Adelphi, Md. (Oct. 24, 2018) University of Maryland University College (UMUC) continues its run atop the Military Times’ Best for Vets survey, ranking as the top public university and second overall among online and non-traditional schools for military personnel and veterans.

“At UMUC, we know what it means to serve the educational needs of veterans, as well as service members transitioning out of the military, because we have been doing it for more than 70 years,” retired Army Col. Keith Hauk, associate vice president for Veterans Initiatives and Military Operations Support at UMUC, said in the publication’s announcement of the rankings.

Military Times evaluated schools based on a rigorous survey of more than 150 questions about an institution’s operations and activities that support veteran students, as well as data from the federal departments of Education, Defense and Veterans Affairs. The schools were examined in five categories—university culture, academic quality and outcomes, policies, student support, and cost and financial aid.

“Aside from being a top-ranked school, UMUC is also the second most popular destination for service members using TA benefits and is among the top 10 most common colleges chosen by GI Bill users, according to federal data,” the publication said about UMUC.

“We serve where veterans, military students and their family members serve, whether that is in the community, on a base, or online,” said UMUC President Javier Miyares. “We share their values—integrity, respect, and a commitment to service and excellence.  It's that commitment—to work with them and serve their education needs in meeting their career goals, wherever they're located—that makes UMUC a university of choice for military service members, veterans and their families.”

Not resting on its laurels, UMUC launched several new initiatives within the past year to help military veteran students. In addition to launching Green Zone training to help faculty and staff better understand the military-affiliated student experience, UMUC now offers on-demand tutoring for student-veterans in selected general education math courses through its partnership with tutor.com and organized outreach to students since the new Forever GI Bill became law.

UMUC’s efforts to assist the volunteer caregivers of wounded military servicemen and servicewomen through the Pillars of Strength Scholarship Program was honored with the 2018 Scholarship Provider of the Year award by the National Scholarship Providers Association. In announcing the award, the association said “leadership, efficiency and impact” were among the criteria used to evaluate scholarship programs, but the Pillars of Strength scholarship also stood out for targeting “a group of people who are often forgotten.”

Military Times is an independent publication aimed at military personnel in the United States and around the world. For the past five years, as well as ranking number one twice, UMUC has remained in the top 10, finishing first last year, as well as third in 2016 and seventh in 2015 on the publication’s annual list.