The university has secured a spot on the list of most military-friendly colleges and universities for the second consecutive year.
The list is developed by Gannett’s Military Times, which provides news and critical information to U.S. military forces and veterans worldwide. Hundreds of universities and colleges apply to the list, but only the top 100 are ranked.
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U-M ranked No. 56 on the list. The university was No. 51 in the 2014 list.
“This is a real honor,” said Ann Hower, director of New Student Programs, the administrative home of the university’s veterans and military services program.
“It signals to U.S. active duty and veteran military everywhere that the University of Michigan welcomes them, provides extraordinary academic and extracurricular resources, and does everything we can to ensure their success.”
There are 201 veterans — including 16 active duty and seven reservists — enrolled at U-M’s Ann Arbor campus, along with 108 dependents of veterans.
In the rigorous application process, U-M’s Veteran and Military Services Director Phil Larson documented the university’s extensive resources, including a world-class academic environment, extensive academic advising and support resources, and more than 1,400 extracurricular options for engagement with their fellow students.
Additionally, all active-duty military, veterans and their immediate family members qualify for in-state tuition, and U-M is a full participant in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which means it collaborates with the Veterans Administration to cover all their school-related costs beyond basic Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits.
The university also participates in the White House’s Principals of Excellence initiative for military and veteran education, and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Memorandum of Understanding, which articulates specific rules and guidelines for schools to follow with regard to military students.
Military Times analyzes both the submitted information as well as data compiled by the U.S. Department of Education, including academic success measures.
“It took a great deal of time and effort, but it was well worth it,” said Larson, who Hower credits for his leadership in the application process. “Our students also went to bat for us, and that really is the best testimony to the value of a Michigan education.”
“That’s great news and a real surprise,” said Will Kerkstra, president of the U-M chapter of the Students Veterans of America, co-founded at U-M in 2008 by Derek Blumke.
“We believe the university merits this recognition, and contacted the people at Military Times to tell them so. But it wasn’t clear they were going to decide this way.”
Kerkstra, a staff sergeant when he left the U.S. Marines, served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Other national public and Big Ten universities on the list include Rutgers University (10), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (37), and Ohio State University (45).
In addition to U-M, other listed Michigan schools are Northwestern Michigan College (68) and Western Michigan University (75).
