D’Youville College Ranked Number 1 on Military Times New 120 Best Colleges for Vets List

Military Times named D’Youville College in Buffalo N.Y. Number 1 in announcing their Best for Vets Colleges for 2014 in rankings released today.  There are 86 four-year public and private institutions in the rankings.

 

The organization comprising Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and Marine Corps Times placed a new emphasis on academic rigor this year when conducting and scoring the fourth annual Best for Vets: Colleges survey, a highly respected 150-question analysis of a school’s complete offerings for veterans.

 

“As with all of the Best for Vets rankings, Best for Vets: Colleges  is an editorially independent news project that evaluates the many factors that make an institution a good fit for military veterans,” said Amanda Miller, editor of Military Times EDGE.

 

D’Youville College, with more than 400 military veterans and dependants has been recognized since the inception of the rankings.

 

Ben Randle, director of the Veterans Affairs Office at D’Youville said the quality of service in the veteran’s office and stats such as graduation and retention rates are closely linked.

 

“Our office not only functions as a one-stop shop to help students navigate different university departments and bureaucracies, it also works with state and federal veterans affairs departments on behalf of students to help them ;with issues unrelated to school,”  Randle, a U.S. Marine veteran,  said.

 

“That…takes a lot of the stress off of the students.  It literally lets them concentrate on what we consider to the most importantly thing, and that’s …academics.

 

“We are honored to be selected number one in this listing.”

 

The full rankings are available at militarytimes.com.

 

Approximately 600 schools responded to the survey that comprised 150 questions that delved into school operations in unprecedented detail, Military Times said.

 

 

 

D’Youville, a small private college, is internationally known for its quality programs in health care, currently offering physician assistant, physical and occupational therapy, nursing, pharmacy, dietetics and chiropractic.  All attractive to veterans who may have been exposed to different areas of health care while serving and to their young dependents looking at higher education.

 

Now in its second century, D’Youville has shown unique innovation in developing academic programs that not only meet the needs of today’s world but also the needs of students seeking a career that will be stable, rewarding and have an impact on others.  The college has offered teacher education programs since 1908 and continues that tradition along with business and liberal arts.

 

Their latest development and addition to their offerings is a new program titled “Health Analytics,” the use of logical analysis to describe, predict and improve performance for health care institutions.

 

Health analytics encompasses the technologies and skills used to deliver business, clinical and programmatic insights into the complex interdependencies that drive medical outcomes, costs and oversight, according to SAS, a business analytics company that provides software and services.

 

“Through modeling, optimization, predictive analytics and business intelligence, organizations can gain insights to strengthen financial and budgetary performance, deepen consumer-centric relationships and improve the way health care is conceived and delivered for better outcomes across the entire spectrum of health industries.”

 

D’Youville’s new four-year program will focus on areas relevant to analytics, including mathematics, and statistical analysis.  Other aspects of the program include courses in medical terminology, health care and information technology.

 

Students with a strong aptitude in these fields would be ideal candidates for this program, according to college officials.

 

Dr. Anthony Billittier IV, dean of the School of Health Professions at D’Youville said, “Students will have a context in which to apply the math and statistical part of the program. They will learn to determine how the data was collected and entered, how the reimbursement payment system works, cost and payment issues, healthcare law, ethics, and most importantly how to analyze data.”

 

Healthcare organizations are now using modern methodologies to take a more patient-centric focus, reduce errors, waste and enhance patient flow with the overall goal of improving quality.

 

“Health analytics is a high demand field in the health insurance industry.  Employers want to understand how their healthcare dollar is being utilized and physicians are gaining a better understanding of how the overall practice is performing,” said Cheryl Howe, executive vice president of operations at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Western New York.

 

“For the insurer, it provides a mechanism for setting policy and programs based on the needs of the population.”

 

As veterans and their families return to civilian life, a top priority is education and the new GI Bill goes a long way to help them realize that goal.  D’Youville is a perfect choice because of its programs, small classes, family atmosphere and dedication to their veteran students.

 

Contact:  Ben Randle, Director D’Youville Veterans Affairs Office, 829-7836 or randleb@dyc.edu

 

For HA information:  Dr. Anthony Billittier, M.D. at 716-829-8490 or billitti@dyc.edu