Tennessee State University announced today that it has been ranked in the top 30 of national universities in the 2010 Washington Monthly College Rankings, joining the ranks of Harvard, Stanford and Princeton – universities that were also listed in the top 30 this year.
In Washington Monthly‘s 2009 college rankings, TSU was listed as Tennessee’s highest-ranked public university. Last year’s rankings placed TSU 77th of 258 national colleges and universities.
The 2010 rankings were based on how well individual colleges and universities were meeting their public obligations in the areas of research, service and social mobility. New to this year’s rankings are two measures – students’ participation in community service and the institutional support for service. The new measures are based on data reported to the Corporation for National and Community Service by colleges and universities in their applications for the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, on which TSU has been listed for two consecutive years.
The University ranked particularly high in the section of service that calculated a combined measure of the number of staff supporting community service, relative to the total number of staff; the number of academic courses that incorporate service, relative to school size; and whether the institution provides scholarships for community service. TSU has excelled in integrating service-learning based initiatives and maintaining students and staff who are engaged in community service.
“This year’s ranking of national universities touting Tennessee State University as one of the top 30 is evidence that we are truly molding the best of tomorrow’s leaders. While the ranking shows that we conduct cutting-edge research that drives economic growth, it also displays our strength in providing upward mobility by offering a quality, affordable education,” said President Melvin N. Johnson. “The most consistent element of the ranking is tied to our mission to serve,” he added.
