Cumberlands earns Military Friendly® School designation

The United States is “the land of the free and home of the brave,” and University of the Cumberlands is doing what it can to help the brave men and women of the U.S. military receive an education at a fraction of the cost.

Cumberlands was recently designated as a Military Friendly® School, ranking seventh in the nation in that category among private schools offering doctoral degrees. This designation means Cumberlands meets notable high standards in making a quality education accessible to the U.S. military with a commitment to continually become even better. Schools that earn this designation are to serve as “an example to American schools,” according to the Military Friendly® website.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey that is administered for free and open to all postsecondary schools that wish to participate. More than 1,200 schools participated in the 2021-2022 survey, with 747 earning this designation.

Dr. Larry Cockrum, president of the university, said, “We do our best to promote integrity, respect, compassion, and service in everything we do here at Cumberlands. People with that kind of character have always been among the first to volunteer for military service, and they are proud defenders of our nation. We are pleased to support them beyond their military service by providing a strong academic foundation and the resources they need to succeed.”

In an email to Cumberlands administration, Military Friendly® said they were thankful for the university’s “hard work and dedication to the military community.”

According to Dr. Emily Coleman, provost at Cumberlands, the university has been working strategically over the past two years to target data collection efforts and expand service offerings for military and veterans. Within those years, Cumberlands has added the military veteran discount to select programs, added a Military and Veteran Career Pathways resource, re-launched its Army ROTC program, expanded information on its military webpage, and increased staffing dedicated to serving its military/veteran students.

“We are pleased to have received this honor,” said Coleman. “We have worked to increase the services and supports to our military and veteran students, and this designation is a recognition of the hard work and increased service levels provided.”

At Cumberlands, military personnel and veterans may matriculate an associate degree up to a doctoral degree entirely online. The university accepts all VA benefits as well as Tuition Assistance benefits. The school also offers discounted tuition prices for select master’s programs. Students from every branch of the armed forces are currently enrolled at Cumberlands.

Russell Carr, coordinator of military benefits at Cumberlands, said, “I think one of the many advantages of being a Military Friendly® School is having staff who are available to assist students with their benefits. Most service members and veterans who qualify for military educational benefits are wanting to use them, they just need help knowing how to properly apply them to their educational expenses.”

He continued, “Based on my interactions with them, our veterans and service members are grateful for being recognized for their service and for the university’s low cost. Additionally, once students enroll, they have a liaison on campus who is present each semester to assist them. This can be a really helpful asset.”

Military Friendly® is owned and operated by VIQTORY, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business. For more information on Military Friendly® schools, visit www.militaryfriendly.com/schools/. 

To learn more about University of the Cumberlands’ programs and military discounts, visit www.ucumberlands.edu/military.