In an effort to make higher education more accessible, University of Missouri administrators announced Wednesday a 10 percent tuition award for all military veterans and personnel, including for their spouses and children.
The award, which is effective immediately, will reduce base tuition and apply toward a maximum of 150 hours of undergraduate credit and/or 75 hours of graduate credits toward a distance degree or certification program through Mizzou Online.
In 2014, about 800 service members and veterans were enrolled at Mizzou, including some 80 distance-learning students.
“We owe so much to those who are serving in our nation’s military as well as their families,” Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin said at the announcement, attended by about 125 people in Memorial Union, which is dedicated to Americans who have fought in wars since World War I. “We hope this new award will be both an incentive and an aid as they enroll and work toward receiving a degree at Mizzou in their chosen fields.”
Also speaking at the event were Provost Garnett Stokes; Carol Watson Fleisher, director of the MU Veterans Center; Col. Randall Sparks of Whiteman Air Force Base; Lt. Col. Larry Crowder of the Missouri National Guard Association; and Larry Kay, executive director of the Missouri Veterans Commission.
Kay said that MU’s efforts to make higher education accessible to veterans help economic development. “Mizzou realizes how important veterans are to the future of our state and our nation and how productive they can be in the workforce,” Kay said.
To qualify for the award, individuals must complete the following requirements:
- Be an active-duty service member, veteran with honorable discharge, national guard or reservist. Dependents of these military personnel also are eligible for the award.
- Be accepted to Mizzou as a degree-seeking undergraduate or graduate student who is working on a distance degree or certificate program through Mizzou Online.
- Maintain a 2.0 GPA.
The MU Veterans Center, at N5 Memorial Student Union, offers students and employees who are veterans a one-stop shop. Among its offerings:
- Mentoring, tutoring, housing, financial and personal issues resources
- Assistance for families and spouses during deployments
- Coordination of a network of health professionals with expertise in addressing the needs of veterans
- A network of social support groups among veterans