Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Wake Forest Recognized for Helping Vets

BusinessWeek recently published an article looking at how some universities are working to provide educational opportunities for veterans, and Wake Forest University’s Schools of Business was recognized for being on the forefront.

The article by Alison Damast points out that that Wake Forest has spent the last 19 years actively looking at ways to draw more applicants with a military service. The university for instance was one of the first schools to sign up for the Graduate Management Admissions Council’s Operation MBA program in 2005. To qualify, schools must offer scholarships and deferment flexibility.

Stacy Poindexter Owen (right), the director of graduate admissions, described efforts to recruit qualified military applicants, including the Yellow Ribbon program where $6,000 in tuition reimbursement is bolstered by a government match, a "no brainer" for the university. "We have always been happy with military candidates," she told the publication.

“The recruiters like our students, so we said, 'Absolutely we will sign on,'" she added. (Wake Forest also has a former lieutenant colonel on the admissions staff to develop recruiting programs.)

I personally know several classmates in the Evening MBA Program who have served in the military, and at least one who is benefiting from the government’s tuition programs. The BusinessWeek article also quoted Andre Toman (left), a former Air Force pilot and a full-time student I met at orientation who is considering consulting once he completes his two-year program.

"I was planning on going to business school before I heard about the Yellow Ribbon program, but it just made that decision much easier,” he told BusinessWeek. “For me, it was one of those things that sweetened the deal."

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