ASU online programs for vets top-ranked by US News & World Report
Arizona State University leads the best schools in the country for online veteran degree programs, according to a U.S. News & World Report released today. ASU ranked first in the nation for online master’s degree programs for veterans in business and engineering, according to the 2014 Best Online Programs for Veterans rankings by U.S. News.
Additionally, ASU’s online bachelor’s degree programs for veterans ranked third nationally, and its online master’s programs for veterans in education and nursing placed seventh and 13th, respectively, according to the U.S. News study.
ASU continues to be lauded for its work with veterans, having been named a “Military Friendly School” by G.I. Jobs magazine in 2014 for the fifth consecutive year. In its Best for Vets: College 2014 rankings, Military Times magazine named ASU one of the top 50 colleges in the country.
ASU also ranks among the nation’s first higher education institutions to embrace “8 Keys to Success” – federal government guidelines for encouraging veteran students on campus and improving their employment outcomes. Information and video of ASU veterans are available at https://veterans.asu.edu/.
The 2014 U.S. News report focusing on the nation’s student veterans analyzed 197 online degree programs at institutions that also offer a wide range of benefits for veterans. Only regionally accredited degree-granting programs offering classes that were 100 percent online were considered.
Leading the nation were No. 1-ranked online master’s degree programs for veterans at ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business and its Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Ranking third nationally were ASU’s online bachelor’s degree programs for veterans.
Other ASU online graduate programs for veterans also placed in the country’s top 15. Ranked No. 7 was the online master's in education degree program in Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. Ranked No. 13 was the online master's in nursing degree program in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation.
Veteran enrollment is fast approaching 5 percent of ASU’s entire student body when counting both veterans and their dependents who are students. Currently, ASU has more than 3,000 veterans and dependents enrolled, with 2,000 of them using the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
The number of student veterans at ASU is increasing thanks to support from campus leadership, as well as centralized campus services for vets available at the Pat Tillman Veterans Center, said the center's director, Steven Borden, a retired Navy Captain.
“ASU leaders demonstrated vision and understanding in creating our center as a place to welcome veterans on campus,” he said. “They foresaw a growing enrollment of vets as a result of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and anticipated their special needs re-entering academic life.”
In February, ASU also launched its new Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagement. Developed in partnership with the Pat Tillman Veterans Center, the office is designed to connect veterans and university communities, and to create venues that reflect veterans’ voices and experiences.
“Having veterans’ voices reflected in education is one of the core goals of this office,” said director Mark von Hagen, who serves on the faculties of global studies in the School of Politics and Global Studies and history in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “We want to help students from diverse backgrounds successfully navigate and achieve their educational and career goals.”