and our Advisory Council.”

According to the Military Friendly^® website, institutions are evaluated by public data and survey responses from more than 1,800 participating schools. To achieve a Military Friendly^® Schools ranking, institutions must meet a variety of standards, including thresholds for retention, graduation, job placement, repayment, persistence and loan default rates for all students, specifically for student veterans.

More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2022-2023 survey, with 530 schools earning the Military Friendly^® designation. A total of 250 schools were selected for “gold” award status for their leading practices, outcomes and effective programs.

EKU honored

Reinforcing a tradition of excellence in veterans education, Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) once again claimed the top three ranking in the Military Friendly^® Schools 2023-24 ratings. EKU is the only university in Kentucky to achieve the Military Friendly^® Schools’ highest award designation of Top Ten status.

“EKU’s veterans and military service members are fundamental to our campus community,” said EKU President Dr. David McFaddin. “We are incredibly proud to be named among the top three Military Friendly^® Schools for another year in a row. We continue to invest in excellence for our student veterans and their families to ensure they have support, facilities and programming to achieve success in their academic and career goals.”

EKU is home to over 1,700 veterans, active duty service members, Reserve/National Guard members and military spouses and children, as of Fall 2022. “I am extremely proud of the entire Office of Military and Veteran Affairs, as well as the many campus partners at EKU that are committed to ensuring that our campus is military friendly,” said Dr. Dannie Moore, EKU vice president of student life and chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer. “At every level EKU is the School of Opportunity, and this is truly an example of us being excellent in all that we choose to do for our students.”

The EKU Office of Military and Veteran Affairs (OMVA) provides dedicated services and programming from pre-admission to graduation and beyond for military and veteran students and their families.

EKU is home to over 1,700 veterans, active duty service members, Reserve/National Guard members and military spouses and children, as of Fall 2022.

To see the complete list of 2023 Military Friendly^® Schools, visit militaryfriendly.com/schools/.