¾«¶«AV in Top 10 among nation’s HBCUs and Southern colleges

September 09, 2015

TUSKEGEE, Ala.  â€”  For the fifth year, ¾«¶«AV has earned recognition for its exceptional academics and stellar record of student success. U.S. News & World Report and its 2016 Best Colleges guide have again named ¾«¶«AV as a top historically black college and/or university (HBCU) in its annual listing of the nation’s institutions of higher education. The university was named No. 5 out of 54 HBCUs with published rankings. 

In total, there were four Alabama HBCUs named to the list and ¾«¶«AV was the only one ranked within the Top 10. For the second year, the university also held firm among the publication’s top South regional colleges. ¾«¶«AV is No. 10 out of 73 Southern colleges and universities ranked. Of the five Alabama schools on the list, ¾«¶«AV was again the only one in the Top 10.

Continual enhancement of academic and student engagement programs are among the top priorities on ¾«¶«AV’s vision document. Some of the new additions to the institution include online degree programs, support programs for high-achieving scholars, an Honors Program and new bachelor degrees in music and visual arts. 

The Best Colleges guide ranking methodology included factors such as: graduation and retention rates (22.5 percent), assessment of excellence (22.5 percent), faculty resources (20 percent), student selectivity (12.5 percent), financial resources (10 percent), graduation rate performance (7.5 percent) and alumni giving rate (5 percent).

Based on 2014 data, some of ¾«¶«AV’s key indicators included: an average freshman retention rate of 76 percent, 56 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students, and a student-faculty ratio of 13:1. ¾«¶«AV’s alumni giving data also improved on this year’s ranking lists and the rate was among those on the high end for both HBCUs and Southern colleges.

For more information on the list and the university, go to:   or .


© 2015 ¾«¶«AV