The University of Missouri-Kansas City has received two honors for being a veteran-friendly campus.
Military Times ranked UMKC No. 70 in the United States for being a best school for military veterans, out of 366 colleges and universities reviewed. According to the publication “2021 Best for Vets: Colleges,” “UMKC is the largest comprehensive, fully accredited university in the Kansas City area and has a 16:1 student-to-faculty ratio, which means professors know their students' names and take mentorship seriously.”
The publication mentioned the new UMKC Student Veteran Support Services office and At Ease Zone (Veterans Center) through which UMKC serves the student veteran and military population. The publication noted a UMKC statement that the university “values the qualities and strengths this student population brings to campus and the community, and has top-down support to ensure we are implementing best practices to show maximum support for the overall success of our student veterans.”
UMKC was also designated a 2021-2022 Military Friendly School. Military Friendly® is the “standard that measures an organization’s commitment, effort and success in creating sustainable and meaningful opportunity for the military community.”
“These two distinguished rankings go a long way as far as seeing how we match up to other institutions across the country,” said Eric Gormly, assistant director, UMKC Student Veteran Support Services. “With us not being on campus for most of this past year, I am excited for the student veterans to see just how welcoming the UMKC campus has become. Although many factors play into the ranking systems for student veteran programming, one crucial piece is having a one-stop shop for student veterans to seek out resources, build community, and make their presence on campus known, which we have in the new At Ease Zone in the Student Union. The top-down support has helped to achieve many goals that were envisioned that ultimately contribute to not only the academic success, but the all-around student success for these transitioning service members.”
The At Ease Zone and Student Veteran Support Services Office are located in Room 310 of the UMKC Student Union. More information about UMKC programs for veterans can be found online.