UND stakes leading position in U.S. News rankings for best online programs for veterans

U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs for Veterans rankings place UND 12th in online graduate business programs, 21st in online education degrees and in the top 50 in online bachelor’s degrees.

To compile the list, U.S News & World Report evaluated only the higher-education institutions from the top half of its general Best Online Programs rankings.

The military-focused rankings, hence, not only showcase UND’s rising national profile in online education; they attest to the University’s successful execution of its strategic goal to serve the military, which rolled out in the Fall 2017 semester.

Since then, UND’s enrollment of military-affiliated students has grown to 1,200, an increase of 5 percent. As of the first month of Fall 2018, there were 100 active-duty students and over 700 veteran students.

Combined, three-quarters of them pursue bachelor’s degrees, mostly online.

“We have a breath of online programs that make what we have to offer to military members and veterans more attractive,” said Jeffrey Holm, UND vice provost, online education & strategic planning.

He pointed to collaborations such as with the U.S. Air Force’s Air University that allows active airmen and women to complete online courses from UND.

At UND, military students also benefit from lower than in-state tuition rates for most programs.

To evaluate the online programs for active-duty troops and veterans, U.S. News & World Report relied on three criteria: a qualifying Best Online Programs rank, certification for GI Bill and other federal benefits and critical number of enrolled students with military background (at least 25 undergraduate students and no less than 10 graduate students).