The Council of College and Military Educators has awarded K-State with the 2015 Institution Award in recognition of the university’s significant contributions to the education of military students.
K-State has a long history of serving those who serve our country. Leaders at K-State and Fort Riley keep an ongoing dialogue to ensure communication about new opportunities for K-State to further serve the military. K-State is always looking for new ways to provide services to its students, especially military students.
“We need to be very attentive to the changes going on in the military and be flexible to deal with those changes,” David Stewart, associate dean of K-State Global Campus, said.
As these changes occur, K-State adapts its services to members of the military. For instance, if a soldier is suddenly deployed, they are provided with distance education – most often times in the form of online courses.
K-State takes pride in its ability to serve the military and the institution award is indicative of its success in doing so.
“It feels pretty special to think about all of the colleges and universities around the country that are trying to reach out to work with the military in new, creative ways,” Stewart said. “And we were the ones chosen for this award. It is just a very humbling experience.”
The university works hard to ensure all students feel like they are part of the K-State family.
“Whether it is through our global campus online programs, our face-to-face programs offered through Fort Leavenworth, or our various campus locations, K-State delivers the quality education program the military-connected learner desires and deserves,” Cheryl Polson, director and associate dean of the Graduate School, said. “We focus on delivering an exceptional degree program that meets the learners’ needs versus meeting an institutional quota.”
One such student who has benefited from K-State’s military relations is Caleb Curran, freshman in agricultural economics and ROTC member. His experiences with ROTC have been very diverse; he said students can get involved in it as much as they want or just do the minimum, but if they get more involved it will pay off later on in their career.
Not only does K-State provide these students with the opportunity to learn, but it gives them the opportunity to make connections and better themselves.
“My favorite memory in ROTC is probably training with the Ranger Challenge team,” Curran said. “All the guys like to push each other to higher standards and I think being put in a group with above-average individuals helps push myself to be better as well.”
Facing these obstacles helps ROTC students grow as individuals. According to Curran, the things you learn from ROTC are not only valuable in the military, but also in the real world.
