OSU ranked among top 50 colleges for military veterans

Monday, June 11, 2018

Oklahoma State University is ranked 40 among more than 200 top colleges and universities for military veterans nationwide, according to a survey from College Consensus, which combines information from trusted publishers, agencies and verified student reviews to produce its ranking.

The ranking is also based on several requirements for a campus to serve military veterans, including a fulltime campus contact dedicated to support veterans, servicemembers and their families.

“As the contact for veterans and their families at OSU, I’m glad to ensure those transferring from the armed services get all the help they need in making the transition to college life,” said Rick Hansen, a retired U.S. Marines captain who serves as coordinator of Student Veteran Services on campus. “I made that transition myself at one time and that’s why I’m especially pleased veterans who come here immediately have a place to seek academic assistance, study, and interact with other veterans at our Veterans Success Center on campus.”

The Student Veterans Organization at OSU is also very active and another important way that veterans quickly find out about the many resources the campus has to assist them, including University Counseling, Student Disability Services, Career Services, Non-Traditional Student Services, University College Advising/LASSO, Mathematics Learning Success Center, Writing Center, OSU Student Veterans Organization, Office of Individual Study, Peer Advisors for Veteran Education, and Library Services.

Off campus organizations that make regular visits to provide services on campus include Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, Military One Source, Oklahoma National Guard Family Programs, Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc., Tulsa Vet Center, Oklahoma City Vet Center, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans.

OSU’s top-40 designation involved several sources, including rankings from publishers such as U.S. News, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and agencies, which include Academic Ranking of World Universities, Center for World University Rankings and QS World University Rankings. The other key rankings source is verfied student reviews of each university provided by reputable review sites including My Plan, Niche, Cappex, Student Review and Unigo.

In addition to the college contact provided for military veterans, each college must meet several requirements to be included in the consensus veterans rankings such as distance learning programs for veterans, credit for military training, a recognized student veteran organization on campus, and the college’s direct participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program to help veterans fund their education.  For more information on the rankings, go to https://www.collegeconsensus.com/rankings/best-colleges-veterans/.

The primary goal of the Student Veterans Academic Services at OSU is to coordinate with campus, community, state and federal organizations and agencies to provide services to more than 850 veterans and military-affiliated students at OSU. For more information, contact Rick Hansen at richard.hansen@okstate.edu or call (405) 744-1390.