Keep Improving Your Foxhole...

This year, Oral Roberts University attained the rank of "Military Friendly Gold - Top #10 School". Further, we came in #3 of the all schools in our category, "Private Offering Doctorate".

Our previous two years saw a ranking of a Gold Level. This year, ORU was also recognized as a Military Friendly Spouse School for the very first time.

So, what does any of this mean?

First, we do not concern ourselves with submitting a survey for any type of recognition to begin with. Second, ORU holds firm that we will never pay for any type of recognition, which is standard in the industry.

As a veteran who served for 28-years in the Army as an Infantry Officer with experience in the theory and practice of Design Methodology, I have come to view checklists and "inspections" as a welcoming opportunity to improve the organization.

When I came on board ORU three years ago as the first-ever employee dedicated to the veteran community and their families, I was starting from scratch. An hour-long phone call with Kayla Lopez Lopez who serves as National Director of Strategic Partnerships for Viqtory, the organization responsible for the Military Friendly rankings helped sober me to the task at hand.

The survey consists of 140 or so questions that assess a school’s ability to meet thresholds for Student Retention, Graduation, Job Placement, Loan Repayment, Persistence (Degree Advancement or Transfer) and Loan Default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.?

This year, 523 schools were designated a Military Friendly school of some level, and they pulled data from over 8,800 schools across the nation.?

These are incredibly important metrics, to be sure, but the most important thing for me is availing myself to the students and letting them know they not only aren’t alone, but they are part of a special demographic. What's more, I take special pride in sharing the characteristics, accomplishments, and hearts of our community to the greater ORU community of students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Regardless of the outcome of the survey, I am pleased to share some of the metrics I highlight with you now.

1. We have arguably the highest retention percentage in the country. For AY 23-24, it was 88%. The national averages for student veteran graduation rates are in the mid-50% range.?

2. Three years running of ZERO complaints filed on the VA website for utilization of VA benefits (and the personal interaction with our folks who manage/discuss them). In this era of “entitlement” or “I was not treated fairly,” this is an incredible achievement that we have had no students file a complaint to a third part site/institution.?

3. Student Veterans and Family Members bring revenue to ORU and stipends for themselves in the form of utilizing well-earned VA education or employment benefits.? In AY 23-24, the numbers look like this:

Type # Amount to ORU Amount to Student

MGIB-SR/1606 14 N/A $34,273

Ch 31 (VR&E) 14 $83,000 $72,000

Ch 33 (9/11) 61 $626,000 $523,200

Ch 35 44 N/A $455,448

DoD-TA 15 $21,000 N/A

Total 148 $730,000 $1,084,921

4. ORU’s 99+% Career Services Outcome means all of our graduates will find employment or continue on with their schooling.

5. Deliberate touchpoints with the community that other schools simply do not execute (weekly in-person, weekly Zoom, and a weekly update).?

6. We maintain an active social media presence, with a minimum of three posts per week on Facebook & Instagram.

7. Although student loan default rates have trended down the past 9 years to a 2.3% rate, our rate of 2% exceeded the national standard. For active-duty students and their spouse…. it’s 0%!!!, and 1% for military family members.?

8. For loans, the national rate is $39,981, and ORU’s is $32,792.?

9. We have been offering a military spouse online discount of 15% since August of 2023.

10. We plan and execute deliberate events throughout the Academic Year to bridge the gap between our veteran and civilian communities while honoring those that have served and continue to do so. Each year, we execute ceremonies for 9/11, Veterans Week, and a Commencement Event for Veterans and their Family Members.

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All this to say is that the foxhole is never finished.? As you can imagine, we are hard at work less than a week after our Spring Commencement supporting 150+ students in our community in residential and online courses this summer as well as reaching out to the incoming cohort for our Fall semester. We are also planning our Welcome Boot Camp (read, Orientation) for student Veterans & Family Members as part of New Eagle Orientation in August. ?Additionally, we will be conducting Military Culture and “Bridge-The-Gap” training sessions with various staff and faculty throughout the summer.

As our community knows more than most, the job is never truly done, and there is no time to take off. We celebrate when we can, like today, and move on to the next objective.

If that objective includes searching for a doctoral degree, I can wholeheartedly recommend ORU Online Learning 's Doctor of Strategic Leadership program. I get no commission nor any special "atta-boys" if anyone signs up, but it is something I really believe in. I am entering Year #2 of the program and can only say I wish I started this a decade earlier! You'll find no DSL program out there that costs less or takes less time to complete (for veterans!).

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