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US News Names VSU Top Public Masters Level HBCU in America

U.S. News & World Report (USN&WR), in its first-ever ranking of 81 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), named Virginia State University the top public HBCU in the country among masters-level institutions; fifth best public HBCU overall; and 15th best HBCU, public or private, in America.

USN&WR had previously ranked VSU as the number one, public HBCU in the Southern Region - Masters Level in its 2008 Best Colleges in America rankings.

In its HBCU rankings, USN&WR used the same 11 broad categories as in its "Best Colleges" survey. These categories represent six, more specific areas: peer assessment, financial resources, graduation and retention, student selectivity, faculty resources and alumni giving. In the HBCU rankings, the 81 schools were compared to one another. Of these 81 institutions, 39 were public.

According to study authors Robert J. Morse and Samuel Flanigan "The U.S. News rankings system rests on two pillars. It relies on quantitative measures that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality, and its based on our nonpartisan view of what matters in education."

US News HBCU Ranking

In 2004, VSU adopted a long range strategic plan that included, as one of its primary goals, a rise through the USN&WR rankings. VSU President Eddie N. Moore, Jr. said the USN&WR ranking validates the Plans mission. "We set out with a very ambitious, yet eminently realistic, vision," he said. "Three years in, we have completed nearly one-third of our goals and shown significant progress on another 40 percent of our measurable action items."

President Moore said the cornerstones of VSUs continued success are enhancing the schools academic offerings and attracting top students. "This past year, we graduated our first doctoral students, our first nursing students and our first students in two new masters programs," he said. "We instituted creative financial aid initiatives, specifically the Low Income Families with Talented Students program, which allows us to compete with any school in the Commonwealth for Virginias best students."

For a complete list of the USN&WRs HBCU rankings, visit US News for information.