Liberty University Ranked No. 1 Among Best 'Online and Nontraditional Schools' for Veterans
The Military Times has ranked the Virginia-based evangelical school Liberty University number one on its list of best "Online and Nontraditional Schools" for veterans.
Rebootcamp, a Military Times website geared toward people leaving the Armed Forces, posted on Tuesday a list of the best schools for military personnel for 2019.
Liberty ranked first on their list of "2019 Online and Nontraditional Schools," with the University of Maryland University College placing second and the New York-based Excelsior College placing third.
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The rankings were determined by answers to a survey given to hundreds of schools in the United States, as well as federal data to gauge areas like university culture, academic quality, school policies, and financial aid.
"Liberty University is the largest school in our online and nontraditional rankings list with nearly 103,000 students. And while Liberty has a physical campus in Lynchburg, Virginia, the overwhelming majority of its 30,000 veteran, service-member and military-dependent students have opted to attend online," reported Rebootcamp.
"The university did a better job of retaining both its military and non-military students between 2016 and 2017 than most other online and nontraditional schools that participated in the survey."
In a statement released Tuesday in response to the news, Liberty noted that they have been in the top ten best schools for veterans since 2011.
Emily Foutz, director of Liberty's Office of Military Affairs, touted the private academic institution's support for military personnel, stating "before military support was a best practice in higher education, Liberty has valued and supported our service members."
"From assistance with setting up their military and veteran benefits to help before, during, and after a deployment, to participation in our military graduate recognition ceremonies, we have one goal — to do everything within our power to help our students achieve their goals," said Foutz.
Next month, Liberty will hold a "Military Emphasis Week" from Nov. 7-14, which seeks to spread awareness and support for those who serve.
"Once a one-day event on campus, Military Emphasis Week has been expanded to a week-long celebration in order to give greater visibility, support and recognition to our military and veterans," explained Liberty on its website.
"Events are planned throughout campus during this week to show appreciation for the men and women who have served and are serving this great nation."
