Ranking of distinction
UND moves to gold status, top 10 for military friendliness
Sherry Lawdermilt and her team are seeing things fall into place for Goal No. 6 of the One UND Strategic Plan.
In January, the University moved into gold, top 10 status among similar research universities, according to MilitaryFriendly.com.
Lawdermilt, project manager for Goal 6, says it’s validation for what UND is doing to meet the educational needs of active-duty and veteran military service members alike.
“It was nice to say that we just found out we moved from silver status to gold and top 10,” Lawdermilt said, referring to her presentation at the Council of Colleges and Military Educators’ (CCME) annual symposium in Austin, Texas.
The ‘One UND’ Strategic Plan Goal No. 6 states that the University “will meet the educational needs of active duty military personnel, veterans and their families.”
Lawdermilt received word of the new ranking the day before. It was the ‘cherry on top’ of an already positive presentation about UND’s attention to military education.
“I was able to speak about it in my presentation and I know there were a lot of people there, from other institutions, who watch those rankings,” she said. “There was recognition UND has moved up the ranks.”
Kudos from the top
President Mark Kennedy said he was thrilled with UND’s new ranking, as it’s a reflection of the value the University places on the education of military veterans and their families, who’ve already given so much. He thanked Lawdermilt and the rest of the Goal 6 team for its hard work, including Al Palmer (Chamber of Commerce), Alex Kroke (Marketing), Amanda Callahan (Grand Forks Air Force Base), Brian Thomas (Grand Forks Air Force Base), Carol Drechsel (Institutional Research), Casey Koop (Admissions), Chelsea Larson (Student Financial Aid), Dale Enright (UND student), Heidi Flaten (Extended Learning), Ilene Odegard (Career Services), Jason Murphy (UND Reserve Officer Training Corps), Jessica Reule (Veteran Services), Lea Greene (Grand Forks Air Force Base), Marci Mack (Registrar’s Office), Matt Dunlevy (Chamber of Commerce) and Wendy Klug (UND Veteran’s Business Outreach Center).
Provost and Goal No. 6 Captain Tom DiLorenzo added “Our new gold distinction and top 10 ranking nationally is further indication that our strategies are working to enhance our military-friendly status and make UND’s name even more prominently visible within the military community.”
Great recognition
The newest ranking was prompted by much of what Lawdermilt characterized for UND Today last September: high-demand UND programs are being offered through the Air University Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative (AU-ABC) with the Air Force, tuition rates for active duty members match their assistance caps and the University is accepting credit for military training based on American Council of Education recommendations.
“I think it’s also what we’ve done through participating in various forums,” she said. UND has been part of the Veterans in Higher Education Collaborative, in addition to the CCME, which seeks to serve as a national representative for higher education institutions serving military service members and veteran students.
Veteran & Nontraditional Student Services, which serves the one-in-seven students using military benefits, has made changes over the past year to more quickly and accurately address benefits processing.
Coordinator Jessica Reule and her team have brought on more work studies, as well as instituted more deadlines to keep students ahead of the Veteran Affairs paperwork game.
Through the actions of the Goal 6 Team, credit hours earned by military-affiliated students have increased in the past year, which is the University’s own metric for its strategic plan goal. When UND has positive responses like this to surveys by sites like MilitaryFriendly.com, it creates opportunities for distinction.
Still, Lawdermilt was pleasantly surprised to see UND reach top 10 – the highest award category on MilitaryFriendly.com, featuring institutions far-exceeding their benchmarks of student service.
“It is great recognition of what the team was able to accomplish in a relatively short period of time,” she said. “We have an excellent team working on this and it shows.”
Beyond Goal 6
As for maintaining the momentum, Lawdermilt says it’s full steam ahead.
Karyn Plumm, assistant vice provost for student success, says a redeployed position within the Division of Academic Affairs will maintain UND’s military focus long past the strategic plan’s 2022 outlook.
The University is in the process of bringing on a Director of Military Programs and Services – someone whose focus will be coordinating the University’s various initiatives that comprise Goal 6 and its service to military students.
“This person will pull together the pockets of campus concerning this area, none of which are currently well-connected,” Plumm said. Those “pockets” are Veteran & Nontraditional Student Services, UND’s Reserve Officer Training Corps programs and the academic initiatives of Goal 6.
Plumm says the position will hopefully leverage these entities to better serve one another, though she wanted to credit Lawdermilt for her dedication to UND’s progress.
“Sherry has skillfully managed the elements of Goal 6 and moved them to be part of the fabric of the University,” she said.
