Kansas City, MO -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/20/2013 -- Grantham University’s history of service to America's veterans began in 1951, when World War II veteran Donald Grantham returned home from the South Pacific and founded the institution with the goal of providing education opportunities to veterans returning home from war.
63 years later Grantham University continues to proudly serve the academic needs of those who serve by providing high-quality, professionally relevant degree programs that are both affordable and accessible worldwide.
Grantham’s six decade commitment to America’s men and women in uniform is evidenced by the fact that today the University is ranked as a “Top 10” degree granting institution serving the unique academic needs of learners from the military community including active duty, National Guard, Reserve, Ready Reserve and veterans alike.
Veterans Day is much more than a holiday at Grantham University. It’s a very special day for us to remember the reason that the institution was founded, and to come together as individuals, an institution, one people, and one nation to thank and pay respect to those who have served and sacrificed to preserve our many freedoms.
Giving back is an integral part of Grantham’s mission and thus our commitment to students and staff alike. To that end Grantham employees have the opportunity, in addition to regular paid vacation, to take one additional paid day off annually to volunteer for a community organization of their choice.
A large number of Grantham University staff use this paid day off to volunteer at the annual Heart of America Stand Down in Kansas City, Missouri. With an estimated 2,000 homeless veterans in the greater Kansas City area, the Stand Down provides assistance with medical, substance abuse, legal issues, taxes, housing, counseling, and haircuts.
In addition to participating in the Stand Down twice per year, the University and its staff regularly donate time and money to a wide-variety of community initiatives and organizations including: the Komen Kansas City Race for the Cure, The American Diabetes Association, Hillcrest Walk for the Homeless, Urban Farming Guys, Della Lamb’s Thanksgiving Food Drive, and Toys for Tots.
Grantham’s commitment to its mission to provide a high quality college education that is both affordable and accessible is evidenced by the fact that the University’s undergraduate tuition rate has not increased in 11 years. Yet the institution has kept pace with change by investing in new technology, academic programs, and student support services each and every year while maintaining one of the most competitive tuition rates for accredited four-year-degree programs in the United States.
Additionally, in 2012 alone, the University awarded 5.3 million dollars in scholarships and grants to veterans and active duty service members.
Grantham University has been named a military-friendly school by Military Advanced Education magazine for seven consecutive years. And earlier this year, the Missouri Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) nominated Grantham for the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award presenting the institution with the Missouri Outstanding Military Support Award in August 2013.
As a recognized leader in both military and adult education, Grantham University’s academic and administrative staff have written extensively on the subject of best practices in military and veteran education, developing support services for working adult students, creating veteran friendly career centers, educating employers on the many benefits of hiring veterans, employer perception of online degrees for veterans, and faculty development in an online environment.
University leadership will soon be presenting some of the latest innovations in online faculty development to its academic peers at the 19th Annual Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning.
With more than 17,000 active students pursuing their education at Grantham University today, the institution and staff continue with its six-decade-long commitment to student success by providing accredited, high quality, flexible, and competitively priced college education to serve the needs of the non-traditional learner.
References:
http://fox4kc.com/2013/11/04/organization-accepting-donations-for-boots-for-vets/
http://www.grantham.edu/tuition/military-programs/veterans-scholarship/
http://nchv.org/index.php/news/media/background_and_statistics/
About Grantham University
Established in 1951, Grantham University specializes in online education. Its mission is to provide accessible, affordable, professionally relevant degree programs in a continuously changing global society. Grantham's courses are 100% online, allowing students to study at home, at work, on Temporary Duty or from almost anywhere in the world. Accredited since 1961 by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council, Grantham University has compiled a distinguished record as a respected and accredited distance learning university spanning six decades of service to education.
CONTACT:
Johanna Altland
Tel: 800-955-2527, ext. 513
jaltland@grantham.edu