In the most recent U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of America’s Best Colleges, Virginia State University rose to Tier 3 in the South Region of the Best Universities – Master’s category. VSU’s exact ranking within this tier will not be known until the University receives its specific overall score based on the 11 criteria used in the survey.
The improvement illustrates measurable progress in a broad array of areas, including quality of students attending VSU, class size, faculty expertise, graduation and retention rates and alumni giving.
Virginia State University’s recently released 20/20Vision Plan made progress within the U.S. News rankings one of the University’s primary strategic goals. The Vision Plan proposes moving VSU to the upper echelon of Tier 2.
According to VSU Provost Dr. W. Eric Thomas, this year’s rapid movement upward from Tier 4 to Tier 3 indicates a building momentum. “These rankings consider many things,” he said, “but measure the overall health and vitality of our institution.”
Dr. Thomas attributed some of the improvement to higher admissions standards enacted by the VSU faculty and Board of Visitors in the 2002-03 academic year. Those standards required, among other things, a higher grade point average and a stronger emphasis on mathematics.
“One thing we know has improved over the past few years is the level of preparedness among our entering students,” he said.
For the Fall Semester that recently began, Virginia State University enrolled slightly over 1,100 freshmen. According to the University’s Admissions Office, more than 7,200 prospective students applied, setting a record for applications.
