Military Times releases the annual list of the top colleges, business schools, employers and other organizations for veterans. To determine the ranking, Military Times released a survey and analyzed answers from the colleges and universities that responded.
The ranking considers schools’ resources, tuition, programs and GMAT scores among other factors. Military Times also released a list of the best universities for veterans in the fall, and KU as a whole ranked No. 23 on this list.
The School of Business and the University of Kansas have created programs and support for veterans, reserve and active duty soldiers including the MBA with a concentration in Petroleum Management, the Brigade Pre-Command Course and the Masters of Science in Business Supply Chain Management and Logistics, as well as other non-academic programs and services.
Dee Steinle, administrative director of masters programs, said a variety of university and business school programs were factored into the ranking, but one of the most important was the MBA program.
“In particular, there was a point of interest on the MBA program because I think it’s a very familiar commodity across schools,” Steinle said. “While I think all of our programs played into it, the MBA was probably the most recognizable program that they circled back to.”
The business school provides a variety of programs tailored to the needs of veteran and current military students. Steinle said the MBA with a concentration in Petroleum Management is beneficial to Navy officers who are looking for new skills.
“We have a specific part of our MBA program that allows supply corps officers from the Navy to come to KU, earn an MBA and take hours within the School of Engineering as well to reshape their careers into fuels officers,” she said.
Greg Freix, director of the Master of Science in business supply chain management and logistics program, said while both the business school and the university have strong programs for veterans, they’re working on initiatives to further improve services for veterans. One such initiative is a veteran legal services center, which would be run through the School of Law in Green Hall. Law students, supervised by faculty, will assist veterans with legal issues surrounding veteran’s benefits claims.
“We’re trying to better identify the veterans on campus in a way that meets with legal requirements,” he said. “We’re trying to better serve the veterans on campus as we pull together folks from all these different areas.”
by Allison Kite
