5 Tips for Moving Up the Military and Veteran College Rankings the Right Way
Healthy competition can bring out the best in us. All stakeholders can benefit when this best in us relates to upping our game in serving our military-connected students. One attempt to measure the best in this field is by using a variety of ranking lists to benchmark institutions’ efforts. While ranking systems may not be perfect in capturing how an institution best serves its students, they can be a step in the right direction in measuring something as complex and multifaceted as support for military-connected students.
Given the imperfect nature of definitively assessing those who best serve military-connected students, the risk exists for institutions to ‘game’ ranking systems. In this article, we will glean some takeaways from ranking lists such as Best for Vets: Best Colleges for Military Veterans, Military Friendly and Best Colleges for Veterans and give you 5 tips to integrate with your strategy to climb up the charts in a substantive way that steers clear of approaches to inflate short term results at the cost of long term efficacy. After all, being the best at serving those who have served our country deserves doing it the right way and not just the fast way.
Be Thorough, Accurate, and Complete
Let's start with an easy win. Considering these ranking lists assess hundreds of schools, they rely on several different data points and can be nuanced year to year (e.g., 2022 Best for Vets comment below) as they incorporate stakeholder feedback. Specifically, these assessments can include detailed questions such as student success, admissions metrics, and veteran-specific programming to differentiate among their peer institutions.
To provide the best (and most complete) data for evaluation, you'll need to involve subject matter experts at your institution for help and carve out dedicated time to compile responses and complete the survey accurately. Most survey submission windows are open for 4-6 weeks, and you should plan on using all of that time. It's not intensive work, but cycling with other departments can be time-consuming.
While this may seem like basic advice, Military Times notes, "In some cases, a school’s failure to respond to specific questions may have adversely impacted their score.” Don't be "that school." Finish your work.
Pivot Your Focus to Success
In all lists, “Student “Success” plays a prominent factor in the composite scores. The 2022 Best for Vets list shifted towards an increased weight in success metrics (e.g., completion, retention, persistence) compared to the previous year – 28.26% of total points compared to 19.94% of total points, respectively. While student success can be approached from many angles, one suggestion is to take a lesson from some of the highest-ranking schools.
Some common characteristics of these high-ranking institutions include conducting faculty training focused on learning more about student veterans and their unique needs, promoting tutoring services and providing onboarding, success & career-centered coaching for military-affiliated populations.
If time and financial resources are limited, consider low-cost tactics and initiatives.
For example:
Could syllabi include contact info for your school's veteran center?
Could your tutoring services collaborate with your veteran student groups to highlight their services?
Request data from academic advisors on why student veterans discontinue and assess if there are trends you can act on at your school to improve student success metrics such as graduation rates and first-year retention rates (in the 2022 Best Colleges for Veterans ranking, weighted metrics like this makes up 22% of an institution's overall score).
Strengthen Bonds Between Career Services, Networking, and Relevant Programs
It may come as no surprise that pursuing a promising career is a primary motivator for student veterans to attend college. As Dr. Abby Kinch, interim chief of staff for the Student Veterans of America, commented regarding the most popular majors chosen by military students, "They are looking for a career before, or directly after separation, and want to find the college majors that will get them those options." Many of the top-ranking schools display comprehensive career services and tailored academic programming.
Considering the Military Friendly designator focuses on career outcomes, the key is having programs in the right career fields and providing great career coaching services.
Some common characteristics of these programs and tips for initiating something similar at your school include:
Career Services: Awareness of the need to assist in translating military experience into a resume for civilian employment as well as mock interviewing opportunities.
Could someone at your institution host a webinar about the differences between promotion boards in the military and civilian job interviews?
If you don't already offer mock interviews, consult your career services team on how leveraging web calls can be used to conduct these. Virtual offerings help students who do not live locally or have family or work responsibilities, making in-person options more difficult. Better yet, recruit instructors to participate in the interviews to engage and grow understanding and connections with this demographic.
Networking: Networking and mentorship opportunities among current students and alums who went on to work for employers of sought-after companies and industries was nurtured and prioritized.
Stay connected with alumni – particularly your military-connected alums. Consider starting a veteran alum newsletter or inviting alums back for career-oriented events.
Develop connections with 3-5 strategic employers who align with programs for your veteran students/graduates. Explore options such as site visits to employers, bringing in industry experts as keynotes or starting an internship or micro-internship program for student veterans.
Tailored Programs: Certain schools identified common subject matter interests among their student veteran population, such as PTSD, childhood development related to frequent moves, and leadership practices, which they subsequently emphasized. More so, some higher-scoring schools were able to benefit from offering flexible class schedules and rolling admissions to accommodate student veterans, as well as older students with professional and familial responsibilities. There's an underlying sentiment here that cultural competency and understanding of the military community can be valuable guideposts for highlighting existing programs of interest.
Does your school have a management or leadership degree or certificate? Could you design it to highlight transferable leadership skills from the military to civilian settings? Is there a demand for a military student-specific section of such a course?
Do you offer a degree in psychology? Is there a way you can incorporate topics that may pertain specifically to your military veteran population?
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
When perusing the rankings, one noticeable difference as you get closer to the low 200s is an abrupt decline in Special Government Funding Programs, often expressed in scholarships eligible for military-connected students. While this entails securing funding to support a scholarship, schools sometimes offer scholarships in the hundreds of dollars vs. tens of thousands of dollars. Confirm with your Financial Aid department and see if your school offers any scholarships that might be eligible for this criteria, no matter the amount.
One often overlooked demographic in the military community and one that is gaining traction in the questions on these surveys is the military spouse. Offering family members of active duty service members a scholarship opportunity is a fantastic way to stand out in the sea of other institutions.
In the spirit of realistic tips, partner with your Alumni Association or advancement department to engage military veterans for their feedback and suggestions. Creating a landmark veteran-based scholarship at their alma mater could be highly appealing and open the door to a new alum donor base.
Be a Home Away from Home
As pandemic restrictions at institutions are rolled back, and in-person classes return to pre-COVID expectations, student veterans may find themselves physically on campus more often than in recent years. As a minority student demographic, do they have a 'place’ on your campus? It is human nature to seek belonging, and the sense of camaraderie is integrated through all branches of the military.
Many of the top-ranking schools addressed this need by having a designated physical space at their school designated as a "Veterans Center" or something similar. While you may not have the resources to build or renovate a place like this in short order, ask yourself if it's possible to repurpose a place on campus that is underutilized or perhaps not used at all. Having a central location can act as a hub to support all the tips above and all the other efforts you plan on taking to do your best for vets in 2023.
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Best for Vets: Best Colleges for Military Veterans: https://colleges.militarytimes.com/2022/assets/methodology.pdf
Best Colleges for Veterans: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings
Military Friendly: https://www.militaryfriendly.com/methodology/
