Tag Archives: College Rankings

NEWS

National Ranking Lists TSU as Affordable College for Outdoor Enthusiasts

PrintNASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – For the second time in less than a week, Tennessee State University is garnering national attention and accolades as one of the top college values in the country.

According to the website, GreatValueColleges.net, TSU has been named as one of the 50 top “Great Affordable Colleges for Outdoor Enthusiasts.” The ranking features schools across the country and chosen by the website’s editors for the most affordable colleges that are ideal for students who have a passion for outdoor living.

The sources used in compiling the list include a number of articles about both the top schools for outdoor enthusiasts and the best cities for people who love nature and have active lifestyles, including Forbes Magazine’s Best Cities for the Outdoors.

Initially, a long list of hundreds of schools was compiled based on colleges located in or around top-rated cities, and schools that have stellar academic and recreation programs for outdoor sports and adventures, which could include anything from a major in Outdoor Recreation to a tournament-winning rock climbing team.

The list, according to editors, was then pared down by selecting only those that had below-average tuition rates, based on the average tuition for public schools (both in-state and out-of-state) and private schools. At the end, only 50 schools remained including TSU.

According to the website, the editors consider Nashville a great place for outdoor enthusiasts to relocate, with moderate temperatures and clean air. “The city is located on the banks of the Cumberland River and is amidst a background of rolling hills,” wrote the editors in the online report. “Tennessee State has a large Wellness and Recreation Center where students can take classes from kickboxing to dance, and a large number of athletic teams and intramural clubs for outdoor lovers to consider.”

The article goes on to mention that for the academic-minded students, the extensive agriculture and environmental sciences program offers a chance to get out in the sun and study their concentrations at either the Ashland City Agricultural Research and Extension Center or Otis L. Floyd Nursery Research Center.

Tennessee State was one of 14 colleges selected from the south region, joining two other institutions in the state, including Belmont University and the University of Memphis for the honor.

This accolade comes on the heels of Educate to Career’s national ranking of TSU as one of the top four-year schools in the nation that offers the best return on investment, ranking the University number 76 in its ETC College Rankings index.

 

 

 

Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

 

About Tennessee State University

With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.

NEWS

New National Rankings Show TSU Education “Best for Your Buck” When it Comes to Career Outcome

ETC-Rankings-Logo-MediumNASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – When it comes to educational attainment with a good career outcome, Tennessee State is certainly the place to be.

For the second year straight, the University has been listed as one of the top four-year schools in the nation that offers the best return on investment.

Educate to Career, a national non-profit that helps high school students and parents make informed, objective college and career planning decisions, has ranked TSU No. 76 in its ETC College Rankings Index.

No other Tennessee four-year institution ranked in the top 100 of the more than 1,200 schools on the list compiled by ETC, which describes its rankings as an effort to deliver on the promise of the federal government’s College Scorecard by providing “actual college outcomes data.”

According to the ETC, the Index analyzes the quality of students when they enter a given college, the total costs related to attending the college, and the outcomes of the students when they enter the labor market. The rankings results are determined by which schools did the best job of improving the earnings and attainment of quality employment of their students.

“The Index empirically determines the economic value added by each of the over 1,200 colleges ranked within our system,” said Michael R. Havis, founder of Educate to Career. “We calculate the improvement in earnings and employability of persons who attended specific colleges, relative to persons who are similarly situated in other colleges.”

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranked first on the list.

“Not so surprisingly,” Havis concluded, “local public colleges tend to offer the best value in a college education based on our criteria.”

Last year, the College Database, a free, non-commercial website that provides future and post-secondary students and their families with “accurate and valuable” college and career-related information, gave TSU a top ranking among colleges and universities in Tennessee with tuition rates below $20,000.

Saying that the University offers the best return on financial investment when compared to other post-secondary institutions in the state, the CD also said that TSU graduates enter the workforce at an even higher earning average of $42,000 per year, the best among all the other Tennessee institutions.

If these reports are any indication, then TSU is fulfilling its mission to graduate job-ready students, University officials say.

“I can assure you that Tennessee State University is in the forefront of providing job-ready students who are capable to compete for the best jobs anywhere in the world,” TSU President Glenda Glover said during a groundbreaking ceremony on campus last year.

She challenged potential employers to look to TSU to supply graduates who are ready for the job market.

In May of the same year, and immediately after the President’s pronouncement, the institution reported that among its core program offerings were preparations for four of the nation’s top 11 “Best Jobs” as reported in the U.S. News 100 Best Jobs of 2013. These jobs – registered nurse, physical therapist, dental hygienist and occupational therapist – the report showed, “offer a mosaic of employment opportunity, good salary, manageable-work-life balance, and job security.”

Karon Uzzell-Baggett, director of the TSU Career Development Center, upon hearing of the ETC ranking for the University, described it as “truly well deserved.”

“This is all a result of our continuing efforts to work with faulty, staff and the administration to prepare students and new alumni to succeed in the global workforce,” Uzzell-Baggett said.  “We appreciate the partnerships of dedicated employers who have been with us for years and welcome new partners interested in diverse talent.”

Touting the reliability of its listing, ETC referred to the College Ranking Index as a compilation of facts, to be used as benchmarking data when selecting a college and major. It added that the same data are used by thousands of college career centers and career planners, higher education advocacy organizations, student loan servicers, corporate recruiters, and more than 4,800 employers.

“Young people are entitled to reliable facts upon which to make informed decisions regarding college selection,” Havis said. “ETC is interested in real-world outcomes for college graduates – based on their majors and the colleges that they graduated from.”

 

 

 

Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

 

About Tennessee State University

With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.

NEWS, RANKINGS

National Magazine Ranks TSU Among Top 6 Percent in 2013 College Ranking

 

Students take part in the University's Annual Fall Day of Service recently at McGruder Family Resource Center community garden. Tennessee State University has received a top 6 percent ranking of the country's universities from Washington Monthly Magazine based on social mobility, research and service. (photos by Rick DelaHaya, TSU Media Relations)
Students take part in the University’s Annual Fall Day of Service recently at McGruder Family Resource Center community garden. Tennessee State University has received a top 6 percent ranking of the country’s universities from Washington Monthly Magazine based on social mobility, research and service. (photos by Rick DelaHaya, TSU Media Relations)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University, listed just few steps from Harvard and MIT, is one of the top universities in the nation, according to Washington Monthly, in its 2013 College Rankings. Of 284 institutions in the Best National Universities category, TSU was ranked in the top 6 percent at number 17 in the country. This is a big jump for the University, which came in at number 87 in last year’s ranking.

“This is good news for Tennessee State University,” said TSU President, Dr. Glenda Glover. “This shows that our students are performing and exceling, while the faculty and staff are doing everything possible to ensure an outstanding learning environment for our students. It is quite an honor for our institution to be recognized by such a prestigious publication.”

The Washington Monthly, an independent magazine, which for years has argued that conventional measures of college prestige are far less important than what colleges do for the country, bases its ranking on social mobility, research and service.

WM_2013_Best_Colleges_Natl“Instead of lauding colleges for closing their doors to all but an elite few, we give high marks to institutions that enroll low-income students, help them graduate, and don’t charge them an arm and a leg to attend. Universities that bring in research dollars are rewarded by our standards; as are those whose undergraduates go on to earn Ph.D.s. And we recognize institutions that are committed to public service, both in the way they teach and in encouraging students to enter service-focused careers,” the magazine said in its introduction to the rankings.

“Tennessee State University and the University of Texas at El Paso are both among our highest-ranked universities despite the fact that they usually rate much lower on other national lists of elite institutions. These universities enroll large numbers of low-income students and graduate more of them than the economic and academic profiles of their students would predict, while charging the kind of affordable tuition that is increasingly rare,” Washington Monthly wrote.

Last week, in a speech at the University of Buffalo, President Obama said colleges should be rated on value and performance, adding that his administration will begin evaluating colleges on measures such as the average tuition they charge, and the share of low-income students they enroll.

“Higher education should not be a luxury. It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford,” Obama said.

According to Washington Monthly, 80 percent of TSU students receive Pell Grants, a high indication of students in need of assistance. While research has always been a key component of learning at TSU, service is an imperative at the institution for college completion.

TSU offered 93 service-learning courses last year, while more than 2,000 students performed 20,000 community service hours at an estimated value of $400,000 through partnership with the community, according to the Center for Service Learning. Just recently, TSU was named for the fifth year in a row to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.

On Aug. 24, more than 700 volunteers took part in this year’s Day of Service, under the theme,  “A New Century: Moving Forward in Service,” to give back to the community at 33 different work sites around Nashville. The workers completed more than 2,100 hours of volunteer hours at an estimated value of $46,494.

And, the Washington Monthly’s ranking does agree with other reports that TSU, listed at number 1 in Tennessee in the ranking, is the most affordable in terms of tuition cost when compared to all other four-year institutions in the state.

The College Database, a free, non-commercial website that provides future and post-secondary students and their families with “accurate and valuable” college and career-related information, recently gave TSU a top ranking among colleges and universities in Tennessee with tuition rates below $20,000. It reported that TSU offers the best return on financial investment when compared to other post-secondary institutions in the state.

In fact, the database reported that TSU graduates enter the workforce earning an average $42,000 per year, the best among the other Tennessee institutions.

In the Washington Monthly ranking, the only Tennessee institution listed in the top 20 with TSU was Vanderbilt, which came in at number 20. Other Tennessee universities making the Best National Universities list were the University of Memphis at number 37, Middle Tennessee State University number 105, University of Tennessee number 124, and Travecca Nazarene at number 224.

In 2011, out of 258 universities, TSU was ranked in the top 15 percent in the country at number 40, its best showing in many years.

 

 

 

Department of Media Relations 

 

Tennessee State University
3500 John A. Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331


About Tennessee State University

With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university and is a comprehensive, urban, coeducational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top Universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912 Tennessee State University celebrates 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu