Eastern Kentucky University, home to more than 1,500 military-affiliated students and their dependents, is ranked second nationally among the “Best for Vets: Business Schools” by Military Times EDGE magazine, up from seventh a year ago.
EKU ranked behind only the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the fourth annual survey and is the only Kentucky institution in the top 30. Only those institutions that offer graduate-level business degrees and that participated in the magazine’s Best for Vets: Colleges survey were considered in the review. The Business Schools survey evaluated many factors, including campus culture and curriculum, which make an institution a good fit for military veterans.
The full rankings are available online at MilitaryTimes.com, as well as ArmyTimes.com, NavyTimes.com, AirForceTimes.com and MarineCorpsTimes.com.
“Veterans have told us they were attracted to a business degree because it wouldn’t tie them down to a certain industry,” said Amanda Miller, editor of Best for Vets. “The survey lets us recognize the graduate business schools with close military connections that truly take vets’ success to heart.”
EKU’s School of Business, fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB), houses the Department of Accounting, Finance and Information Systems and the Department of Management, Marketing and International Business, as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. For more information about EKU’s School of Business, visit business.eku.edu.
Dr. Eugene Palka, associate vice president for student success at EKU, told Military Times that he wants student veterans to know that earning an MBA is a marathon, not a sprint.
The retired Army colonel said veterans need to be prepared to go the distance, adding that there will be peaks and valleys, not unlike their military experience.
“If they’re willing to apply themselves and use a little discipline, that degree can take them a long way beyond their military service,” Palka said.
Other national honors in recent years further validate the University’s lofty reputation among veterans. Five of the past six years, EKU has finished no lower than third overall nationally in Military Times EDGE magazine’s annual Best for Vets: Colleges issue, which rates four-year colleges and universities on their commitment to helping military veterans further their education. Also, Eastern has been recognized by G.I. Jobs® as a Military Friendly® School each of the past six years.
All the national honors prompted First Lady Michelle Obama to visit the EKU campus and address graduates at the University’s Spring 2013 commencement.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has named EKU a VetSuccess University, and a full-time VA employee is on hand at the University to help veterans with their benefits issues.
In 2010, Eastern launched Operation Veteran Success, a series of initiatives designed to make the university even more veteran-helpful. The University waives the application fee for undergraduate applicants in the military and offers a minimum of nine credit hours for military service via the Joint Service Transcript, as well as military-friendly withdrawal and re-admissions policies.
Also, EKU Online regularly captures national honors for the quality of its academic programming.
The EKU Military and Veterans Affairs Office is located at 317 Lancaster Ave. in a converted home adjacent to Irvine McDowell Park. For more information about opportunities and services available to veterans and their dependents at EKU, visit va.eku.edu or call 859-622-2345.