West Virginia University (WVU) is expanding the Yellow Ribbon program to student military veterans in five more graduate programs.
The Yellow Ribbon program, which funds the education of out-of-state student military veterans, is an extension of the 9/11 GI Bill that pays all in-state tuition and fees at public colleges and universities for eligible students.
The latest colleges to join the program are the College of Business and Economics, the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, the School of Dentistry and the School of Medicine.
“Since 2009, the Yellow Ribbon program has supported hundreds of Mountaineers who have served their country,” said interim veterans advocate Jerry McCarthy. “West Virginia University remains committed to the Yellow Ribbon program because we value what veterans bring to campus. It opens doors to our education and secures the dream of obtaining a degree from WVU.”
“It is an honor for the WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences’ faculty, students and staff to support the Yellow Ribbon Program at the graduate level,” said Dana Brooks, dean of CPASS. “We would like to pay tribute to the valor and sacrifice made by the American military. It is the College’s desire to attract and retain military members and their families to enroll in one or more of the College’s academic programs.”
WVU has taken part in the Yellow Ribbon program for undergraduate out-of-state students for years, but 2012 was the first year the University offered it to graduate students.
The Yellow Ribbon program is also offered to graduate students in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
“Offering the Yellow Ribbon program to select graduate students removes financial barriers between our students and our world-class education,” said Robert Burns, an associate professor in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Resources and a veterans advocate in the Davis College.
Veterans enrolled in the selected graduate programs will automatically receive benefits from the program without having to fill out an application.
More than 800 veterans, military personnel or their dependents are currently studying at WVU.
The University has received recognition in recent years for its commitment to veterans. It has been named a “Military Friendly School” for four straight years by GIJobs magazine and was ranked 18th in the Military Times’ “Best for Vets” list for 2013. And, in May, three of WVU’s online graduate programs earned top five rankings in the U.S. News & World Report’s inaugural Best Online Programs for Veterans report: the School of Nursing master’s program was ranked No. 3; WVU’s online business programs, within the College of Business and Economics, was ranked No. 5; and the University’s education programs, within the College of Education and Human Services, also ranked fifth.
