Academic excellence fuels FSU’s recognition as Top 20 public university

 

Academic excellence fuels FSU’s recognition as Top 20 public university

Fueled by a steadfast commitment to student success and academic excellence, Florida State University continued its reign as a Top 20 national public university, according to U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges 2022-2023” guidebook released Monday.

Florida State reaffirmed its No. 19 spot in the rankings, appearing in the Top 20 for the fourth consecutive year. The university also held steady at No. 55 among all national universities, both public and private, and ranked as the No. 8 Best Value College among public institutions.

“These rankings reflect total excellence across the university,” said President Richard McCullough. “We’re competing at the highest levels with the best universities in the world, and our goal is to continue to rise to the Top 15 and beyond.”

Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Jim Clark credited the perseverance and resilience of the campus community for continuing to strive for excellence despite the challenges of the past few years.

“Florida State University’s recognition as a Top 20 public university is a result of the unwavering commitment by our faculty, staff and students who have worked tirelessly to firmly establish us as one of the nation’s top institutions,” Clark said. “There are hundreds of people on our campus who work every day on particular types of issues and challenges in order to reach this kind of achievement.”

Florida State’s stellar graduation and freshman retention rates continue to power the university’s standing among the nation’s best. FSU placed No. 18 among publics in the metric, rising six spots from a year ago.

“These rankings reflect total excellence across the university. We’re competing at the highest levels with the best universities in the world, and our goal is to continue to rise to the Top 15 and beyond.”

— Richard McCullough, FSU President

The university also maintained its Top 20 ranking in graduation rate performance at No. 19 among public universities. This measure compares actual graduation rate and predicted rate, which U.S. News calculates based on the university’s resources and student profile.

“We’ve done a lot of great things when it comes to student success, and we’re continuing to invest a lot of resources in these areas,” McCullough said. “Our faculty and staff are dedicated to making sure every student who comes to Florida State has a chance to graduate, regardless of their background, and we’re very proud of that.”

FSU posted its highest-ever score in the peer assessment metric, which carries a weight of 20% in the U.S. News scoring methodology — evidence that the needle is moving in terms of the university’s national reputation.

 

“Our peers are realizing Florida State University is a place seriously on the move — wanting to move toward AAU membership, wanting to double our research expenditures — and striving for excellence and high levels of achievement,” Clark said. “As our national reputation increases in this positive way, prospective faculty take notice, students from around the country see this, and high school counselors put us on their list of great universities students should consider. All of this lends itself to allowing the world to see Florida State University for the amazing place it is.”

Florida State continued to shine in several key metrics considered in the publication’s methodology, including faculty resources, student selectivity and alumni giving. FSU climbed two spots to No. 4 among public universities in the faculty resources metric, which considers the percentage of full-time faculty, percentage of faculty with a terminal degree, class size, faculty salary and student-faculty ratio.

Notably, Florida State improved to No. 23 among publics in U.S. News’ graduate indebtedness ranking, which measures the average federal loan debt of graduates and the percentage of graduates who took out federal loans. The two-year average for graduate debt decreased $912 from the previous period, while the percentage of graduates who took out federal loans declined from 43% to 38%.

“Florida State University’s recognition as a Top 20 public university is a result of the unwavering commitment by our faculty, staff and students who have worked tirelessly to firmly establish us as one of the nation’s top institutions.”

— Jim Clark, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

U.S. News also recognized the university for providing a top-quality education at an affordable price, ranking FSU the No. 8 Best Value College in the nation among public universities and the highest among the state universities in Florida.

“People talk about affordability and access in higher education all the time, but we actually deliver,” McCullough said. “Our tuition is among the lowest in the nation, and we work really hard at the individual student level to provide scholarships rather than have students take loans.”

FSU is tied with the University of Maryland-College Park, the University of Washington and Rutgers University-New Brunswick on the list of top public institutions. In the rankings of all national universities, which includes private institutions, FSU shares the No. 55 spot with Pepperdine University, Santa Clara University and the University of Miami.

Also included in the U.S. News Best Colleges guidebook were undergraduate business and nursing program rankings, which were based solely on peer assessments.

The College of Business’ Dr. William T. Hold/The National Alliance Program in Risk Management and Insurance ranked No. 3 among all schools, and the real estate program maintained its No. 5 ranking among public schools. The college also earned a No. 20 ranking among public schools in marketing, while accounting moved up three spots to No. 21.

“We continue to place well in extremely competitive fields,” said Michael Hartline, dean of the College of Business. “We expect even greater achievements ahead and look forward to the heightened visibility our new showcase facility will provide.”

Next month, the College of Business breaks ground on Legacy Hall, its new $120 million home, which will be FSU’s largest academic space to date and part of the university’s developing southeast gateway to campus.

Florida State’s nursing undergraduate program soared 29 spots to No. 67 overall and 23 places to No. 48 among public universities, which may be attributed to the university’s investments in the program. The College of Nursing recently expanded its undergraduate enrollment to help meet the demand for highly trained nurses in Florida.

“To be Number 19 among all public universities shows that we are among the leaders of the best universities in the United States.”
– FSU President Richard McCullough

Read more: https://t.co/rlzxg51PB3 pic.twitter.com/v1QVLfAOi1

— Florida State University (@floridastate) September 12, 2022

Florida State University has once again been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the Top 20 public universities in America, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our outstanding students, faculty, staff and alumni! #GoNoles https://t.co/onqdiu2cJl pic.twitter.com/m9NZlwirZ9

— FSU President Richard McCullough (@PresMcCullough) September 12, 2022

U.S. News & World Report ranks Florida State University in Top 20 for 4th consecutive year

With inclusion in the prestigious Association of American Universities as a goal, Florida State University continues a steady and dramatic march to be counted among the nation’s elite universities and colleges with a Top 20 ranking in U.S. News & World Reports “Best Colleges 2022 –2023" guidebook for public universities.

FSU remains locked in a tie at 19 with three other schools, the University of Maryland, the University of Washington, and Rutgers; all AAU members, a collection of 63 research schools known for scholarship and innovation.

But FSU appears to be making moves to break the logjam.

In the latest rankings released Monday, the Seminoles showed significant improvement in scores for faculty resources, graduation and freshmen retention rates, over-all value, and peer recognition.

FSU is rated fourth in the nation for faculty, which includes pay, class size, and student to faculty ratio, up two spots from a year ago.

The Seminoles posted the nation’s 18th best freshmen retention rates, compared to last year’s ranking of 24.

And FSU is rated as the 8th Best Value College in the nation, the highest rank among the 10 state universities.


“We’re competing at the highest levels with the best universities in the world and our goal is to continue to rise to the Top 15 and beyond,” McCullough said in a statement.

U.S. News said it bases the rankings on factors that indicate academic quality. The annual survey is considered a leading benchmark of academic standing by colleges and universities.

FSU has made a steady and dramatic rise since a ranking of 43 in the 2016 guidebook – moving to 26 in 2018 and cracking the Top 20 in 2019.

The Preemince Program funnels an additional $62 million a year to FSU with some of the money diverted to improve graduation and retention rates.

A peer assessment survey seems to be the only subjective measure in the rankings. This year FSU posted its highest score ever, 3.3, on a scale of 1 to 5 (marginal to distinguished).

“Our peers are realizing Florida State University is a place seriously on the move, wanting to move toward AAU membership (membership is by invitation only), wanting to double our research expenditures, and striving for excellence and high levels of achievement,” said Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Jim Clark in a prepared statement.

This year’s rankings also recognized FSU as the Number 8 Best Value College in America among public universities and the highest ranked among Florida’s 10 schools.




Among the nation’s public universities, U.S. News ranked FSU at No.23 for graduate debt, a measurement of the percentage of students who took out federal loans and the amount owed.

The two-year average at FSU dropped $912 and the percentage of graduates with debt fell from 43% to 38%.

“People talk about affordability and access in higher education all the time, but we actually deliver,” said McCullough. “Our tuition is among the lowest in the nation, and we work really hard at the individual student level to provide scholarships rather than have students take loans.”

Florida State University System and U.S. News & World Report 2022 –2023 Best Colleges rankings 

5. University of Florida
19. Florida State University
42. University of South Florida
64. University of Central Florida
72. Florida International University
103. Florida A&M University
132, Florida Atlantic University
132 University of North Florida
169 -227 Florida Gulf Coast University
NR Florida Polytechnical University






ACC:

Duke (10)
Notre Dame (18)
Virginia (25/3)
North Carolina (29/5)
Wake Forest (29)
Boston College (36)
Georgia Tech (44/15)
Florida State (55/19)
Miami (55)
Syracuse (62)
Pittsburgh (62/23)
Virginia Tech (62/23)
NC State (72/29)
Clemson (77/31)
Louisville (182/91)

SEC:
Vanderbilt (13)
Florida (29/5)
Texas (38/10)
Georgia (49/16)
Texas A&M (67/26)
Auburn (97/26)
South Carolina (115/53)
Tennessee (115/53)
Missouri (121/56)
Oklahoma (127/61)
Alabama (137/64)
Kentucky (137/64)
Mississippi (151/72)
LSU (176/87)
Arkansas (176/87)
Mississippi State (194/100)

Pac "10"
Stanford (3)
California Berkeley (20/1)
Washington (55/19)
Colorado (97/26)
Arizona (105/48)
Oregon (105/48)
Utah (105/48)
Arizona State (121/56)
Oregon State (151/72)
Washington State (212/107)

Big 12:
Baylor (77)
Brigham Young (89)
Texas Christian (89)
Kansas (121/56)
Iowa State (127/61)
Central Florida (137/64)
Cincinnati (151/72)
Kansas State (166/83)
Oklahoma State (182/91)
Houston (182/91)
Texas Tech (219/112)
West Virginia (234/118)

Big East:
Georgetown (22)
Villanova (51)
Connecticut (67/26)
Marquette (83)
Creighton (115)
DePaul (137)
Seton Hall (137)
St. John's (166)
Xavier (166)
Butler (Midwest #1)
Providence (North #1)


https://csnbbs.com/thread-955119-page-5.html

I was curious to see if USNWR rankings change much over time…so I compared 2010 versus current rankings.

Schools with the largest gains in rankings…
Florida State - 102 (2010) to 55 (now)
Florida - 47 to 29
Texas - 47 to 38
Other P5 schools with >10% improvement in rankings: Stanford, Vanderbilt, TCU, NC State, UCLA, Northwestern, Rutgers, Purdue, Georgia and Virginia Tech

Schools that are similarly ranked over time…
Duke - 10 to 10
Arizona State - 121 to 121
Other schools within 10% of their 2010 ranking: Notre Dame, Oregon, Ohio State, Michigan, Cal, USC, Baylor, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, Arizona, UNC, Wake, Maryland, UVa, SCar, Illinois, BC, Syracuse, UK, Michigan State, Tennessee, TAMU, Miami and Auburn

Schools with the largest loss in rankings…
Washington State - 106 (2010) to 212 (now)
Penn State - 47 to 77
Nebraska - 96 to 151
Other schools with large losses in rankings: Iowa State, Alabama, Arkansas, Washington, Clemson, Kansas, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, BYU, Louisville and Pitt

USNWR is ranking more schools as “national universities” each year. Even with all the increased competition, most of the P5 schools are at least maintaining their rankings.