(Leavenworth, Kan.)—The University of Saint Mary has once again been recognized as one of the best schools in the country for military-connected students.

USM earned a 2020-21 Military Friendly designation from VIQTORY, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business. The Military Friendly Schools list – now in its 10th year – has set the standard for higher education institutions to provide the best opportunities for veterans and their spouses. More than 1,000 schools participated in the 2020-21 survey, with 625 schools earning the designation.

"The University of Saint Mary takes a holistic view of learning, offering a personalized approach that meets the specific needs of students in traditional programs on the main campus in Leavenworth, as well as evening and online accelerated courses," the VIQTORY team wrote in its evaluation. "USM has been designated as a Servicemembers Opportunity College and seeks to ease the transfer of relevant course credits, offers flexible scheduling, and provides credit for learning stemming from appropriate military training and experience."

Institutions are evaluated on six categories: academic policies and compliance, admissions and orientation, culture and commitment, financial aid and assistance, graduation and career, and military student support and retention.

"We are extremely proud to receive the Military Friendly School designation again this year," USM President Sister Diane Steele said. "Saint Mary is committed to providing support, resources, and academic programs that will enable military-connected students to pursue their passions and career goals."

USM is also a Department of Defense Yellow Ribbon Program participant. The Yellow Ribbon Program helps fund any gap between traditional Veterans Affairs benefits and tuition costs, meaning qualified military students can attend USM at no cost.

About Military Friendly Schools

The Military Friendly Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources for more than 8,800 schools nationwide and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly Schools survey from participating institutions. The survey questions, methodology, criteria and weighting were developed with the assistance of an independent research firm and an advisory council of educators and employers. Ernst & Young (EY), a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services, independently evaluated the scoring methodology used for the Military Friendly Schools list using the criteria set forth by VIQTORY. The services performed by EY are were limited to advisory procedures and do not provide assurance over the scoring methodology. The survey is administered for free and is open to all post-secondary schools that wish to participate. Criteria for consideration can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com

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The University of Saint Mary is a Catholic co-educational applied liberal arts university founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. The University of Saint Mary main campus is located at 4100 South 4th Street, Leavenworth, Kan. USM's Overland Park Campus at 4500 College Boulevard offers evening accelerated graduate and undergraduate degree-completion programs. The university also offers online programs. Visit stmary.edu for more information.